Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnamese People’s Army, Lt.
Gen. Vo Van Tuan received in Hanoi on July 1 deputy commander of the US
Army, Pacific, Gari Her.
Major General Gari Her
congratulated Vietnam on its establishment of a peace-keeping centre and
dispatch of officials to join the UN peace-keeping mission.
He said he hopes the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence will
approve the proposals made during the third Vietnam-US army
consultation.
The officer also expressed his deep concern
over China’s illegal and unilateral placement of its oil rig Haiyang
Shiyou-981 in Vietnam’s waters, and said that the US State Secretary has
officially asked China to withdraw its drilling rig from Vietnam’s
exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.
The US
continues keeping a close watch and supporting Vietnam to struggle
against China’s wrongful acts by peaceful means and in line with
international law, he said.
For his part, the Vietnamese
officer thanked the US for its support in protesting China’s illegal
acts in the East Sea, especially its support at international forums,
including the recent Shangri La Dialogue in Singapore.
He
suggested both sides map out long-term cooperation plans and said he
hopes the US will share experience in building strong army units to cope
with natural calamities and diseases.-VNA