Philippine Armed Forces Chief of Staff visits Vietnam, values bilateral defense cooperation
WVR - From June 3-6, General Romeo Brawner Junior, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, made an official visit to Vietnam to promote defense cooperation between the two countries.
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| On the afternoon of June 3, at the Ministry of National Defense headquarters, General Nguyen Tan Cuong hosted a welcoming ceremony for General Romeo Brawner Junior and his delegation members. (Photo: Nguyen Hong) |
At the invitation of General Nguyen Tan Cuong, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army and Deputy Minister of National Defense, a high-ranking delegation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines led by General Romeo Brawner Junior, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, made an official visit to Vietnam from June 3-6.
On the afternoon of June 3, at the Ministry of National Defense headquarters, General Nguyen Tan Cuong hosted a welcoming ceremony for General Romeo Brawner Junior and his delegation members. Following the ceremony, the two sides held talks.
During the talks, General Nguyen Tan Cuong emphasized that the visit of General Romeo Brawner Junior takes place as the two countries have recently upgraded their relationship to an Enhanced Strategic Partnership, and the defense ministers of both countries have just signed a Memorandum of Understanding on defense cooperation. This demonstrates the active and proactive approach of the two countries' militaries in implementing the shared understanding of the high-level leaders of both countries on military and defense cooperation, and it is a practical celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the Philippines (July 12, 1976 - July 12, 2026).
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| The Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army highly appreciates the results of military and defense cooperation between the two countries in recent times. (Photo: Nguyen Hong) |
Expressing joy at witnessing the good and increasingly deep cooperation between the two countries in recent times across various fields such as political-diplomatic; defense, security; economic-trade; people-to-people exchanges; and mutual support at multilateral forums, General Nguyen Tan Cuong congratulated the Philippines on successfully organizing many important conferences as ASEAN Chair 2026.
Vietnam highly appreciates the contributions of the Philippines in promoting ASEAN's central role and solidarity; effectively co-chairing the ADMM Expert Group on Maritime Security for the 2024-2027 cycle; and supports and believes that the Philippines will fulfill its significant responsibilities.
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| General Nguyen Tan Cuong respectfully invites the Philippine Ministry of National Defense to continue sending officers to Vietnam to participate in Vietnamese language training courses and International Defense Officer courses. (Photo: Nguyen Hong) |
The Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army highly appreciates the results of military and defense cooperation between the two countries in recent times, notably the exchange of delegations, high-level and various level contacts being valued; annual cooperation mechanisms being effectively maintained; cooperation between military branches being promoted; and training cooperation, exchanges between strategic research agencies, defense industry, logistics, military medicine, and rescue operations achieving substantial results. Additionally, both sides closely coordinate and support each other at ASEAN-led multilateral forums and international events organized by each side...
Regarding future cooperation directions, both sides agreed to continue strengthening comprehensive, practical, and trustworthy cooperation; effectively implementing the Memorandum of Understanding on defense cooperation between the two Ministries of National Defense recently signed.
The focus areas include delegation exchanges, high-level and various level meetings and contacts; effectively maintaining bilateral cooperation mechanisms, especially the Defense Policy Dialogue, military and branch consultations; cooperation and exchanges between military branches; young officer exchanges, professional experience sharing; timely coordination to effectively handle incidents at sea; human resource training cooperation; defense industry; logistics; military medicine; rescue operations; cybersecurity cooperation; United Nations peacekeeping; cooperation between strategic research agencies; actively consulting and supporting each other to maintain ASEAN's common stance on regional and international security issues.
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| Both sides agreed to continue enhancing comprehensive, practical, and trustworthy cooperation; effectively implementing the Memorandum of Understanding on defense cooperation between the two Ministries of National Defense recently signed. (Photo: Nguyen Hong) |
General Nguyen Tan Cuong respectfully invites the Philippine Ministry of National Defense to continue sending officers to Vietnam to participate in Vietnamese language training courses and International Defense Officer courses; welcomes academy and school delegations to visit and study in each country; and also hopes that the Armed Forces of the Philippines will support English language training for Vietnamese People's Army officers.
During the talks, the two sides also exchanged views on regional and international developments and issues of mutual concern. The Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army affirmed that Vietnam remains committed to a foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralization, and diversification of external relations, while being a friend, a reliable partner, and a responsible member of the international community, and consistently implementing the “Four No’s” defense policy.
Regarding the East Sea issue, General Nguyen Tan Cuong emphasized that Vietnam's stance is to resolve all disagreements in the East Sea by peaceful means, in accordance with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982; effectively and fully implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and promptly conclude negotiations and sign an substantive and effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) in accordance with international law.
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| General Romeo Brawner Junior affirms the value and appreciation of defense cooperation with Vietnam. (Photo: Nguyen Hong) |
On this occasion, General Nguyen Tan Cuong respectfully invites General Romeo Brawner Junior and the high-ranking delegation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to attend the 3rd Vietnam International Defense Expo scheduled to take place in December 2026 in Hanoi, welcomes Philippine defense industry enterprises to participate in displaying products at the exhibition, contributing to the overall success of the event.
General Romeo Brawner Junior expressed his pleasure at officially visiting Vietnam; emphasized that the visit to Vietnam is a continuation of the positive results of the recent State visit to the Philippines by General Secretary, President To Lam, as well as the ASEAN military-defense conferences in 2026 hosted by the Philippines.
General Romeo Brawner Junior affirmed the value and appreciation of defense cooperation with Vietnam; emphasized the commitment to closely coordinate efforts to promote defense cooperation with Vietnam, contributing to ensuring security and prosperity in the region.
