Vietnam is proactive in promoting bilateral and multilateral cooperation in national defence by fully taking part in all ASEAN activities as well as those within the Asia-Pacific region.

Defence Minister Phung Quang Thanh made the statement in an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency, after paying official visits to the US and France.

He said Vietnam is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian (ASEAN) and recently became a non-permanent member of the United nations Security Council (UNSC). The country has established diplomatic ties with 180 countries and national defence ties with more than 60 countries. More than 20 countries have opened their attaché offices on national defence in Hanoi, and in turn Vietnam has established such offices in many of countries in the world.

Minister Thanh affirmed that external relations for national defence are part and parcel of the State’s external affairs. Fruitful cooperation in national defence will help promote cooperation in economics, science-technology, investment and trade.

Together with other ASEAN countries, Vietnam is making every effort to build an ASEAN community by 2015 based on three pillars: politics-security, economics, and culture, said Mr Thanh.

According to the minister, Southeast Asia has maintained a peaceful and stable environment for cooperation and development. However, the region is facing numerous challenges, especially non-traditional challenges such as sea piracy, smuggling, and drug, weapon and human trafficking, as well as natural disasters, epidemics and rescue work.

We need bilateral and multilateral cooperation with countries in the region and the rest of the world when these issues occur at sea, he said.

He said international cooperation in national defence helps increase friendship, mutual understanding and assistance to maintain a peaceful and stable environment in Southeast Asia.

He underlined the need to maintain security at sea, considering it one of the Vietnam People’s Army’s key areas for cooperation. He said Vietnam has cooperated with the navies of China, Cambodia and Thailand in conducting join patrols, and established hotlines with these countries. It will carry out the same model for cooperation with Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

If this model proves successful, it will contribute to maintaining security at sea and create favourable conditions for fishermen to operate at sea, said the minister.

He went on to say that Vietnam has signed cooperation agreements with a number of countries for rescue work, natural disaster prevention and training.

He concluded that Vietnam’s proactive integration and cooperation in national defence supports cooperation and development in other areas, towards the goal of maintaining peace and development and reducing threats that could cause instability and conflicts in the region and the world.

VietNamNet/VOV