Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh passed away.

Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh, former Deputy Minister of National Defense, passed away on September 14 after a long illness, at the age of 66.

Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh is from Thua Thien Hue, son of General Nguyen Chi Thanh, late director of the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People's Army.

He is an Associate Professor, Doctor of International Relations; a member of the 11th and 12th Party Central Committee. He grew up in the military intelligence sector, serving as Deputy Director General and then Director General of the Defense Intelligence Department (General Department II), Ministry of National Defense.

From 2009, he served as Deputy Minister of Defense until he left this position in June 2021 and retired 6 months later.

Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh. Photo: Giang Huy

During his 12 years as Deputy Minister of Defense, Mr. Vinh made many contributions to promoting the development of Vietnam's defense diplomacy, such as sending forces to participate in United Nations peacekeeping operations; organizing a series of ASEAN defense and military conferences...

Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh often speaks out on thorny issues. He has repeatedly affirmed that major countries must respect ASEAN's rules of the game and that no country can force Vietnam to choose sides .

"Someone asked me , 'Are you afraid that big countries will force you to choose sides?' I said , 'We choose ourselves. No one and no country can force Vietnam to choose sides because we are independent, self-reliant, and we gain and maintain independence by our own strength, '" Mr. Vinh told VnExpress in September 2020.

In June 2021, he affirmed, "No one in this country has any thoughts of abandoning or compromising on sovereignty, especially the leaders. If we lose the East Sea, the Vietnamese army and leaders will be guilty of the country, and will not be at peace with the people. In the army, from top to bottom, everyone considers the East Sea vital. Territorial sovereignty is something we absolutely will never let go of."

In May, Mr. Nguyen Chi Vinh was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays and Neck Ribbon by the Japanese government, honoring his contributions to the defense cooperation between the two countries.

Vnexpress.net