Global Courant
BEIJING – China is ready to work with Vietnam to strengthen high-level communication and cooperation between their militaries, Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu said during a meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart on Tuesday.
During their meeting in Beijing, General Li said the international situation was chaotic and intertwined and the security of the Asia-Pacific region faced challenges, China’s defense ministry said in a statement.
“China and Vietnam should continue to work hand in hand and unite closely on the new journey of socialism, protect the common strategic interests of the two countries and make positive contributions to regional peace and stability,” Mr. Li said in the talks with Vietnam’s Defense Minister Phan Van Giang.
Mr. Li told General Giang that relations between their armies had developed well, adding that the Chinese military was ready to take relations to a new level.
Their meeting came after the USS Ronald Reagan made a stop in the Vietnamese port city of Danang on Sunday — the third by a US aircraft carrier since the end of the Vietnam War.
The visit by the US Navy comes amid tensions between China and the United States in the South China Sea, most of which is claimed by China as the two powers vie for influence in the energy-rich region.
In recent weeks, Mr. Li has met with the commander of the South African defense force and the army chief of Thailand, but has not held talks with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Both Mr. Li and Mr. Austin attended a security summit in Singapore in early June, but Mr. Li declined the offer of a meeting.
Mr Li, who was appointed defense minister in March, is subject to US sanctions over his role in a 2017 arms purchase from Russia’s largest arms exporter. China has said it wants to drop sanctions to facilitate discussions.
As tensions simmer in the South China Sea, where several countries have overlapping territorial claims and also conduct military exercises in its waters, any thaw in Sino-US military relations is being closely watched.
Beijing cut three major avenues of military communication with the US in August 2022 in an angry response to a visit by then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to self-governing Taiwan, which China considers a breakaway province awaiting reunification. REUTERS
