Ottawa (VNA) – Vietnamese Defence Minister General Ngo Xuan Lichand his Canadian counterpart Harjit Singh Sajjan have expressed their belief thatthe bilateral defence ties will progress in the time ahead, helping enrich theVietnam-Canada comprehensive partnership.

The two ministers shared the views during their talks in Ottawa onMay 6 as part of the official visit to Canada from May 4-12 by General Lich,Politburo member and Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission.

Minister Harjit spoke highly of General Lich’s visit, the firstof its kind by a Vietnamese Defence Minister since the two countries set updiplomatic ties in 1973.

Lich voiced his belief thatthe visit will be a success, significantly contributing to promoting thecomprehensive partnership.

The two sides brought up regionaland international issues of shared concern.

Harjit said Canada willcooperate with relevant countries to contribute to peace, stability and developmentin Asia-Pacific.

Regarding territorial watersovereignty disputes, including those in the East Sea, the two ministersstressed that these disputes must be addressed by peaceful means and on thebasis of international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention onthe Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties inthe East Sea (DOC), soon reaching a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC), thuscontributing to regional peace, stability and development.

They noted with pleasure thedevelopment of the bilateral defence ties over the past time, especially intraining and participation in UN peacekeeping operations.

Lich took the occasion tothank the Canadian side for its scholarships in English and peacekeeping forVietnamese officers under the Military Training Cooperation Programme.

Host and guest agreed toenhance collaboration in dialogues, consultations, personnel training,peacekeeping operations, defence industry, cyber security, search and rescueoperations, and maritime security.

Vietnam welcomes Canada’snaval ships to pay friendly visits to the country and engage in jointactivities during the visits like search and rescue operations and the practiceof the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES).

The ministers agreed to pushup cooperation possibility in law enforcement between coast guards of the twocountries.

Lich suggested the Canadian Departmentof National Defence urge the Canadian Government to assist Vietnam in thesettlement of post-war consequences, including bomb and mine clearance anddioxin detoxification.

In multilateral defencecooperation, Lich lauded Canada’s role and position in the region and the worldas well as the country’s policy towards ASEAN.

Vietnam will assume the ASEANChairmanship and host the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+ ) in2020, he said, calling for Canada’s support in this regard.

Vietnam backs Canada tobecome a responsible partner in defence in ASEAN and hopes that the countrywill make more contributions to peace, friendship and cooperation in the regionand the world at large, Lich said.

At the end of their talks,the ministers signed a memorandum of understanding on defence cooperation betweenthe Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence and the Canadian Department ofNational Defence.

While in Canada, Lich metwith David Morrison, Foreign and Defence Policy Advisor to the Canadian PrimeMinister, who applauded Vietnam’s role and position in the region and hoped forstronger cooperation with the Southeast Asian nation in all spheres, coveringnational defence. Lich said Vietnam always wishes to enhance the relations withCanada, and highly values the country’s viewpoints on regional issues and lawobservance, for peace and development in the region and the world as well.-VNA