Vietnam supports strengthened defence links with Australia

The Vietnamese government leader said Vietnam highly valued Australia’s stance over the East Sea issue and hoped they would support a peaceful settlement of disputes in the East Sea (UNCLOS) in line with international law, the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea , the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea, and the soon-to-be-finalized Code of Conduct in the East Sea.

He hailed the development of bilateral defence ties in line with the Memorandum of Understanding on defence cooperation signed in 2010. 

The Australian Defense Minister said her nation is ready to support the Vietnamese Peacekeeping Mission in Africa. She said Australia is concerned about terrorism in the region and is cooperating with neighboring countries to combat terrorism. She said she hopes Vietnam will closely work with Australia in this regard.

She praised Vietnam’s role in the region, saying that the TPP could still bring benefits to member states and the Australian government still pursues the deal. 

The same day, Defence Minister Gen. Ngo Xuan Lich held talks with his Australian counterpart Marise Payne, during which, the two sides discussed regional security issues and ways to step up bilateral defense cooperation. 

They agreed upon the need to organize the first Deputy-Minister level Defense Policy Dialogue and the importance of Australia’s assistance for Vietnam’s Peacekeeping Mission.  

The relations between Vietnam and Australia and their defence ministries are developing finely. Both sides have frequently consulted each other at multilateral forums and architectures, such as ADMM, ARF, and EAS.

Australia’s Defence Minister Marise Payne is on an official visit to Vietnam on August 24-25. This is the fourth official visit to Vietnam by a defence minister of Australia since the two countries set up defence ties in 1999, which actualizes bilateral commitments to bolster defence cooperation for peace, stability, and wealth of the region.