In the meeting with New Zealand’s Minister of Defence, Dr Waynne Mapp, General Thanh asked Dr Mapp to help accelerate co-operation in education and training, and Mapp affirmed that New Zealand will continue to help Vietnam train officers in English.

The two also exchanged views on issues related to regional security, including maintaining peace and stability on the East Sea.

In General Thanh’s meeting with Luvsanvandan Bold, his Mongolian counterpart,  both sides agreed to continue promoting the exchange of delegations at all levels. He asked relevant authorities in both countries to take concrete steps towards signing a memorandum of understanding on bilateral defence co-operation.

While working with China’s Minister of Defence, Sen Lt General Liang Guanglie, General Thanh spoke highly of Vietnam-China relations, which are developing well.

The Party, State, army, and people of Vietnam attach great importance to strengthening solidarity, friendship, and comprehensive cooperation with China, he said, adding that the dispute over sovereignty in the East Sea still remains an issue.

In the spirit of neighbourliness, solidarity, and friendship, the General highlighted the fact that Chinese marine surveillance vessels had cut the cables of the seismic survey ship Binh Minh 02 on May 26 while it was operating deep within Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone. He asked the two sides to adhere to previous commitments made by the leaders of countries.

General Thanh said that both sides should actively cooperate with each other and practice the utmost restraint to prevent similar incidents which might affect bilateral relations and China’s image in the region.

Liang agreed with Thanh’s assesment of the Vietnam-China relationship and said that the main problem remaining between the two countries was the East Sea sovereignty dispute.

He said the dispute must be settled through diplomatic talks.

The Chinese stands ready to discuss the problem at multilateral forums, and opposed unilateral acts, Liang stressed, adding that China is committed to maintaining peace and stability in the East Sea and fully implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea.

He said he shared Thanh’s view that the two sides must abide by international laws, including the 1982 United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982)

Liang continued to say that China does not want another incident to occur in the future, and made clear that the China Liberation Army was not involved in the recent incident.

General Thanh said the dispute on the East Sea could take a long time to settle, so the diplomatic agencies from the two countries should conduct peaceful talks and high-level leaders of both Parties and States should hold dialogues to work out a mutually acceptable solution.

Vietnam is also ready to cooperate with China for the common development in the areas over which the two sides had real disputes pursuant to UNCLOS 1982, General Thanh said.