Vietnam, Australia hold third defence policy dialogue

The third Vietnam – Australia defence policy dialogue was held in Canberra, the capital city of Australia, on October 29. 

The event was co-chaired by Vietnamese Deputy Minister of National Defence Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh and Australian Deputy Secretary Strategic Policy and Intelligence Peter Tesch.

The two sides discussed regional and global issues of mutual concern, including issues regarding the ASEAN Year 2020 when Vietnam assumes the role of ASEAN Chair.

Agreeing with Vietnam’s stance on the settlement of the East Sea issue, the Australian side affirmed the importance of freedom of navigation and aviation and stressed that disputes need to be settled through peaceful measures in line with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

On bilateral defence ties, the two sides spoke highly of achievements over the past years within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding on bilateral defence cooperation signed in 2010 and the Declaration on Joint Vision for Enhancing Defence Cooperation inked in 2018, thus making active contributions to the Vietnam – Australia strategic partnership.

They pledged to continue further promoting relations in the fields of dialogues, consultations, exchange of delegations, education and training, the United Nations peacekeeping mission and maritime security, as well as uphold women’s role and gender equality in defence activities.

The Australian side promised to assist the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence in successfully holding defence conferences within the framework of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus when Vietnam takes over the ASEAN Chair next year.

The Australian side expected that Vietnam would support the initiative to hold the ASEAN – Australia Defence Ministers’ Informal Meeting. The Vietnamese side agreed in principle the proposal and asked Australia to continue consultations to reach consensus from other ASEAN member states.

The Australian side informed that its Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds will pay an official visit to Vietnam next year at the invitation of her Vietnamese counterpart Gen. Ngo Xuan Lich.

They assigned the two defence ministries to work closely together to ensure the success of the visit.