By Carl Thayer
Chinese and Vietnamese officials will meet this weekend with maritime security on the agenda.
On October 15 at 20:55 GMT the Vietnam People’s Army Online newspaper, Quan Doi Nhan Dan, released the dramatic news that General Chang Wanquan, China’s Minister of Defense, had invited his Vietnamese counterpart, General Phung Quang Thanh, to visit Beijing from October 16-18.
This news report was placed unobtrusively among other more mundane reports of activities concerning the Vietnam People’s Army. Nevertheless, the importance of this visit cannot be overstated.
General Thanh’s high-powered delegation comprises eleven senior generals and one admiral including Lt. Gen. Bế Xuân Trường, deputy chief of staff; Lt. Gen. Lương Cường, deputy director of the General Political Department; Lt. Gen. Dương Đức Hòa, commander of Military Region 2; Lt. Gen. Phương Minh Hòa, commander of the Air Defense Air Force; Lt. Gen. Võ Trọng Việt, commander of the Border Guard; Lt. Gen. Phạm Hồng Hương, commander of Military Region 3; Admiral Phạm Hoài Nam, deputy commander and deputy chief of staff of the Navy Command; Lt. Gen. Phan Văn Tường, deputy commander Military Region 1; Maj. Gen. Vũ Văn Hiển, director of the Office of the Ministry of National Defense; Maj. Gen. Vũ Anh Văn, commander Communications and Information; Maj. Gen. Vũ Chiến Thắng, director of the External Relations Department of the Ministry of National Defense; and Maj. Gen. Ngô Quang Liên, deputy Minister of National Defense.
According to the report in Quan Doi Nhan Dan, the purpose of the visit was “to strengthen friendly relations and comprehensive cooperation between the two armed forces and discuss measures to promote bilateral defense relations to maintain an environment of peace, stability, friendship and cooperation between the peoples and armies of the two countries.”
Read the full story at The Diplomat