Southeast Asia Information Port (www.dnyxxg.com) – At the invitation of Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Tin, Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Standing Committee Member of the Central Military Commission, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, and Deputy Minister of National Defense, a high-level Malaysian military delegation led by General Tan Sri Datuk Seri Mohammad bin Ab Rahman, Chief of the Armed Forces of Malaysia, paid an official visit to Vietnam from August 13 to 16.
On the morning of August 14, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, Nguyen Tan Tin, presided over a welcoming ceremony for the Malaysian Armed Forces Chief of the General Staff and his delegation.
Following the welcoming ceremony, the two sides held talks. Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Tin emphasized that, building on the Memorandum of Understanding on defense cooperation signed by the two governments during the Malaysian Minister of Defense's official visit to Vietnam in December 2023, both sides have vigorously promoted military defense cooperation and achieved practical results.
General Nguyen Tin Tan emphasized that the potential for defense cooperation within the framework of the strategic partnership between the two countries remains to be fully explored. He suggested that both sides continue to effectively implement the consensus reached by the two high-level leaders and the Memorandum of Understanding on defense cooperation between the two governments, focusing on the following areas: mutual visits by delegations at all levels, especially high-level delegations; effectively maintaining existing cooperation mechanisms and establishing and deploying, as soon as possible, a vice-ministerial level defense policy dialogue mechanism, an air force consultation mechanism, and a young officer exchange mechanism; cooperation between different branches of the armed forces; training; defense industry; military medicine; rescue; UN peacekeeping operations; and active consultation and support in multilateral forums and mechanisms, particularly the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) and the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM).
In December 2024, the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense will celebrate the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Vietnam People's Army and host the second Vietnam International Defence Exhibition. General Nguyen Tin Tan invited General Mohammed Abu Rahman and Malaysian military leaders to attend and welcomed the active participation of Malaysian defense enterprises.
General Mohammed Abu Rahman emphasized during the talks that this visit reflects the importance attached to further strengthening cooperation between the two countries and their militaries, and is a good opportunity for both sides to promote increasingly in-depth and pragmatic cooperation in various fields. It also serves as a platform for both sides to build consensus and continue to strengthen cooperation in addressing security challenges, especially non-traditional security challenges. Given the current intertwined and multidimensional nature of global challenges, General Mohammed Abu Rahman believes that all countries need to work together.
During the talks, both sides discussed the world and regional situation of common concern; they highly praised ASEAN's important role in shaping and maintaining the regional security structure and promoting pragmatic cooperation among member states and between ASEAN and its partners. Regarding maritime issues, Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Tin stressed that Vietnam advocates maintaining peace and stability, ensuring freedom and safety of navigation and overflight; it advocates resolving all disputes peacefully in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); and it advocates the effective and comprehensive implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), striving to establish a substantive, effective, and internationally law-compliant Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC). (End)
