Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh addresses the conference
PANO – Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh, Deputy Minister of National Defence, on July 3rd chaired a conference to review the defence external relations work in the first half of this year.
Since the beginning of this year, army units have actively made important recommendations relating to the country’s national defence and security to the Party, State and the Central Military Commission. Bilateral and multilateral defence external relations have been continuously promoted, contributing to heightening the position and role of Vietnam and its army in the international arena.
As to China’s illegally-deployed oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, Vietnam has used bilateral and multilateral defence dialogue channels to demand China withdraw the rig and escort ships, and enter negotiations for the settlement of the current disputes.
Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh highly valued the results of the defence external relations so far, and urged relevant army units to focus on developing ties with countries which have traditional relations with Vietnam, especially armies of ASEAN member nations, as well as maintain defence cooperation with China, basing on the principles of independence, self-reliance, territorial integrity, sovereignty and jurisdiction of Vietnam in compliance with the international law.
He also re-affirmed statements of Vietnamese Party and State’s officials that the recent acts of China in the East Sea have been seriously violating Vietnam’s sovereignty and jurisdiction, the international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS) and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and the agreements reached by leaders of both countries. Vietnam has always desired to maintain friendly relations with China but firmly determined and persistently struggle for its legitimate rights and interests by peaceful means.
Translated by Van Hieu
Đăng ký: VietNam News
