Australia supports stronger defense-security cooperation with Vietnam
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense of Australia Richard Marles proposed increasing defense-security between Australia and Vietnam, while meeting with Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue in Canberra on November 30.
Australia continues to support officer training for peacekeeping missions, and send naval ships to visit Vietnamese ports in the future, said Marles.
He proposed the two sides soon set up a defense consultation dialogue mechanism at the ministerial level, update the 2018 Joint Vision Statement on Further Defense Cooperation, and expand cooperation in potential fields such as defense industry, humanitarian assistance - disaster relief, transnational crime prevention, cyber security, and women - peace – security. He also proposed strengthening bilateral cooperation and sharing information on issues related to national security and interests of the two countries.
Hue for his part thanked Australia for training Vietnamese personnel for international peacekeeping missions, and donating medical equipment and supplies to the Ministry of National Defense of Vietnam during the height of the COVID-19 outbreak.
He spoke highly of the positive development of the cooperative partnership between Vietnam and Australia, and expected both sides strengthen ties, including defense-security cooperation, through all channels.
Both host and guest voiced strong support for ensuring security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation in the South China Sea, known as the East Sea in Vietnam, and stressed all disputes in the regional waters should be settled by peaceful means in line with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982).
Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue is in Canberra for an official visit to Australia at the invitations of Milton Dick, speaker of the Australian House of Representatives, and Sue Lines, president of the Australian Senate.
