Vietnam, Cambodia sign defence cooperation plan for 2027

Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence Gen. Phan Van Giang hosted an official welcome ceremony for his Cambodian counterpart, General Tea Seiha, in Hanoi on October 13.

In accordance with this year's cooperation plan between the two defence ministries, Tea Seiha is leading a delegation on an official visit to Vietnam from October 12-15 to attend the annual meeting of the three defence ministers and witness a joint exercise by the armed forces of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

At the talks following the ceremony, Giang noted that since the beginning of 2026, senior leaders of the two countries have made visits and held meetings to provide orientations for bilateral cooperation, reaffirming the priority attached to Vietnam-Cambodia relations. The two sides have also promoted cooperation in defence and security, trade, investment, infrastructure connectivity, education and training, people-to-people exchanges, and upheld complementary strengths of their economies.

He affirmed that alongside the continuous development of bilateral ties, defence cooperation between Vietnam and Cambodia has achieved comprehensive results and become increasingly substantive, serving as one of the important pillars of relations between the two countries.

The two defence ministries successfully carried out their 2026 cooperation plan, focusing on high-level delegation exchanges, personnel training, border management and protection, education and communication, the search for and repatriation of fallen soldiers' remains, defence industry, logistics, and mutual coordination and support at multilateral forums.

Giang called on agencies and units of the two defence ministries to implement agreed cooperation programmes, focusing on political and ideological education to strengthen political trust, and cooperation between military services and arms. The two sides should step up coordination in border management and protection to build a Vietnam-Cambodia border of peace, cooperation and development, he said.

Giang suggested the two sides join hands to effectively implement a memorandum of understanding between the two governments on protecting and promoting the Vietnam-Cambodia friendship monuments in Cambodia, and focus on cooperation in human resources development, defence industry, logistics, military supplies, military-economic affairs, consultation and mutual support at multilateral forums and tripartite cooperation among the armies of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

​Emphasising the longstanding traditional friendship between Cambodia and Vietnam, Tea Seiha expressed his pleasure at the new progress in the bilateral relations. He said the visit provided an opportunity to deepen bilateral defence cooperation in particular and strengthen the good-neighbourliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation and long-term sustainability between the two nations in general.

He spoke highly of the effective cooperation between the two defence ministries in recent years and proposed the two sides continue implementing delegation exchanges, training, and the management of land and maritime borders, with the aim of consolidating defence cooperation as an important pillar of the bilateral relations.

Vietnam and Cambodia will mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2027. Giang proposed that agencies from both sides coordinate plans for anniversary activities organised by the two defence ministries and armed forces, ensuring broad public awareness of the solidarity and friendship between the two countries.

At the end of the talks, Giang and Tea Seiha signed the Vietnam-Cambodia defence cooperation plan for 2027./.

VNA