Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc with military leaders from Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Russia, Singapore and Thailand who are here to attend a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the Việt Nam People’s Army (VPA).  — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc on Friday hosted military leaders from Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Russia, Singapore and Thailand at a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the Việt Nam People’s Army (VPA) and the 30th anniversary of the All-People Defence Festival (December 22).

Speaking at the reception, PM Phúc thanked the governments and militaries of the countries on behalf of Việt Nam and highlighted that Việt Nam’s defence policy is for peace maintenance and self-defence, which is affirmed in Việt Nam’ Defence White Paper 2019.

Việt Nam persists settling outstanding problems, differences and disputes by peaceful means on the basis of international law; not joining military alliances, not joining one country against another, not letting foreign countries set up military bases or use Việt Nam’s territories against others; and not using force or threatening to use force in international relations, the leader said.

He also said that over the past 75 years, the VPA had continuously developed, adding that implementing the defence policy of independence and self-mastery, Việt Nam attached importance to developing and strengthening defence cooperation with other countries on the basis of respect to each other’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, for the top goals of peace, independence and development.

Foreign military leaders expressed their admiration for the VPA’s exploits and Việt Nam’s national construction and development, and pointed to the VPA’s special characteristics, namely the combatant spirit and tradition. They also wished Việt Nam successfully shoulder the chairmanship of ASEAN in 2020 and the non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in the 2020-2021 term, and held that the implementation of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+) mechanism helped ensure security in the region and the world over.

Thanking foreign guests for their fine sentiment, PM Phúc stressed that the current situation in the world and the region continued to see rapid, complex and hard-to-predict developments, adding the regional and global security challenges and risks were requiring joint efforts from all the countries inside and outside the region.

The Vietnamese Government and people highly valued the outcome of the defence cooperation over the recent past between Việt Nam and foreign countries, both bilaterally and multilaterally, the leader said, stressing that the ADMM+ is the defence-security cooperation mechanism of the top importance in the region.

He also asked foreign countries to continue supporting Việt Nam to successfully shoulder its ASEAN and UNSC roles. — VNS