AARM-24 of friendship and solidarity wraps up

(Bqp.vn) - The 24th ASEAN Armies Rifle Meet (ARRM-24) concluded successfully at the Mieu Mon National Training Centre in Hanoi on November 28th after ten days of competition, meeting all the requirements and ensuring complete safety of the participants.

Chiefs of armies of ASEAN countries in the friendly shooting.

General Phung Quang Thanh (left) presenting medals and gifts to ASEAN counties' chiefs of armies who took part in the friendly shooting before the closing ceremony.

The closing ceremony was attended by Minister of National Defence General Phung Quang Thanh; Senior Lieutenant General Ngo Xuan Lich, Director of the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People’s Army; Senior Lieutenant General Do Ba Ty, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army and Deputy Defence Minister; Lieutenant General Nguyen Quoc Khanh, Deputy Chief of the General Staff; chiefs of armies of ASEAN member countries; military attachés of ASEAN countries in Hanoi; the members of ten participating contingents of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and the host Vietnam.

Addressing the closing ceremony, Lieutenant General Nguyen Quoc Khanh, Head of the AARM-24 Organizing Committee held that this important event of the armies of all ASEAN member countries was a lively symbol for their solidarity and cooperation and at the same time a meaningful gift for the Vietnam People’s Army, especially when it is organizing a series of activities to celebrate the 70th founding anniversary and 25th anniversary of the whole people’s defence festive day. The Vietnamese General believed that the good impression on Vietnam, its people and army would linger on the mind of firers during their military service.

Lieutenant General Nguyen Quoc Khanh handing over AARM flag to Thai General Udomdej Sitabutr.

“The event contributes to promoting the friendship, solidarity and mutual understanding among ASEAN armies and firers. It also offered a chance for the regional armies to learn more about Vietnam, its people and army as well as to show their determination to boost collaboration in protecting the stability and sustainable development of their countries, making contributions to peace, cooperation and prosperity of the region and the rest of the world,” general Khanh added.

After the ten-day competition, 281 medals of different kinds were presented to outstanding individuals and teams. The Indonesian team excellently topped the AARM-24 with 100 medals, including 61 golds, 22 silvers and 17 bronzes, followed by the Thai contingent with 12 golds, 31 silvers and 11 bronzes. The Filipino and Myanmar teams rank third and fourth in the competition, respectively. The results truly reflect the military training quality of the ASEAN countries.

An art performance at the closing ceremony.

Also at the closing ceremony, the participants were entertained with impressive art performances of 600 cadres and troops from Military Ceremonial Unit under the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army and Factory Z121 of the General Department of Defence Industry of the Vietnam People’s Army with the theme, “ASEAN-Cooperation-Friendship and Development”.

Sharing her feeling about the meet, Private Kharul Amilinbin Hjmd Noor, a machine gun firer from Brunei said that the days in Vietnam helped her know more about the traditions of Vietnam and its army and people. “Thank Vietnam for giving us such good memories. I will never forget memories of the AARM-24. I will definitely come back to Vietnam,” said the firer.

Cynthia Santa Watamman, a pistol firer of Malaysian team touchingly said that the AARM brought her new friends and she did not want to say goodbye to them.

Impressed by the results at the AARM-24, Indonesian Major General Johny L. Tobing thanked Vietnam for creating favourable conditions for all the participants to fulfil shooting contents. “Like other members of the Indonesian team, I myself have good impression and unforgettable memories of Vietnam, its people, especially the heroic Vietnam People’s Army. All the good memories of Vietnam will be always in our hearts,” the general added.

At the ceremony, Lieutenant General Nguyen Quoc Khanh presented the ARRM-24 Cups to athletes and teams with outstanding achievements. The Organizing Committee handed over the AARM flag to General Udomdej Sitabutr, Chief of Army of Thailand - the host country of the 25th event. The Thai General highly appreciated Vietnam’s successes in organizing such a big event, affirming that they would be valuable experiences for Thailand to make the 25th Meet a success.

Earlier, the participants had visited a exhibition on Made-in-Vietnam defence products and planted trees at Mieu Mon National Training Centre where chiefs of armies of ASEAN countries took apart in a friendly shooting.