Lieutenant General Phan Van Giang, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army and Deputy Minister of National Defense (Photo: VNA)

The delegation to Manila is led by Lieutenant General Phan Van Giang, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army and Deputy Minister of National Defense. Attending such meetings is part of Vietnam’s efforts to affirm its position in the region and wider world and to reiterate the Party and State’s external policy of multilateralisation, and diversification, as well as international integration. The country also wants to promote joint efforts to maintain peace, stability and development to realise targets of the ASEAN Political-Security Community, and to support the host Philippines in the role of Chair of ASEAN this year.