RTAF – Air Attaché Office in Hanoi
DEFENSE NEWS BULLETIN 31.August.2022
1. NINTH US- VIETNAM ASIA-PACIFIC DIALOGUE.
Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink welcomed Vietnam Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Minh Vu to Washington for the ninth U.S.-Vietnam Asia-Pacific Dialogue on August 30. Reflecting upon the strength of U.S.-Vietnam relations, the Assistant Secretary and Deputy Foreign Minister discussed issues related to the two countries’ shared interest in promoting peace, stability, and prosperity across the region. Assistant Secretary Kritenbrink and Deputy Foreign Minister Vu affirmed the importance of continued senior-level engagement between the United States and Vietnam and looked forward to celebrating the 10th anniversary of the U.S.-Vietnam Comprehensive Partnership in 2023. Both sides agreed to reconvene for next year’s Asia-Pacific Dialogue in Vietnam.
(By US Department of State)
2. VIETNAM ATTENDS DEFENSE AND SECURITY 2022 EXHIBITION IN THAILAND.
A delegation of the Ministry of National Defence led by Lt. Gen. Phung Si Tan, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, attended the Defence and Security 2022 exhibition in Thailand from August 29 to 31.
(Vietnam’s defence officials visit the Defence and Security 2022 exhibition in Thailand)
A delegation of the Ministry of National Defence led by Lt. Gen. Phung Si Tan, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, attended the Defence and Security 2022 exhibition in Thailand from August 29 to 31.
During the delegation’s courtesy call to Chief of Thailand’s Defence Forces Gen. Chalermpol Srisawat, the two sides shared the view that the two militaries’ cooperation has been promoted actively in the recent past, with a focus on training and cooperation between their naval and air forces, and mutual support at multilateral forums.
They agreed to step up all-level mutual visits and exchanges of young officers, maintain consultation and dialogue mechanisms, and further strengthen ties between the countries’ naval and air forces.
Tan noted the Defence Ministry of Vietnam will hold an international defence exhibition for the first time this December. He invited leaders of the Defence Ministry and military of Thailand to attend the event and also welcomed Thai businesses to the show
Srisawat accepted the invitation and promised to take part in the exhibition.
At a working session with the Vietnamese delegation, the Defence and Security 2022 organisers shared their experience in organising the event, which gathered 186 enterprises operating in the defence industry from around the world, and 46 official delegations, including defence and military officers from 33 countries.
Tan appreciated the experience sharing, which he said will be useful for the Vietnamese Defence Ministry to prepare for the December exhibition.
(By Vietnam Plus News)
3. MAKE DEFENSE INDUSTRY VIETNAM’S SPEARHEAD: PM.
The defense industry needs to be closely linked with other sectors to serve both military and civilian purposes, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said.
(Soldiers practice during a military drill in Vietnam’s central Ha Tinh Province in 2020)
Speaking at a conference in Hanoi on Monday, Chinh said in the past, the defense industry has achieved important results with its increasingly diversified and quality products, contributing to the nation’s self-reliance in weapons and equipment, gradually modernizing the army and strengthening national defense.
He said in future, the industry should be developed towards serving both military and civilian purposes.
He requested the Central Military Commission, the highest Communist Party unit in Vietnam on military policy, and the Ministry of National Defense to complete the apparatus and reorganize core defense industrial establishments to set up a national defense industry complex that is efficient and advanced, as well as develop specific mechanisms and policies to attract and develop high-quality personnel.
He requested to combine the construction and development of the defense industry in the national strategy of industrial construction and development, promote international cooperation and technology transfer, as well as application of scientific and technological achievements.
The White Paper on Vietnam National Defense issued in 2019 stated that defense spending was commensurate with the country’s economic development, increasing from 2.23% of GDP in 2010 to 2.36% in 2018 to approximately $5.8 billion.
(By VNExpress.net)
4. VIETNAM’S DEFENSE SECTOR EXPECTED TO BE SELF-RELIANT AND MODERN.
Speaking at a meeting held by the Central Military Party Committee to popularise and implement the Resolution 08 of the 13th Politburo on “Strengthening the development of the defence sector to 2030 and the following years”, Chính said that Việt Nam’s defence sector was determined to go modern based on three key factors – scientific and technological potential, human resources and institutional building.
(Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính speaking at a meeting held by the Central Military Party Committee to popularise and implement the Resolution 08 of the 13th Politburo on “Strengthening the development of the defence industry to 2030 and the following years)
Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính on Monday called for efforts to develop a defence sector that is active, self-reliant, modern, and dual-use for both military and civilian purposes.
Speaking at a meeting held by the Central Military Party Committee to popularise and implement the Resolution 08 of the 13th Politburo on “Strengthening the development of the defence industry to 2030 and the following years”, Chính said that Việt Nam’s defence sector was determined to go modern based on three key factors – scientific and technological potential, human resources and institutional building.
Chính emphasised that Resolution No 08 issued early this year showed the importance, expectation, and trust of the Party, State and People has in the sector.
In the past, the defence industry achieved important results including products that are increasingly diversified, dual-use, and high quality. It also helped to ensure weapons and equipment to modernise the army, consolidate national defence, protect the nation and make active contributions to the cause of industrialisation and modernisation of the country and the army.
Chính said that in the future, the world and regional situations were forecast to evolve rapidly, complicatedly and unpredictably, which set urgent requirements for the defence of countries, including Việt Nam.
Meanwhile, the national socio-economic situation continued to maintain stability and development but still faced many difficulties and challenges.
“The development of the defence sector is increasingly required to firmly protect the independence, sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity,” he said.
For effective implementation of the resolution, the Prime Minister emphasised the need of keeping perfect the organisational structure, reorganising the core defence industrial establishments, and moving towards the establishment of a national defence industry complex that is compact, efficient, advanced, and modern.
Another task is building a system of legal documents, specific mechanisms, and policies to attract and develop high-quality human resources, financial resources, science and technology, Chính said.
“Developing the defence sector is a part of the construction and development of the national industrial strategy,” he said, adding that it was a must to promote international cooperation, and effectively implement the cooperation, transfer and application of science and technology.
General Phan Văn Giang, Politburo member, Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Committee, and Minister of National Defence said that right after the meeting, all Party committees and organisations must quickly learn and master Resolution 08, especially the views, goals, tasks and solutions, new and core issues, to make it clear that Resolution 08 is a very basic and important content in strengthening and modernising the Vietnamese People’s Army in the future.
Giang suggested that ministries, branches and agencies urgently study and concretise the content of the resolution into specific action plans and schemes, with clear feasible implementation roadmaps.
He called on relevant agencies to direct and co-ordinate in concretising the contents of Resolution No 08, perfecting institutions and legal corridors so that the Resolution could be implemented comprehensively, effectively and efficiently.
(By Viet Nam News)
5. ARMY GAMES 2022. VIETNAMESE TEAMS PERFORM WELL.
On August 22, the tank contingent of the Vietnam People’s Army conducted the adjustment and maintenance of weapons and equipment and made all essential preparations for the semi-finals of the “Tank Biathlon” contest within the Army Games 2022.
(A tank crew of the Vietnam People’s Army at the Army Games 2022)
In this round, eight outstanding teams will be divided into two sub-groups. The first sub-group consists of teams from Russia, Belarus, Mongolia, and Uzbekistan, while the second one comprises teams from Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Vietnam.
According to the lot-drawing’s results, competitions among teams in sub-groups 1 and 2 will take place on August 23 and 24, respectively.
* The same day in Sergiev Posad city, Russia, the “Special Sprint” team of the Vietnam People’s Army competed in the second stage, titled “Reliable defender.” The Vietnamese troops completed the competition in 60 minutes 23 seconds and ranked the third among the participating teams, after Russia and Belarus. Notably, the Vietnamese competitors shot down six out of six targets in the AK74 shooting event and seven out of eight targets in the K59 shooting event.
The “Special Sprint” contest of the Army Games 2022 sees the participation of ten teams, but only nine teams’ performances are counted. The contingent of the Vietnam People’s Army consists of 12 Vietnamese cadets who are studying at Zhukovsky Air Force Academy in Voronezh city in the south of Moscow.
As scheduled, the Vietnamese team will compete in the third and last stage, titled “Safe Frontier,” on August 25.
* Also on August 22, other teams of the Vietnam People’s Army, including “Confident Reception” and “Field Kitchen,” continued their competitions.
As of the evening of August 22 (Vietnam time), the Vietnamese delegation ranked the seventh among the 34 countries participating in the Army Games 2022.
(By Army Games International Vietnam 2022)
6. VIETNAM EAGER TO ENHANCE TIES WITH CAMBODIA: DEFENSE MINISTER.
Vietnam always wants to promote solidarity, friendship, and comprehensive, sustainable and long-term cooperation with Cambodia, considering this a priority in its foreign policy, Minister of National Defense General Phan Van Giang told Cambodian guests in Hanoi on August 8.
(General Giang at the event)
Giang hosted a reception for a delegation of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) led by Lt. Gen. Hun Manet, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the RCAF and Commander of the Royal Cambodian Army.
Consolidation of the bilateral relationship holds special strategic significance to development in each country, the minister said.
He affirmed that Vietnam always treasures and remembers Cambodia’s valuable support during its past struggle for national liberation, as well as the present cause of national construction and defense.
Giang also cited statements by senior Vietnamese and Cambodian leaders, affirming the importance they attach to maintaining and enhancing the traditional friendship between the two governments, people and armies of the two countries.
In the past time, the two sides have coordinated to organize political and diplomatic events, particularly the State-level visit to Cambodia by President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and the visit to Vietnam by Deputy Prime Minister Men Sam An on the occasion of the 55th founding anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties, among others.
The General lauded cooperation outcomes between the two armies, notably border military zones, border guards, naval forces and coast guards, in maintaining social security, safety and order in border areas, COVID-19 prevention and control, and personnel training.
On the occasion, Giang asked Hun Manet to convey his regards to Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Tea Banh, and his invitation to the Cambodian official to attend the international defense expo to be hosted by Vietnam later this year.
For his part, Hun Manet suggested the two sides consider sustainable cooperation mechanisms such as border defense friendship exchanges, noting that substantial potential remains for their bilateral collaboration.
He also proposed authorized agencies of the two countries build cooperation agreements and tap their potential.
(By Vietnam Law & Legal Forum)
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