9th Vietnam-Australia Defence Policy Dialogue: Exploring expansion of defence cooperation
WVR - On November 9, the 9th Vietnam-Australia Defence Policy Dialogue took place at the Ministry of National Defence Headquarters.
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| Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Truong Thang, Deputy Minister of National Defence, welcomed Mr. Hugh Jeffrey, Deputy Secretary of Defence of Australia, to Vietnam to co-chair the 9th Defence Policy Dialogue. (Photo: Nguyen Hong) |
Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Truong Thang, Deputy Minister of National Defence, and Mr. Hugh Jeffrey, Deputy Secretary of Defence of Australia in charge of Strategy, Policy, and International Cooperation, co-chaired the Dialogue.
At the Dialogue, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Truong Thang affirmed that the cooperative relationship between Vietnam and Australia has developed robustly across many fields, with both countries set to upgrade to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in March 2024.
The two sides exchanged views on global and regional situations and issues of mutual concern. The Deputy Minister of Defence affirmed that Vietnam remains steadfast in resolving maritime disputes through peaceful measures, in accordance with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS); effectively and fully implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and building a substantive, effective, and efficient Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).
Appreciating the defense cooperation with Australia in recent times, both sides have effectively implemented cooperation in various fields such as delegation exchanges, high-level contacts, dialogue-consultation mechanisms, training, United Nations peacekeeping, cooperation between military services, defence industry, war aftermath remediation, military medicine, rescue, and disaster relief...
Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Truong Thang expressed thanks to the Australian Department of Defence for supporting Vietnam for the eighth consecutive time in transporting the Level 2 Field Hospital to carry out peacekeeping missions at the United Nations Mission in South Sudan.
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| The Deputy Minister of Defence, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Truong Thang, suggested that both sides continue to effectively implement the shared understanding of the high-level leaders of the two countries and the two Ministries of Defence. (Photo: Nguyen Hong) |
Regarding future cooperation, the Deputy Minister of Defence suggested that both sides continue to effectively implement the shared understanding of the high-level leaders of the two countries and the two Ministries of Defense, as reflected in the Joint Statement to deepen the Vietnam-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and update the Joint Vision Statement on promoting defense cooperation between the two Ministries of Defense, signed in August 2026.
In particular, both sides should focus on key areas including delegation exchanges at all levels, dialogue-consultation mechanisms, training cooperation, United Nations peacekeeping, war aftermath remediation, cooperation between military services, military medicine, border management, exploring expansion of cooperation in other potential areas such as defence industry, cybersecurity, humanitarian assistance-disaster relief, science and technology, innovation...; enhancing consultation and mutual support in regional and international defence-security mechanisms and forums, especially those led by ASEAN such as ADMM ...
Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Truong Thang expressed the desire to continue receiving scholarships from the Australian Department of Defence at various training levels, while also being ready to welcome Australian military students to study Vietnamese and attend the International Defence Officials Course in Vietnam.
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| The Deputy Secretary of Defence of Australia suggested that in the future, both sides continue to coordinate in implementing the agreed cooperation contents. (Photo: Nguyen Hong) |
The Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence welcomes the Australian Army Command delegation to participate in the 3rd Vietnam International Defence Exhibition in Hanoi from December 10-13, 2026.
On the Australian side, Mr. Hugh Jeffrey expressed his pleasure in co-chairing the 9th Vietnam-Australia Defence Policy Dialogue. Mr. Hugh Jeffrey affirmed that the 9th Vietnam-Australia Defence Policy Dialogue is an opportunity to further deepen bilateral defence cooperation.
The Deputy Secretary of Defence of Australia suggested that in the future, based on the 9th Defence Policy Dialogue, both sides continue to coordinate in implementing the agreed cooperation contents; explore and expand new cooperation opportunities according to each side's needs and interests, focusing on maritime security, search and rescue. This will contribute to promoting the Vietnam-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to become more substantive and effective.
The Deputy Secretary of Defence of Australia committed to promoting cooperation in sharing information and documents related to Vietnamese soldiers and supporting Vietnam in enhancing the capacity for DNA identification of war remains, contributing to Vietnam's 500-day and night campaign.
At the conclusion of the Dialogue, the two heads of delegation signed the Dialogue Minutes.
