Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia take part in joint rescue exercise

VIENTIANE, Sept 17 (Vientiane Times/ANN): Military personnel from Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia have carried out a joint operation in Vientiane to rehearse rescue procedures in response to natural disasters.

The closing ceremony of the exercise was attended by Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith, who is also Party Secretary General; Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, General Samdech Pichey Sena Tea Banh; Laos’ Deputy Prime Minister and National Defence Minister, General Chansamone Chanyalath; and Vietnam’s Minister of National Defence, General Phan Van Giang.

During the ceremony, participants were able to watch a training search-and-rescue mission and a demonstration of assistance for people in need of help both on water and land, and visited a simulated field hospital.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, Laos’ Deputy Minister of National Defence, Major General Chanthong Sonta-at, said “This joint exercise was completed according to the intended purpose and plan, as well as ensuring 100 percent safety.”

“The exercise gave participants the opportunity to share lessons, experience and technical expertise, to strengthen unity, friendship and mutual understanding,” he said.

The first-ever joint rescue drill organised by the Ministries of National Defence of Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia took place from September 10-15 in Naxaithong district, Vientiane, under an agreement made at the Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia Defence Ministers Conference held in Hanoi, Vietnam, in 2019.

Nearly 500 soldiers from the three countries took part in the exercise. During the drill, soldiers practised search and rescue operations in flooded areas, landslide-prone areas, and collapsed construction sites.

The joint rescue exercise included the search and rescue of victims by water.

Military personnel used patrol boats to search for stranded people in various locations, while divers searched for people presumed drowned in the river, and other personnel practised the rescue and transfer of people by boat to a safe area.

A Z-9 aircraft was then used to search for people in places that boats could not reach. An Mi-17 aircraft flew rescuers to help people stranded at high points in the area of Bangkandan and a flooded area that was strewn with obstacles and fallen trees, which involved specialised operations.

The exercise was important for the three countries in enhancing their capacity to respond to all types of natural disasters and to create opportunities for participants to share their experiences, as well as strengthen solidarity and trust between the armed forces of the three countries.