Tokyo (VNA) - Senior Lieutenant General NguyenTan Cuong, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) andDeputy Defence Minister had a meeting with Japanese Minister of Defence Kihara Minoru in Tokyo on October 11.

The Vietnamese officer informed the host of the outcomes of the talks between the delegationsof the VPA’s General Staff and the JapanSelf-Defence Forces Joint Staff, expressing his hope that Minister Kihara willprovide guidance for relevant agencies of both sides to comprehensively andeffectively implement the agreed defence cooperation contents,contributing to deepening friendship and cooperation between the twocountries.

Humanitarianassistance and overcoming post-war consequences are areas of cooperation that bothsides consistently value, Cuong stressed, showing his desire that the Ministryof Defence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the International CooperationAgency of Japan and related agencies continue promotingcooperation with the Vietnamese Ministry of Defence in these works, particularlyin projects related to landmine clearance and provision of equipment for dioxindecontamination.

He conveyed the congratulatory message and invitation to visit Vietnam from VietnameseDefence Minister General Phan Van Giang to the Japanese officer.

For his part, Minister Kihara thanked for Defence Minister Phan Van Giang's invitationand congratulatory message, and said that he will visit Vietnam as soon aspossible.

The Vietnam–Japan defence cooperation is entering a new phase of development,opening up opportunities for collaboration in numerous areas between the twodefence ministries, Kihara said.

He hoped for a higher, deeper, and more effective level of the cooperative relations.


Earlierthe same day, Cuong held talks with General Yoshida Yoshihide,Chief of Staff of the Japan Self-Defence Forces Joint Staff.

Both sides agreed that their defence cooperation has deepened and become morecollaborative over the past time on the basis of the Memorandum ofUnderstanding on Bilateral Defence Cooperation and Exchanges in October 2011,and the Joint Vision Statement on Defence Cooperation towards the next decadein April 2018.

The two countries have promoted delegation exchange, effectively maintainedconsultation and dialogue mechanisms, worked together in defence industry andsettlement of post-war consequences, and supported each other at multilateralforums in the region, particularly the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus(ADMM).

Particularly, both sides joined hands to organise theCompetency Evaluation Programme for Prospective United Nations Peacekeepers(CEPPP) in Vietnam last September, fulfilling the role ofco-chairs of the 14th meeting of the Experts’ Working Group on PeacekeepingOperations Cycle 4 for the 2021-2023 period within the framework of the ADMM.

Cuong and Yoshida reached consensus on several measures topromote the bilateral defence ties, with a focus on delegation exchange, maintenance ofexisting consultation mechanisms, human resources training, implementation of aprogramme to improve capacity in the fields of diving medicine and clearance ofnaval mines, UN peacekeeping activities, recovery of post-war consequences, andbolstered coordination at multilateral mechanisms.

Theycompared notes on international and regional issues of shared concern,and emphasised the importance of maintaining peace, security, safety,and aviation and navigation freedom in the East Sea, and settlingdisputesby peaceful measures in line with international law, including the 1982UnitedNations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS)./.