Vietnam hosts Pacific Army Management Conference for the first time

This morning, August 20, in Hanoi , the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army and the US Pacific Army Command co-organized the 42nd Pacific Army Management Seminar (PAMS 42), with the theme "Cooperation between armies of countries in the Indian Ocean and Asia-Pacific regions in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief".

The conference was attended by army representatives from 27 countries such as the UK, India, Australia, Japan, France, China, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam...

Opening the conference, Senior Lieutenant General Phan Van Giang, Deputy Minister of National Defense and Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, sent his condolences to the relatives and families of the victims of the recent dam collapse in Laos, earthquake in Indonesia, and floods in Japan, and emphasized that the above incidents and disasters showed that the topic of PAMS 42 is very topical and practical.

In reality, the Indian Ocean and Asia- Pacific regions often face many types of natural disasters such as storms, floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and even tsunamis, while climate change makes natural disasters more frequent and more devastating,... Senior Lieutenant General Phan Van Giang said that major disasters such as Typhoon Naris in Myanmar and Haiyan in the Philippines show that the efforts of each country are sometimes too small in the face of the terrible devastation of nature, and cooperation between countries in and outside the region is necessary.

“When a natural disaster occurs, response must be deployed immediately and that is the strength of the military, but to restore normal life, all resources need to be mobilized and coordinated appropriately. Therefore, the workshop is a valuable opportunity to exchange experiences not only among military forces, but also between military forces and other forces performing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions,” said Senior Lieutenant General Phan Van Giang.

Senior Lieutenant General Phan Van Giang also expressed his belief that many valuable lessons, experiences, and creative ideas will be presented at the conference, aiming at the common goal of improving operational efficiency, so that the army can truly be a trusted address for the people.

Senior Lieutenant General Phan Van Giang also hopes that through this humanitarian activity, the military forces of the countries will trust each other more, creating a premise for other cooperation for a peaceful, stable and developed region.

Sharing experiences in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief

Immediately after the opening ceremony, Senior Lieutenant General Pham Hong Huong, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, and General Robert B. Brown, Commander of the US Army Pacific Command, co-chaired a press conference on PAMS 42.

At the press conference, Senior Lieutenant General Pham Hong Huong said that this is the 7th time Vietnam has participated in PAMS, but it is the first time it has co-hosted with the US an annual event for senior officers of the armies of various countries to exchange and share valuable experiences and perspectives in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

In addition, Senior Lieutenant General Pham Hong Huong also said that Vietnam wishes to be a friend and reliable partner of all countries in the region and the world. Through the conference, Vietnam also wants to introduce the country, people and the Vietnam People's Army, a heroic army of a heroic nation.

Regarding the disaster relief capacity of the Vietnamese army, especially for international events, Senior Lieutenant General Huong said: “In any natural disaster, the army is always the first force to arrive, proving that we are very well prepared even before the disaster occurs. We are advocating building a revolutionary, disciplined, elite, and gradually modern army; in which some armies and branches are advancing straight to modernity... so the army's humanitarian assistance and disaster relief capacity is also enhanced. Although PAMS is not a binding mechanism, the Vietnam People's Army is ready to participate in relief efforts in other countries when requested” and “will do its best to support and help people stabilize their lives soon”.

General Robert B. Brown also affirmed the US commitment to serving world peace as well as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. Mr. Brown assessed that Vietnam's hosting of PAMS for the first time further affirms Vietnam's participation and important role in the region and the world.

On the sidelines of PAMS 42, the US Army Pacific Command will organize the 4th Noncommissioned Officer Leadership Conference (SEL 4) and invite the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense to send officers to attend as observers.

According to the Ministry of Defense, the PAMS 42 program will have three plenary sessions.

The first session was "Initial response of ground forces in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief", with speakers from the Japan Self-Defense Forces and the Vietnam People's Army presenting related topics.

The second session was "Multilateral cooperation in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief", with speakers from the Nepalese Army, the Vietnam People's Army and the Director of the Regional Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Coordination Center (RHCC) presenting related topics.

The third session was "Enhancing the role of regional cooperation in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief" presented by speakers from New Zealand, the United States and the Vietnam People's Army.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/viet-nam-lan-dau-dang-cai-hoi-thao-quan-ly-luc-quan-thai-binh-duong-185782530.htm