(VOVworld) – Many countries have voiced their desire to bolster defense cooperation with Vietnam during bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore from May 30 to June 1, Defense Minister General Phung Quang Thanh said. Thanh held separate meetings with his counterparts from New Zealand, Singapore, the US, France, Japan, and Australia.

Defence Minister General Phung Quang Thanh meets French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian (Photo: vov.vn)

Deputy Defense Minister Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh also held separate working sessions with Russian counterpart Anatoly Antonov, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Wang Guanzhong, and Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey.

Minister Thanh said that during the meetings, countries wished to be briefed on the current East Sea situation and Vietnamese Defense Ministry leaders shared information in an objective and constructive manner. Issues such as the exchange of delegations, information sharing, and the creation of hotlines were also discussed. Thanh added that several countries offered to share experience and resources with Vietnam in peacekeeping missions while applauding Vietnam’s appointment of officers to the UN peacekeeping force in South Sudan.

Japan and the US said they are ready to help Vietnam’s marine police force improve its sea management capacity. Thanh said many countries praised Vietnam’s Army for its proactive international integration and for showing a sense of responsibility in bilateral and multilateral cooperation under the mechanisms of the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) and the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+).