China， Vietnam Pledge to Maintain Border Stability

The fifth high-level border meeting between the Chinese and Vietnamese militaries commenced in south Chinas Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on November 19， with the two sides pledging to maintain stability in border areas.

Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe and Vietnamese Defense Minister Ngo Xuan Lich attended the meeting in the county of Longzhou.

The China-Vietnam comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation has maintained sound and steady development momentum in recent years， noted Wei. The Chinese side is ready to work with the Vietnamese side to deepen border and defense cooperation， enrich border defense exchanges and safeguard stability and prosperity in border areas.

Ngo said such border defense friendly exchange has injected strong impetus into the development of relations between the two countries and the two militaries， adding that Vietnam is willing to work with China to make new contributions to peace and stability in border areas and the sustainable development of the two countries.

According to the agenda of the meeting， a China-Vietnam border area disaster relief joint drill was held in the vicinity of Phuc Hoa District of Cao Bang Province in the northeast region of Vietnam on November 20.

Wei Fenghe and Ngo Xuan Lich inspected the joint drill and praised the efforts of the two militaries to deepen cooperation and deal with non-traditional security challenges.