Vietnamese troops to train in Canada

Vietnamese soldiers will attend training courses in Canada under an agreement signed Tuesday by the defense ministers of both nations.

The Military Training Cooperation Program (MTCP) was signed soon after Vietnamese defense minister Ngo Xuan Lich welcomed his Canadian counterpart Harjit Singh Sajjan in Hanoi.

The two ministers exchanged views on global issues and reached agreement on future directions for bilateral military ties, including cooperation in military training, United Nations peacekeeping agreements, maritime security, defense industry, and military medicine.

The cooperation in military training is seen as an important development step in bilateral defense relations.

During his three-day (June 4-6) visit, Harjit Singh Sajjan met with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang, Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, and Lieutenant General Vo Trong Viet. He also visited a field hospital at the Vietnam Military Medical Academy and the Temple of Literature, and met with water-puppet artists.

In a sign of strengthening bilateral relations, Canada had earlier this year urged all parties in the South China Sea dispute to uphold the rights of freedom of navigation and aviation. Vietnam calls the waterway the East Sea.

In a rare move, the Senate of Canada also approved a motion condemning China’s for its “aggressive and expansive behavior” in the South China Sea. This happened at a time when Canada was seeking to open formal trade negotiations with China, currently the world’s second-biggest economy.