Vietnamese Minister of National Defense General Phan Van Giang and Chinese Defense Minister Senior Lieutenant General Dong Jun, co-chaired the exchange events taking place in Vietnam’s Lang Son province and China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. A ceremony to paint milestone 1116 marked the start of the activities.

After a welcome ceremony on Wednesday morning at the Huu Nghi International Border Gate, a high-level delegation from the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense traveled to Guangxi province, China, where they visited the Youyi Guan tourism area and the Border Guard Company at Youyi Guan Border Gate and observed  an online briefing by naval patrol units of both countries prior to their joint patrol. They also visited the smart border gate at Youyi Guan and Primary School No. 4 in Pingxiang City, China, and toured the model village in Ningming county.

Defense Ministers of the two countries visited the smart border gate at  Youyi Guan. (Photo: VOV)

At Beihai Military Port in Guangxi province, China, after reporting to the National Defense Ministers of both countries, the Vietnam People’s Navy and the People’s Liberation Army Navy of China began a joint patrol mission in the Gulf of Tonkin. This is the first time the navies of Vietnam and China have participated in the Border Defense Friendship Exchange program.

In addition to joint patrol duties in the Gulf of Tonkin, the two naval task forces will also conduct joint search and rescue and signal light communication exercises.

This year’s program is taking place right after Chinese General Secretary and President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Vietnam and coincides with the 75th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties. It’s a testament to the determination of the Parties, States and peoples of both countries to jointly nurture their traditional friendship and deepen the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between Vietnam and China.