China’s defence chief offers to boost military ties with Vietnam, ‘unite closely’
- Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu tells visiting Vietnamese counterpart their military relations are developing well
- Hanoi, which is seeking stronger US security ties, has clashed with Beijing over rival claims in the South China Sea
China is willing to build closer military ties with Vietnam to “safeguard common strategic interests”, Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu said during a meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart in Beijing on Tuesday.
Without mentioning the long-running maritime disputes, Li said China-Vietnam military relations, which were an important component of bilateral relations, had enjoyed “sound momentum of development”.
“At present, the international situation is intertwined with changes and turmoil, and the Asia-Pacific region still faces some security challenges,” Li said, according to a ministry statement.
China and Vietnam should continue to “unite closely”, safeguard the common strategic interests of the two countries, and make positive contributions to regional peace and stability, he added.
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Li said a meeting last year between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Vietnamese Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong – the first foreign leader to visit China since its party congress – reflected the “special friendship” between the two countries.
