Vietnam and Russia to lift defence ties to new height

Vietnam and Russian defense ministers met in Vietnam's capital Hanoi on Tuesday to discuss measures to lift bilateral defense ties to a new height. "At the meeting, the two sides discussed issues of implementing the consensus reached by the two countries' leaders, exchange of visits by high-ranking military officials, cooperation in military engineering, human resources training, and weapons purchase," said Vietnamese Defense Minister Phung Quang Thanh during a press briefing after the meeting. The two sides also agreed on establishment of a deputy ministerial level defense dialogue, Thanh added. The two ministers also discussed about cooperation at the biennial regional multilateral defense forum ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM+). Thanh said that Vietnam wanted to invite veterans of Russia and other former Soviet Union countries to visit Vietnam in order to strengthen relations. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the two sides have worked on issues which are vital to the relationship between the two countries, creating stronger impetus to the cooperation in specific areas. "We will join efforts to usher in a new development of the Vietnamese navy. Vietnam's submarine force is expected to be established this year," Shoigu said. The Russian defense minister spoke highly of Vietnam's decision to develop its navy force in coordination with Russia's leading companies. Shoigu expressed his hope that a resort for Russian army men would be built in Vietnam. Thanh unveiled that the Vietnamese government has allowed Russia to set up a ship maintenance facility at Vietnam's Cam Ranh port in central Khanh Hoa province after the press briefing. Shoigu is on a two-day visit to Vietnam at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart.