President greets Chinese defence officers
Vietnam and China, and their armies, should further promote cooperation, maintain and uphold the fine traditional friendship, fostered by Presidents Ho Chi Minh and Mao Zedong and their successors.
President Truong Tan Sang made the statement at a reception in Hanoi on September 3 for a delegation of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army led by Deputy Chief of General Staff Sen. Lieut. Gen. Ma Xiaotian, who is currently in Hanoi for the third Vietnam-China strategic defence talks.
President Sang welcomed the results of the dialogue in Hanoi, saying the two armies need to continue maintaining and bringing into full play the effectiveness of this dialogue channel.
The two armies should further enhance exchanges and cooperation in different fields in order to further promote mutual understanding and trust, and increasingly strengthen and boost the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership for both peoples’ benefit and for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world, he added.
Noting the pending sea issues, the President urged the two sides to persistently solve those differences satisfactorily through negotiations and dialogues.
The work must be based on international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and common perceptions and agreements between the two countries, including the agreement on fundamental principles guiding the settlement of sea issues arising between Vietnam and China to make the East Sea a water area of peace, friendship, cooperation and development, he noted.
Briefing the President on the outcomes of the dialogue, Ma Xiaotian said that the dialogue provides an important channel for both sides to frankly discuss issues of common concern, bettering their trust and understanding, thus contributing to strengthening and developing the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the Parties, States, peoples and armies of China and Vietnam.
He affirmed that the Chinese army is willing to work together with the Vietnamese army to strictly implement the common perceptions and increase the exchange of delegations and implement specific cooperation fields for the healthy and stable development of the Vietnam-China friendship and cooperation.