Vietnam, RoK hold second defence dialogue

Vietnam and the Republic of Korea on November 15 held their second strategic defence dialogue in Seoul, during which they reviewed the bilateral defence cooperation outcomes over recent years and plotted the direction of future collaboration.

Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) on November 15 held their second strategic defence dialogue in Seoul, during which they reviewed the bilateral defence cooperation outcomes over recent years and plotted the direction of future collaboration.

Vietnamese Deputy Defence Minister Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh (right), and his RoK counterpart Baek Seung-joo (left)

During the dialogue, which was co-chaired by Vietnamese Deputy Defence Minister Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh and his RoK counterpart Baek Seung-joo, the two sides also discussed the security situation in Northeast and Southeast Asia as well as the armed forces capabilities and defence policies of each country.

They agreed that there are positive developments in regional security but acknowledged that risks still remain.

While nuclear matters, conflict risks, non-traditional security issues and maritime safety scares are facing the Northeast Asian region, Southeast Asia is encountering problems in maritime security, territorial disputes and piracy, they said.

The two sides are unanimous that all security challenges must be settled through peaceful methods on the basis of international law, especially through strengthening dialogues between countries, preventing clashes from being exacerbated.

They also agreed that some new challenges are emerging, including those of non-traditional security and cyber security.

Regarding bilateral defence ties, the two sides worked together to develop and deepen the contents of the Vietnam-RoK memorandum of understanding on defence cooperation as well as the contents agreed by the two defence ministers.

They also defined key issues to focus on in the future, including the increasing of delegation exchanges, the discussion of strategic matters as well as the enhancement of cooperation in training, military medicine and cyber security.

Earlier, the Vietnamese high-ranking delegation attended the second Seoul Defence Dialogue from November 11-13 where they gave opinions on Northeast Asia region peace and cooperation initiatives, and comprehensive security in Asia-Pacific region.

The Vietnamese delegation also shared their stance on the global non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and the role that Asia-Pacific states play in the work.

The delegation also co-chaired a discussion on the building of sound defence plans with a limited budget.