Vietnam-Brunei: Researching and developing new areas of defense cooperation

The talks between the leaders of the Vietnamese and Brunei defense ministries affirmed the development in defense cooperation between the two countries, while opening up many new directions for cooperation.

General Nguyen Tan Cuong, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army and Deputy Minister of National Defense , welcomed Major General Dato Paduka Seri Haji Muhammad Haszaimi Bin Bol Hassan, Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces. (Photo: Nguyen Hong)

On the morning of September 17, at the headquarters of the Ministry of National Defense, General Nguyen Tan Cuong, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army and Deputy Minister of National Defense, held talks with Major General Dato Paduka Seri Haji Muhammad Haszaimi Bin Bol Hassan, Commander of the Royal Brunei Army.

At the talks, General Nguyen Tan Cuong assessed that the visit of Major General Dato Paduka Seri Haji Muhammad Haszaimi Bin Bol Hassan, Commander of the Royal Brunei Army, to Vietnam took place in the context of the increasingly strengthened bilateral relations between Vietnam and Brunei and expressed his belief that the talks would reach a common understanding, contributing to the increasingly substantive and effective development of the cooperation between the two armies.

General Nguyen Tan Cuong, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, Deputy Minister of National Defense and Major General Dato Paduka Seri Haji Muhammad Haszaimi Bin Bol Hassan, Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces at the welcoming ceremony. (Photo: Nguyen Hong)

Discussing the world and regional situation and issues of mutual concern, General Nguyen Tan Cuong emphasized the important role of ASEAN in shaping and maintaining the regional security structure, promoting substantive cooperation among member countries, as well as between ASEAN and its partners; at the same time, he highly appreciated the Strategic Document "ADMM and ADMM+ Ready for the Future" developed by Brunei and Singapore, approved by the ADMM Conference in 2024 and the initiative "Underwater Critical Infrastructure Security" jointly proposed by Brunei, Singapore and Thailand in 2025.

General Nguyen Tan Cuong and Major General Dato Paduka Seri Haji Muhammad Haszaimi Bin Bol Hassan inspect the honor guard. (Photo: Nguyen Hong)

Regarding the situation in the East Sea, the Ministry of National Defense leaders hope that Brunei will continue to coordinate to promote ASEAN's stance of resolving all disagreements in the East Sea by peaceful means, in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea; effectively and fully implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), soon concluding negotiations and signing an effective and efficient Code of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (COC) in accordance with international law.

General Nguyen Tan Cuong introduces the Vietnamese delegation to Major General Dato Paduka Seri Haji Muhammad Haszaimi Bin Bol Hassan. (Photo: Nguyen Hong)

General Nguyen Tan Cuong also expressed his delight at the results of military and defense cooperation between the two countries in recent times, notably in areas such as delegation exchanges at all levels; consultation mechanisms between the two countries' navies and air forces; sending ships for visits, exchanges, and professional exchanges; training; consultation and mutual support at multilateral forums, especially ASEAN-led mechanisms and international events organized by each side.

The Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army thanked Brunei for sending a high-level delegation led by the Second Minister of National Defense to attend the 80th Anniversary of the Vietnam People's Army and the 2nd Vietnam International Defense Exhibition in December 2024.

The two sides expressed their delight at the results of military and defense cooperation between the two countries in recent times. (Photo: Nguyen Hong)

The two sides agreed to strengthen defense cooperation between the two countries in the coming time. (Photo: Nguyen Hong)

Regarding cooperation in the coming time, Deputy Minister Nguyen Tan Cuong suggested that the two sides continue to coordinate to effectively implement a number of contents such as maintaining the exchange of delegations at all levels, especially high-level delegations and cooperation mechanisms such as consultations between military services and the Joint Working Group on military and defense cooperation; promoting training cooperation; expanding cooperation in potential areas such as defense industry, logistics, military medicine, search and rescue, counter-terrorism, and cyber security; continuing to closely consult and support each other at multilateral mechanisms, forums and international events organized by each side.

Delegations from the two countries took a group photo. (Photo: Nguyen Hong)

Major General Dato Paduka Seri Haji Muhammad Haszaimi Bin Bol Hassan, Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces, thanked General Nguyen Tan Cuong for his warm welcome to the delegation and believed that this visit to Vietnam will achieve good results.

Recalling the meeting with General Nguyen Tan Cuong at the ASEAN Defense Chiefs Conference in early September, he said the two sides discussed many issues regarding the defense relations between the two countries.

General Nguyen Tan Cuong and Major General Dato Paduka Seri Haji Muhammad Haszaimi Bin Bol Hassan held talks. (Photo: Nguyen Hong)

Major General Dato Paduka Seri Haji Muhammad Haszaimi Bin Bol Hassan also recalled his visit to Vietnam and attendance at the Vietnam International Defense Exhibition 2022 and said he was extremely impressed by Vietnam's performances at the exhibition; at the same time, he congratulated Vietnam on National Day, thereby clearly demonstrating Vietnam's position in the international arena.

Expressing agreement with the contents General Nguyen Tan Cuong mentioned in the talks, the Commander of the Royal Brunei Army said that the two sides can research and develop new areas of cooperation where both sides have potential and need, contributing to further promoting the cooperative relationship between the two countries in the coming time.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/viet-nam-brunei-nghien-cuu-phat-trien-them-cac-linh-vuc-hop-tac-quoc-phong-moi-327934.html