China offers closer military cooperation with Vietnam

China is willing to work with Vietnam to strengthen high-level communication and cooperation between their militaries, Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu said on Tuesday as he met his Vietnamese counterpart. In their meeting in Beijing, Li said the international situation was chaotic and intertwined, and the security of the Asia-Pacific region was facing challenges, the Chinese defence ministry said in a statement. “China and Vietnam should continue to work hand in hand and closely unite in the new journey of socialism, safeguard the common strategic interests of the two countries, and make positive contributions to regional peace and stability,” Li said in the talks with Vietnam’s defence minister, Phan Van Giang. Li told Phan that relations between their militaries had developed well, adding that China’s military was willing to push relations to a new level. Their meeting came after the USS Ronald Reagan made a stop in the Vietnamese port of Danang on Sunday – the third by a U.S. aircraft carrier since the end of the Vietnam War. The U.S. navy visit comes amid tension between China and the United States in the South China Sea, most of which China claims, as the two powers jostle for influence in the energy-rich region. In the past few weeks, Li has met South Africa’s defence force commander and Thailand’s army chief but he has not held talks with U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.