Cambodia and Vietnam sign five-year defence pact

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen (left) and Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang. Xinhua. Sketched by the Pan Pacific Agency.

PHNOM PENH, Dec 24, 2019, The Khmer Times. Cambodia and Vietnam have signed a pact to continue defence cooperation over the next five years, including in ensuring security and safety in border areas, The Khmer Times reported.

A Defence Ministry statement yesterday said Defence Minister General Tea Banh signed the pact with his Vietnamese counterpart General Ngo Xuan Lich on Friday, during a visit to Vietnam from Thursday to Sunday.

During his stay in Hanoi, Gen Banh attended a trilateral meeting between defence ministers of Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos, the 30th All-People Defence Festival and the 75th founding anniversary of the Vietnam People’s Army.

The statement noted that during their Friday meeting, Gen Banh and Gen Ngo reviewed the results of the cooperation between the two defence ministries over the past five years and penned a roadmap for the future.

“At the end of their bilateral meeting, the two defence ministers signed a protocol on cooperation for 2020-2024 and a cooperative plan for 2020 between the two defence ministries,” it said.

The Vietnam News Agency reported at the time, that both defence ministers highlighted the role of education as a significant factor in promoting good neighbourliness between the peoples and armies, of both countries to ensure security and safety in border areas.

It noted that the two armies have intensified their partnership in logistics, technology and defence industry, while the search and repatriation of the remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts in Cambodia during the civil war bore good results.

VNA added that both sides also agreed to step up communications to raise the youths’ awareness of the friendship and solidarity between the two peoples and armies, and work to prevent hostile forces from undermining the solidarity between the two nations, among others.

The ministry statement said that during his visit, Gen Banh also paid a courtesy call on Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and was awarded Vietnam’s first-class Independence Order in recognition of his dedication to promote bilateral defence ties, which has helped strengthen the traditional friendship and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries.

It said that Gen Banh presented the first-class Friendship Orders of the Kingdom of Cambodia to Gen Ngo and his Lao counterpart Gen Chansamone Chanyalath.

“These awards honoured their contributions to the time-tested friendship and all-round cooperation between the three neighbouring countries,” the statement quoted Gen Banh as saying.

He noted that he highly valued the achievements of Vietnam People’s Army over the past 75 years and complimented the resolute of Vietnamese armies under the governance of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Gen Banh also requested for help from Vietnam’s military in training RCAF officers, repairing and maintaining infrastructure, and providing equipment and training material for Cambodia’s sports sector, noting that Cambodia is preparing to host the 2023 SEA Games.

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