“Following the path of peaceful development is a common desire of humanity, despite the fact that the world now faces numerous traditional and non-traditional security challenges,” Van Giang said during the plenary session of the 19th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
The website of the Voice of Vietnam radio station highlighted the commitment “to protecting peace together with other countries” among its headlines, and stressed the aspiration expressed by the Defense Minister that all nations and peoples of the world enjoy peace, cooperation and equitable development.
“Vietnam will not join any military alliance, nor will it partner with one country to fight another. It also does not allow foreign nations to set up military bases or use its territory to the detriment of others,” Van Giang said, stressing that Vietnam wishes to be a friend and reliable partner to all.
The VNA news agency, for its part, highlighted Vietnam’s standpoint of building and strengthening national defense capacity to safeguard its homeland, protect peace and ensure the well-being of the people.
It noted that, according to the minister, strengthening defensive capacity without transparency and just cause can easily generate suspicion and result in an arms race, which harms trust between countries and increases strategic competition.
“This situation will inevitably consume national resources that would be better spent on fostering socioeconomic development and addressing non-traditional security threats to bring happiness and prosperity to the people.”
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