Defense cooperation between Vietnam and Australia strengthened

The experience-sharing is part of the ongoing Vietnam visit of three Royal Australian Navy (RAN) vessels under Australia’s Indo-Pacific Endeavor 2021 (IPE21). The vessels are docking at Cam Ranh International Port.

Senior Colonel Pham Manh Thang, Deputy Director of the Department of Foreign Relations, speaks at the exchange on maritime security-related experience.

These meetings connected the Department of Foreign Relations under the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense with visiting RAN vessels headed by Commodore Mal Wise, Commander of the IPE21 Task Group and other agencies in Australia.

The exchange on maritime security is held in person and virtually.

Regarding maritime security, delegates discussed legal elements in law enforcement at sea. According to Senior Colonel Pham Manh Thang, Deputy Director of the Department of Foreign Relations, the sharing of maritime security-related experience between Vietnamese and Australian military personnel helped enrich IPE21 contents and demonstrated the good will of the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense and the Australian Department of Defense on further enhancing the bilateral defense ties despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Delegates share experience in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

At the meeting between the Search and Rescue Department under the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army and the Australian Civil-Military Center (ACMC), the two sides exchanged experiences in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR). They said that over the past time, Vietnam and Australia have coped with natural disasters, including storms and flooding, causing serious consequences and requiring the coordination of all forces from the grassroots to central levels. They also emphasized the importance of a national emergency coordination system, especially at the time it needs the collaboration of the international community or in the current difficult situation caused by the pandemic. They also learned about each side’s organizational structure and operation. Their experience sharing contributed to facilitating the expansion of the cooperation in HADR between the two defense ministries in the coming time.

The same day, the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Peace Operations Training Center (POTC) of the Australian Defense Force shared experience in gender, peace, and security in an online form. Both sides highly valued their cooperation in the past.

Meanwhile, participating senior officers and commanding officers who worked at U.N. missions for years shared experience to help enhance the role of women in peace-building and consolidation. This is a highly practical content because Vietnamese female peacekeepers make up 16 percent of Vietnam’s peacekeeping force, higher than the rate recommended by the U.N. in Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security.

Source: PANO/MoD

Translated by Mai Huong