Vietnam, Australia enhance defence links
VOV.VN - Vietnamese Minister of National Defence General Phan Van Giang and his Australian counterpart Peter Dutton consented to maintain the bilateral defence ties in an effective manner during their virtual talks held on November 8.
The two ministers agreed to redouble efforts to maintain consultation and dialogue mechanisms, exchange experience and deal with war consequences, while expanding collaboration in defence industry and cyber security.
Despite suffering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam and Australia have worked to strengthen their strategic partnership and the defence ties, Giang said, while expressing his confidence that outcomes of the talks will help further expand the defence cooperation in the time ahead.
Giang thanked the Australian Government and people for their valuable support to Vietnam, especially their COVID-19 vaccine commitment.
He applauded the Australian defence ministry’s assistance to Vietnam in transporting doctors, nurses and medical supplies of its level-2 field hospital to South Sudan. Giang called on Australia to provide continued support for Vietnam in United Nations peacekeeping operations.
Regarding multilateral cooperation, Giang hailed Australia’s contributions to regional mechanisms, particularly the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+).
In response, Dutton affirmed that his nation will continue the transportation of Vietnam’s level-2 field hospital to UN peacekeeping missions in 2022 as well as the transportation of forces in the years to come if conditions permit.
He highly appreciated Vietnam’s support for upgrading the ASEAN-Australia relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership, and the ASEAN Chairman’s Statement at the recent ASEAN-Australia Summit.
During the talks, the Vietnamese side noted its support for the second ASEAN - Australia Defence Ministers Informal Meeting, and pledged to make greater contributions to the ADMM+ Experts’ Working Group on Military Medicine under the co-chairmanship of Australia and Brunei for 2021-2023.
On the occasion Giang invited Dutton to make an official visit to Vietnam, and his invitation was graciously accepted.