Seoul(VNA) – Deputy Minister of Defence Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh and his RoKcounterpart Suh Choo-suk co-chaired the sixth Vietnam-the Republic of Korea (RoK)defence policy dialogue at deputy ministerial level in Seoul on September 8.

Deputy Minister SuhChoo-suk highlighted progress in cooperation between Vietnam and the RoK andthe two defence ministries.

He said that the RoKis willing to support Vietnam in areas of Vietnam’s demand such as personneltraining, foreign language teaching, overcoming war aftermath, including dioxindetoxification, bomb and mine clearance, and maritime security.

Besides, the RoK sidewill work closely with Vietnam in cyber security, including the training ofexperts and sharing of experience, the deputy minister said.

He particularly notedthe joint work in peace keeping, with the RoK sharing with Vietnam itsexperience in the UN peace-keeping activities through the exchanges ofdelegation and personnel training assistance on the foundation of a cooperationagreement signed in September 2015.

Deputy Minister Vinh saidthat it is necessary to take a new approach to collaboration to cope with newly-emergingsecurity challenges such as those related to cyber security, genetic modification,biotechnology, robot, and artificial intelligence.

He held that the twocountries have built close defence cooperation across many areas.

Especially, the RoKhas assisted Vietnam greatly in overcoming war aftermaths. Recently, thecountry offered 20 million USD to Vietnam for bomb and mine clearance in somecentral localities, he noted.

At the same time, theVietnam-RoK maritime security affiliation has also been fruitful, contributingto the safeguarding of Vietnam’s sovereignty and maritime routes in one of themost complicated area in the world.

The RoK’s present of threesecond-hand vessels to the Vietnam Coast Guard has greatly helped with the operationof the force, said Vinh.

Regarding thesituation in the Korean Peninsula, he confirmed Vietnam’s stance of supportinga nuclear weapon-free area, as well as the settlement of issues throughpeaceful measures in line with international law and with respect for interestof all parties.

The two sides alsodiscussed a number of regional and international matters of shared concern.

The Vietnam-RoKdefence policy dialogue at deputy ministerial level is held annually with thefirst one taking place in 2012.

During his stay in theRoK from September 6-9 to attend the sixth SeoulDefence Dialogue 2017 and theVietnam-RoK defence policy dialogue, Deputy Defence Minister Nguyen Chi Vinhpaid a courtesy call to RoK Minister of Defence Song Young-moo.

Song Young-mooextended an invitation to visit the RoK to his Vietnamese counterpart Ngo XuanLich. He said that the RoK hopes to sign a statement on joint vision onVietnam-RoK defence cooperation during Lich’s visit.

On September 7, Deputy Minister Vinh ledthe Vietnamese delegation to attend the sixth Seoul Defence Dialogue 2017 (SDD),which is a multilateral dialogue and cooperation mechanism for discussion of regionaland international issues.

The two-day dialogue brought togetherabout 250 defence leaders and policy makers from more than 30 countriesworldwide.

Themed “Visions for Security Cooperationin the Age of Uncertainty,” the four-session dialogue focused on nuclear andmissile threats posed by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) andsecurity on the Korean peninsula; measures to build trust at sea; challenges tocyber security and defence cooperation; new terrorist forms and globalcooperation in counterterrorism.

The participants also looked into thefourth industrial revolution, defence science and technology, identities offuture wars and defence policy.

As a keynote speaker at the openingceremony, Australian Defence Minister Marise Payne stressed the significance ofmaintaining the law-based international order and avoiding the potential ofconflicts.

Regarding bilateral defence cooperationbetween Australia and countries in the region, the minister said Australia hasagreed to open English language classes to help Vietnam prepare forpeace-keeping operations in South Sudan.

On September 6, deputy defence ministersof the RoK and ASEAN nations also engaged in a dialogue that looks towards anew Northeast Asia of peace and security.

Addressing the event, RoK Deputy DefenceMinister Suh Choo-suk highlighted ASEAN’s key role in the region’s large-scaleintegration process, contributing to nurturing the practice of dialogue andcooperation between its member countries.

ASEAN has rolled out variousmultilateral cooperation mechanisms such as the ASEAN 3, the East Asia Summit,the ASEAN Regional Forum and the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting.

At the end of 2015, the ASEAN Communitywas formed with a population of 640 million, aiming to raise the group’s GDP to2.5 trillion USD in 2025.

Suh Choo Suk noted that three orientationsfor ASEAN-RoK future cooperation are to ensure sustainable prosperity, increasebilateral exchanges, and maintain a peaceful and secured Northeast Asianregion.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy DefenceMinister Nguyen Chi Vinh lauded the RoK’s first-time organisation of thedialogue between ASEAN and RoK deputy defence ministers.

The dialogue creates a new communicationchannel for both sides to strengthen their cooperation toward practicaloutcomes, he added.

The official stated Vietnam supports theinitiative and is willing to join hands to make it a success.

On the sideline of the Seoul DefenceDialogue 2017, Vinh met with his Canadian counterpart Jody Thomas on September7.

Vietnam always thinks of Canada as anAsia-Pacific nation and values defence ties with Canada, he said, adding thatthe ties, however, is yet to meet its full potential.

He asked the Canadian side to boostcollaboration with Vietnam, particularly in training Vietnamese officers in Englishand French to prepare them for UN peacekeeping missions.

Vinh invited Canadian officers to learn theVietnamese language at universities in Vietnam and study military arts at the NationalDefence Academy of Vietnam.

He said Vietnam welcomes Canadian navalships to visit the country for joint search-and-rescue drills and hopes toboost cooperation with Canada concerning air force, cyberspace and alleviationof war consequences.

For her part, Jody Thomas said Canada iscommitted to promoting peace and security in Asia-Pacific.

Canada will increase its engagements withVietnam in marine police cooperation, anti-terrorism and humanitarian aid.-VNA