AKP Phnom Penh, June 04, 2025 —

On the first day of his official and friendly visit to Cambodia, H.E. Sen. Lt. Gen. Nguyen Tan Cuong, Deputy Minister of National Defence and Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA), led a high-level military delegation in bilateral talks with H.E. Gen. Vong Pisen, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF), on June 3 at the RCAF headquarters in Phnom Penh.

H.E. Gen. Vong Pisen warmly welcomed H.E. Sen. Lt. Gen. Nguyen Tan Cuong and praised his visit as a strong signal of the enduring and deepening friendship, solidarity, and defence cooperation between the two nations. He emphasised that the visit would further strengthen ties, foster mutual trust, and contribute to peace, stability, and development in both countries and the wider region.

In response, H.E. Sen. Lt. Gen. Nguyen Tan Cuong expressed his pleasure in leading the VPA delegation to Cambodia, a country he described as beautiful and rich in historical and cultural heritage. He reaffirmed the robust and growing defence ties between the two nations, highlighting ongoing cooperation in intelligence sharing, reciprocal visits at all levels, and the effective use of the hotline between the VPA General Staff and the RCAF High Command.

The Vietnamese Chief of General Staff also underlined the successful collaboration between border defence units, regional military commands, and naval forces in jointly combating cross-border crimes, responding to incidents in a timely manner, and enhancing security along both land and maritime boundaries.

H.E. Sen. Lt. Gen. Cuong extended his gratitude to the Cambodian Ministry of National Defence and the RCAF for sending troops to participate in the grand celebration of the 50th anniversary of the liberation of southern Vietnam and national reunification, calling it a significant contribution to the historic event’s success.

He also urged both sides to continue their cooperation in a principled and resolute manner, preventing any hostile forces from using either country’s territory to harm the other’s national interests. He called for timely and effective responses to arising issues, maintaining a strong spirit of solidarity.

In reply, H.E. Gen. Vong Pisen reaffirmed the long-standing friendship between Cambodia and Vietnam, which he said has been nurtured by generations of leaders. He stressed that no external force could undermine this enduring partnership, even amid global and regional uncertainty.

H.E. Gen. Vong Pisen also congratulated Vietnam on the successful celebration of its 50th reunification anniversary and thanked Vietnam for its warm reception of the Cambodian delegation, led by Senate President Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, during the event.

He noted that Cambodia remains committed to fully implementing all signed defence cooperation agreements and protocols and appreciated the positive outcomes achieved through past collaboration between the two militaries.

Looking ahead, H.E. Gen. Vong Pisen proposed continued exchanges of delegations at all levels, expanded human resource training, enhanced cooperation across military branches, timely intelligence sharing, joint disaster response operations, maritime and land patrols, coordination on border demarcation, and efforts to locate and repatriate the remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers who fell in Cambodia.

He concluded by emphasising Cambodia’s desire to continue strengthening and expanding defence ties with Vietnam, with the shared goal of building a border of peace, friendship, cooperation, and development.

By K. Rithy Reak