Burmese Navy in Historic Visit to Vietnam

The Burmese navy ended its first ever port call to Vietnam on Tuesday after the three-day visit of two destroyers.

The UMS Mahar Bandoola and UMS Mahar Thiha Thura, each with 11 officers and 112 crew members, docked at Tien Sa Port in Da Nang on Sunday, according to Vietnamese state news agency VNA.

Burmese naval officers reportedly visited the High Command of Navy Region 3 and the Da Nang Municipal People's Committee.

The two ships arrived the same day as Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh held talks with his Burmese counterpart Wunna Maung Lwin and was received by President Thein Sein and several other key figures in Naypyidaw.

The foreign ministers discussed defense and security cooperation, according to a statement by the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry. “The two sides shared the importance of securing peace and stability in the South China Sea,” the statement said.

China, whose territorial claims in the South China Sea clash with Vietnam, has so far been arguing for third-party nations not to get involved in the dispute.

“Outside forces should not get involved under any excuse,” Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was quoted by news agency Xinhua as telling the last Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in November.

Pham Binh Minh's talks in Naypyidaw—involving the president, foreign minister, Minister for Industry Soe Thein, Minister at the President's Office Soe Maung, Minister of Finance and Revenue Hla Tun and Minister of Commerce Win Myint—focused on trade relations, according to the Vietnamese report.

They discussed Vietnamese investments in Burma, “including specific projects in agriculture, fisheries, hotel-building, cooperation in banking, telecommunications, food processing and garments.”

On Tuesday, another Vietnamese delegation from the municipal government of Ho Chi Minh City, led by Communist Party Secretary Le Thanh Hai, visited Rangoon and held talks on investments with Rangoon Division Chief Minister Myint Swe.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Ngyuen Tan Dung visited Burma in December when he attended the Greater Mekong Sub-Region Summit in Naypyidaw.

President Thein Sein then referred to Vietnam as “a good model” for Burma's development, according to a press release by the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Vietnam has seen a series of military diplomatic events in the recent days. Before his departure for Naypyidaw, Pham Binh Minh discussed border security and trade with visiting Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng in Ho Chi Minh City on March 8 and 9.

Vietnamese Defense Minister Gen Phung Quang Thanh discussed training cooperation with his Laos counterpart Sen-Lt-Gen Douangchay Phichit in Da Nang on Monday.

On Tuesday, three Japanese destroyers, the JS Hamagiri, JS Sawayuki and JS Asayuki, concluded a five-day port call in the northern Vietnamese city of Hai Phong.