Vietnam, China armies agree to boost friendship
HANOI - The armies of communist neighbors
Vietnam and China, which fought a bloody border war 21 years ago, have agreed
to work to boost their friendship, the official Vietnam News Agency (VNA) said.
In a report late on Monday, the agency said the consensus was reached by
respective chiefs of staff - Vietnam's Deputy Defense Minister Lieutenant-General
Le Van Dung and Senior Lieutenant-General Fu Quanyou - during October
22-29 talks in Beijing.
"They were glad to see that Vietnam's renovation process and China's open-door
reforms have led the way to great achievements in recent years, and that the
friendship and cooperation between the two countries' peoples and armies have
also been consolidated and developed," VNA said.
It said Zhang welcomed the Vietnamese visit, saying he hoped it would contribute
to strengthening solidarity and friendship between the two armies and peoples,
and to maintaining peace and stability in the region and the world.
The visit of the Vietnamese military delegation followed a trip to Beijing last month
by Vietnamese Premier Phan Van Khai.
Vietnam has traditionally been wary of its northern neighbor China.
Their two armies went to war in 1979 after Chinese forces invaded to punish
Vietnam for driving the Beijing-backed Khmer Rouge from power in Cambodia.
Beijing and Hanoi normalized diplomatic relations in 1991, but still have rival
territorial claims.
During Khai's visit to China, Beijing said the two countries had vowed to sort out
a dispute over the Tonkin Gulf by the end of the year. They signed a land border
agreement last year covering about 70 disputed areas.
Reuters - October 31, 2000.
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