Hanoi (VNA)🔯 – Member of the Central Military Commission and Deputy Minister of National Defence Sen. Lieut. Gen Hoang Xuan Chien and UK Minister of State for Defence Vernon Coaker co-chaired the fifth Vietnam-UK defence policy dialogue in Hanoi on September 13.

Chien hailed the event as a strategic-level exchange mechanism, noting that defence ties are a vital component of the overall bilateral relationship, strongly backed by leaders from both countries. He highlighted the regular exchange of all-level delegations, effective cooperation mechanisms, particularly the annual defence policy dialogue, maritime security and safety, and hydrography. Notably, language training has been a spotlight of bilateral defence ties in recent years. Expressing gratitude to the UK Ministry of Defence for annual training opportunities, English-language courses, and professional capacity-building support, Chien also commended the UK's active support in the United Nations peacekeeping missions. He proposed intensifying defence cooperation suitable to the bilateral strategic partnership, effectively maintaining the mechanism of consultation, dialogue, and all-level delegation exchange, especially high-level ones, and strengthening training cooperation between military academies of the two countries. Chien further suggested the UK ministry provide specific training courses and send English language instructors to the Military Science Academy in Vietnam. In return, the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence is ready to welcome UK military personnel to learn the Vietnamese language at its Military Science Academy and the international defence officers’ course at the National Defence Academy. The dialogue also explored potential collaboration in human trafficking fight, military medicine, maritime security and safety, hydrography, defence industry, UN peacekeeping activities, and post-war recovery in Vietnam. Joint work between defence research institutes was another key area identified for future cooperation. Coaker, for his part, expressed his hope for the thriving defence ties to be further strengthened for greater benefits to both countries. Addressing global and regional issues, Chien reaffirmed Vietnam's foreign policy of multilateralisation and diversification of external ties, its defence policy of peace and self-defence, and consistent stance on not joining military alliances, not aligning with one country against another, neither allowing foreign countries to establish military bases nor using Vietnamese territory against any country, and neither using nor threatening to use force in international relations. Vietnam always upholds the rule of law and stays persistent in settling every dispute and difference through peaceful means on the basis of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and advancing negotiations on the substantive and effective Code of Conduct of in the East Sea (COC), Chien asserted./.