Chief of General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army Do Ba Ty visits US
The chiefs of staff of Vietnam and US armies reached consensus on actively deploying the agreed cooperative activities to elevate the two countries’ defence cooperation.
This came from talks at the headquarters of the US Department of Defence in Washington DC on June 20 between the Chief of General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA), Senior Lieutenant General Do Ba Ty and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Army, General Martin E. Dempsey.
General Ty is paying an official friendship visit to the United States at the invitation of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Army General Martin E. Dempsey.
Ty declared that the Vietnam-US relationship, a constructive and multifaceted partnership based on friendship, mutual trust and equality, has been developing over the past time in the interest of the two countries’ people, contributing to international peace and cooperation.
“Vietnam attaches importance to developing its comprehensive relationship with the US, including defence ties,” Ty said, adding that his visit will work towards strengthening the friendship and mutual understanding between the two armies and lifting their defence cooperation to a new height to match with the growing friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries.
He expressed his thanks to the US Army’s cooperation with the Vietnam People’s Army over the past time, especially in dealing with the aftermaths of war and English training for Vietnamese officers.
He suggested the two sides continue implementing cooperative activities based on the signed agreement on defence cooperation, including delegation exchanges, experience sharing and US assistance in dealing with unexploded ordnance left over from the war, searching for the remains of US servicemen missing in Vietnam and dioxin detoxification.
The Vietnamese Government and VPA will create the best possible conditions and work with the US side to search for and repatriate the remains of US servicemen who died in the war in Vietnam, stated Ty.
At multilateral forums, Ty suggested both sides coordinate to maintain peace and stability for development, primarily within the framework of the ASEAN Defence Ministerial Meeting Plus (ADMM+).
Vietnam will do its utmost to boost ASEAN-US friendship and cooperation for peace, stability and prosperity in the region, contributing to building the ASEAN Community by 2015, he added.
For his part, Dempsey affirmed that the Vietnamese delegation’s visit is a milestone in the two nations’ relations and defence ties in particular.
He agreed with cooperation contents set out for the coming time and praised Vietnam’s initiative to establish the ADMM+ Experts’ Working Group on Humanitarian Mine Action.
He affirmed that the US will back relevant parties to solve disputes by peaceful means, abiding by international law including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
He also expressed his hope that ASEAN and China will promptly build a Code of Conduct (COC) of Parties in the East Sea.
The senior officers exchanged views on global and regional issues of mutual concern.
The same day, the Vietnamese guest had a meeting with US Senator John McCain. The senator was asked to make more contributions to developing the two countries’ relations for their common interests.
McCain spoke highly of the efforts of the Vietnamese people and army in national construction and development, contributing positively to maintaining peace and stability in the region and the world, and affirmed his continued support for the two countries’ relations.
During its stay in the US, the Vietnamese delegation visited the US National Defence University, Fleet 3 High Command, the state of California, San Diego city’s marine police and Army Corps 1 High Command.
Later the same day, general Ty informed Vietnamese media agencies of his visit’s results.
He affirmed that the two countries’ relations, including defence cooperation, will develop further if both sides make every effort to build strategic trust through specific cooperative activities, strengthen dialogues to boost mutual understanding and solve existing differences.-VNA
