At the reception

Speaking at the Hanoi reception, PM Phuc thanked thegovernments and militaries of the countries for Vietnam and highlighted thatVietnam’s defence policy is for peace maintenance and self-defence, which is affirmed in Vietnam’s Defence White Paper 2019.

Vietnam persists the advocate of settling outstandingproblems, differences and disputes by peaceful means on the basis of internationallaw; not joining military alliances, not joining one country against another,not letting foreign countries set up military bases or use Vietnam’sterritories against others; and not using force or threatening to use force ininternational relations, the leader said.

He also affirmed that over the past 75 years, the VPA hascontinuously developed, adding that implementing the defence policy ofindependence and self-mastery, Vietnam attaches importance to developing andstrengthening defence cooperation with other countries on the basis of respectto each other’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, for thetop goal of peace, independence and development.

Foreign military leaders expressed their admiration for the VPA’sexploits and Vietnam’s national construction and development, and pointed to theVPA’s special characteristics, namely the combatant spirit and tradition. They alsowished Vietnam to successfully shoulder the chairmanship of ASEAN in 2020 andthe non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) inthe 2020-2021term, and held that the implementation of the ASEAN DefenceMinisters’ Meeting Plus (ADMM ) mechanism helps ensure security in the regionand the world over.

Thanking foreign guests for their fine sentiment, PM Phucstressed that the current situation in the world and the region continues tosee rapid, complex and hard-to-predict developments, adding the regional andglobal security challenges and risks are requiring joint efforts from all thecountries inside and outside the region.

The Vietnamese Government and people highly value theoutcome of the defence cooperation over the recent past between Vietnam andforeign countries, both bilaterally and multilaterally, the leader said,stressing that the ADMM is the defence-security cooperation mechanism of the topimportance in the region.

He also asked foreign countries to continue supportingVietnam to successfully shoulder its ASEAN and UNSC roles./.VNA