Vietnamese Defence Minister Phan Van Giang (L) and his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe during their meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on November 22. (Photo: VOV reporter in Cambodia)

As soon as he arrived in Siem Reap, Minister Giang met with General Tea Banh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense of Cambodia. The two ministers agreed that their defense ministries pay attention to and closely coordinate with the functional agencies to successfully organize defense cooperation activities, making practical contributions to the success of the "Vietnam-Cambodia, Cambodia-Vietnam Friendship Year 2022", deepening the relationship between the two countries and the two armies.

During a meeting on Tuesday with Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe, both agreed to promote defense cooperation to realize agreements reached by the two countries’ top leaders. The two sides frankly exchanged views and agreed to solve pending issues from a strategic height, for the common interests of the two countries, by peaceful means, and on the basis of international law.

General Giang reaffirmed Vietnam’s policy of settling issues at sea by peaceful means, in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). He stressed the need to bring into full play negotiation mechanisms at sea, promote delimitation and discussion on development cooperation, and fully and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), while striving to develop a substantive and effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) in accordance with international law.