Australia, Vietnam announce closer defence ties in Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

PM Albanese heralded the agreement as a new era for Australia–Vietnam relations, alongside Prime Minister of Vietnam Pham Minh Chính on 7 March.

Outlined in the partnership, Australia renews its commitment to high-level engagement with the Vietnamese government, National Assembly, and leaders. Both countries will contribute to peace, stability, and the development of the region through education and training, practical exchange and peacekeeping support.

Both countries will broaden cooperation in defence industry, maritime security, information and intelligence sharing; strengthening maritime cooperation, as well as enhancing cooperation in cyber security and critical technology with cyber capacity building initiatives to address cyber security threats.

The current Vice-Ministerial Security Dialogue will be elevated to the Ministerial level, and peacekeeping cooperation to a Peacekeeping Partnership.

Both countries have committed to enhancing law enforcement and intelligence cooperation through closer cooperation between Vietnamese and Australian police, maritime and border authorities.

Targets include transnational organised crime, people smuggling and human trafficking, drug-related crimes, money laundering, terrorism and its financing, cyber crime, and sexual exploitation.

“It is a pleasure to welcome Prime Minister Chính to Australia following my visit to Vietnam last year,” according to Prime Minister Albanese.

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“Australia and Vietnam share an ambitious agenda across climate change and sustainability, digital transformation and innovation, defence and security, economics and trade, and education.

“This new Comprehensive Strategic Partnership reflects our cooperation, our strategic trust and shared ambition for our region.

“There is enormous potential to be realised through closer ties between Australia and Vietnam.”

The landmark Comprehensive Strategic Partnership will also support expanded cooperation on climate, environment and energy, and digital transformation and innovation, building on established collaboration across defence and security, economic engagement and education.

Both prime ministers welcomed new cooperation in agriculture that will encourage trade in new commodities. A thousand Vietnamese workers have been arranged work in the agricultural sector to fill labour gaps in rural and regional Australia and a new agreement between agencies responsible for trade and investment promotion.

Both countries will launch renewed framework for cooperation between education institutions to strengthen early childhood, primary, secondary and tertiary education. There are also new agreements between maritime and science agencies to support Vietnam’s management of its maritime resources and adaption to climate change.

In addition, leaders have agreed to new ministerial dialogues on priority areas and an annual ministerial dialogue on energy and minerals with the first Annual Trade Ministers’ Dialogue, held on 5 March.

“We’re elated to extend our congratulations to Australia on its socioeconomic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, improving the welfare of the people, thereby contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world,” said Prime Minister Chinh, speaking at Parliament House in Canberra on 7 March.

“I’d also like to congratulate Australia on having successfully convened the ASEAN Australia Special Commemorative Summit to celebrate the 50th anniversary of relation between ASEAN and Australia. The Summit has a wide range of very successful agenda items, warm welcome, accent arrangements, depicting the friendship between Australia and ASEAN countries.

“Let me take this opportunity to appreciate the support of Australia for Vietnam’s reform and integration, particularly via the provision over 26 million vaccine doses and high level of ODA to Vietnam. Especially during Vietnam’s efforts to combat COVID-19, Australia has been one of the top vaccine providers to Vietnam in which and the top paediatric vaccine provider to Vietnam. Mr Prime Minister, distinguished delegates, in Melbourne, I have discussed a number of new items in the Vietnam–Australia ties after 50 years of diplomatic relations and 15 years of Comprehensive Partnership, six years of Strategic Partnership and in the very successful bilateral talks today, the Prime Minister and I represented the two governments to announce the upgrade of the Vietnam–Australia ties to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the highest level, the highest framework of cooperation between Vietnam and a partner. This helps different cooperation, two countries fulfilling the interest of the two peoples and contributing to peace cooperation, development in the region and the world, which I can briefly summarise in six key points.

“First, we are witnessing increasing political trust and diplomatic cooperation. Second, a higher level of economic trade investment cooperation with greater depth effectiveness. Third, we are bolstering cooperation in science, technology, innovation, digital transformation, green transition in a more robust manner. Fourth, the two sides also engaging in greater cooperation in culture, education, training, environment, climate action in a comprehensive and deeper manner. Fifth, people-to-people exchange connections among various generations are sincere and very much strengthened. And six, we are having greater mutual understanding in terms of defence and security with efforts towards peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

“These are six points that are further strengthened in our bilateral ties as we have discussed in the bilateral talks and the upgrade of the Vietnam–Australia ties to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. I fully share the view from Minister Albanese and we agree on the need to further deepen regional and international cooperation. The two countries should also continue to support each other at multilateral forums, particularly the UN, ASEAN-led arrangements and promote dialogue, build trust among countries, harness the centrality of ASEAN, enhance the utilisation of Mekong’s separation cooperation arrangements.

“The two countries also hope that conflicts around the world will soon be settled via peaceful means. Humanitarian aid will be further promoted and the threat or use of force will be avoided. It is also a need for us all to respect the UN Charter and international law and protect the people so that no one is left behind. When it comes to the South China Sea, the two sides reiterate the importance of peace, stability, freedom, security, safety, freedom of navigation, of flight in the South China Sea. The need to peacefully settle disputes on the basis of respect for international law, particularly the UNCLOS of 1982. We also agree on the need to continue to exchange information, bolster maritime cooperation to make South China Sea into a sea of peace, stability, friendship, cooperation and development, thereby bringing greater benefits to the peoples in the region and relevant countries. The two sides agree to create favourable conditions to ensure the legitimate rights and interests of the people and businesses of both countries residing, working and studying in Vietnam and Australia.

“I’d like to thank Australia for having supported Vietnamese students and nationals with the number of over 300,000 people to reside and study in Australia. We also welcome the favourable conditions that Australia has provided for these people to lead stable lives in the country. On this occasion, complete authorities from both countries have also signed 11 important cooperation documents on defence, trade, energy, education, science, technology, justice, among others. We have agreed to instruct relevant authorities to actively engage with each other in implementing these agreements and, as the Prime Minister of Australia has mentioned, from merely reaching an agreement to implementing such an agreement remains a procedure that we need to partake in in the most serious manner through meetings and discussions under flexible formats. I’ve also agreed with Prime Minister Albanese that we can meet with each other either through visits or on the sidelines of multilateral events, to review past efforts, decipher the reason why certain items have not been implemented and determining the way forward to implement such items in a more effective manner.

“We are confident that with the upgrade of bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, Vietnam and Australia have entered a new chapter in the history of bilateral relations with very substantive, effective and sustainable items of cooperation across the board. This will help fulfil the interest of the two peoples and actively contribute to peace, stability, cooperation, development and friendship in the region and the world.”