(VOVworld) - Deputy Defense Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh said the fourth Vietnam-China strategic defense dialogue was an important milestone as the two countries mark 10 years of signing an agreement on defense cooperation.

Deputy Defense Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh and Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Qi Jianguo before the dialogue (Source: VNA)

In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency, Deputy Minister Vinh, who led the Vietnamese delegation to the event, said that this is an occasion for both sides to review their cooperation over the past decade. The Deputy Minister said the two sides officially inaugurated a hotline directly connecting the two defense ministries. They also discussed the building of strategic trust based on ensuring peace at border areas and at sea and specific points of cooperation. The defense cooperation has become an important part in the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic partnership, Vinh said, adding that Vietnam and China agreed to outline an orientation for further cooperation in the 2013-2016 period and to 2020 with more plentiful, specific and practical contents. China said it acknowledged and will seriously consider Vietnam’s proposal to not use or threaten to use force in the East Sea.