The meeting between the Prime Ministers of Vietnam and Singapore helps the two sides understand each other better.
On the afternoon of June 22, on the occasion of attending the 34th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok, Thailand, at the request of Singapore, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc received Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
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| Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc received Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the request of the Singaporean side. Photo: VGP/Quang Hieu |
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc criticized Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's May 31, 2019 statement regarding Vietnam and Cambodia in the 1979-1980 period.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc affirmed that history has proven that Singapore's comments about Vietnam's role at that time were incorrect and that re-raising these prejudices deeply hurt Vietnam and Cambodia, especially the relatives of hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers who sacrificed their blood and bones to bring peace, help liberate the Cambodian people from the brutal Khmer Rouge regime and the difficult and arduous process of nation building later on.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong explained that Singapore had no intention of hurting Vietnam, but only recalled a sad chapter in Indochina's history to emphasize that today's peace, stability and prosperity do not come naturally, and the current context requires ASEAN to continue to maintain solidarity, cohesion and strengthen cooperation.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also emphasized that Singapore highly values the friendship and trust with Vietnam, and highly appreciates Vietnam's role and important contributions to maintaining peace, security, stability and development in the region as well as in the process of building a strong, united and self-reliant ASEAN Community.
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| The two Prime Ministers appreciated the meeting as helping the two sides understand each other better. Photo: VGP/Quang Hieu |
The two Prime Ministers appreciated the meeting, which helped the two sides understand each other better and agreed on a spirit of looking to the future, focusing on strongly promoting the Vietnam - Singapore Strategic Partnership in all fields.
With Vietnam assuming the role of ASEAN Chair in 2020 and a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2020-2021 term, the two sides agreed to further strengthen exchanges, consultations and coordination of stances on regional and international issues of mutual concern, especially maintaining solidarity, consensus and ASEAN's viewpoints for peace, stability and development in the region and the world.
Regarding the East Sea issue, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Singaporean Prime Minister agreed to continue strengthening maritime cooperation, coordinate to promote the full implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and soon reach a substantive and effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) that ensures the interests of the international community.
