The 70 year-history of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) has been written
with glorious victories, inspiring national liberation movements of
suppressed nations around the world in the past as well as significantly
contributing to the current national defence and construction, said
Ambassador to France Nguyen Ngoc Son.

In the
context of increasingly complicated developments in many regions in the
world, the VPA has responsibly and actively participated in
international operations, contributing to maintaining the world peace,
the diplomat said at a ceremony in Paris on December 18 to mark the
army’s 70 th anniversary.

He noted that currently,
the Vietnamese army has set up ties with more than 80 countries, and
sent military attachés to 36 countries. Meanwhile, 44 countries,
including five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council
(UNSC), have had their military attachés based in their embassies in
Vietnam .

Vietnam is proud of contributing
its voice to the settlement of disputes in the world, especially as a
non-permanent member of the UNSC during the 2008-09 tenure, he stated.

Since May this year, Vietnam has increased its
involvement in activities to maintain peace and security in the world by
opening the Vietnam Peacekeeping Centre and for the first time sending
its military officers to UN peacekeeping operations in Sudan , he
added.

Highlighting the fruitful development of
bilateral relations, the ambassador said the fifth meeting of the
France-Vietnam Defence Joint Committee, slated for 2015, will be a
chance for both sides to consult each other on bilateral and
multilateral strategies.

The same day, the Military
Attaché Office at the Vietnam Embassy in Japan also hosted a
ceremony to mark the VPA’s 70 th anniversary, which saw the presence of
Japanese Parliamentary Vice Minister of Defence Akira Sato and former
Japan-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group Tsutomu Takebe, among
200 guests.

Addressing the event, Ambassador Doan
Xuan Hung recalled the VPA’s 70-year history, saying that under the
leadership of President Ho Chi Minh, the 34-strong army during the first
days has become an elite force of the Vietnamese Party and people,
creating historical glorious victories such as the Dien Bien Phu triumph
in 1954 and the success of the Ho Chi Minh campaign in 1975.

Meanwhile, Akira Sato said that Vietnam and Japan have enjoyed
fine defence cooperation with regular meetings of senior leaders and
exchanges of armed forces. He expressed wish that the VPA will develop
more strongly in the future, making more contributions to the region’s
peace and stability.

Also on December 18, a similar
ceremony was held in Indonesia’s capital city of Jakarta during which
Ambassador Nguyen Xuan Thuy affirmed Vietnam’s external defence policy
of not joining any military alliance or linking with any other country
against a third country, and not allowing any country to place its
military base in Vietnam’s territory.

He noted that
since Vietnam and Indonesia lifted up their ties to a strategic
partnership in June 2013, bilateral cooperation, especially in defence,
has been strengthened, benefiting both peoples as well as contributing
to peace, stability and prosperity in the region and the world.

The Vietnamese Government and military highly value Indonesia ’s
cooperation and assistance, he said, adding that the two armies’ mutual
support will help tighten the traditional friendship between the two
peoples.-VNA