A high-ranking delegation of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) visited the Philippines on Monday, Nov. 7, to further enhance the military cooperation between the two countries.
Lt. Gen. Bartolome Vicente Bacarro, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), met the foreign delegation led by Senior Lt. Gen. Nguyen Tan Cuong, Chief of General Staff of Vietnam People’s Army and Vice Minister of National Defense of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, at the AFP General Headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on Monday, Nov. 7.
“The meeting between the two military leaders emphasized the importance of defense cooperation in managing and promoting regional peace and stability,” Col. Jorry Baclor, chief of AFP public affairs office, said on Tuesday, Nov. 8.
Cuong also visited the Department of National Defense (DND) Headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo where he was met by Defense Undersecretary Franco Nemesio Gacal, and the Philippine Navy (PN) Headquarters in Manila where he was welcomed by Commodore Jose Ma Ambrosio Ezpleta, PN Chief of Naval Staff.
According to the website of Hanoi-based People’s Army Newspaper (Bao Quan doi nhan dan), Cuong expressed sympathy to Gacal and the rest of the Filipinos after the massive destruction brought by the recent storm “Paeng.”
The Army newspaper also said that Cuong’s visit to the Philippines was significant “to enhance political trust, mutual understanding, and promote further cooperation between the two militaries.”
Meanwhile, Commander Benjo Negranza, PN spokesperson, said that Cuong reinforced Vietnam’s military cooperation with the PN, and talked to Ezpleta about “issues concerning Philippine-Vietnam relations” where both officials emphasized the importance of maintaining open lines of communication.
“This opportunity has helped strengthen the growing bilateral cooperation between the two nations’ armed forces,” Negranza said.
The Philippines and Vietnam has an active memorandum of understanding (MOU) on defense cooperation which was signed in 2010 and a 1999 Aide Memoire between its navies which enables military student exchanges, navy-to-navy interaction, and intelligence exchange between the two armed forces.