Speaking at the event, General Chien expressed delight to meet the Australian official and highly appreciated the Australian Department of Defense’s proposal of donating medical equipment and supplies to Vietnam. He said that the deed demonstrates the mutual friendship and support between the Vietnamese Defense Ministry and the Australian Department of Defense.
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Deputy Minister of National Defense Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien at the event |
The Vietnamese Deputy Defense Minister expected to receive Australia’s assistance in accessing to vaccine sources and medical equipment for its COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control. He also hoped to receive further support from the nation for Vietnam in terms of U.N. peacekeeping operations, especially the upcoming deployment of the first Engineering Company to the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA).
General Chien affirmed that Vietnam supports the ASEAN - Australia comprehensive strategic partnership and is ready to effectively implement the outcomes of the second informal ASEAN - Australia Defense Ministers' Meeting on the basis of the association’s consensus.
For his part, the Deputy Secretary for Strategy, Policy, and Industry at Australia’s Department of Defense Peter Tesch expressed his pleasure to meet the Vietnamese deputy defense minister again. He took the occasion to thank Vietnam for its support to the development of ASEAN - Australia ties.
Although the meeting was held virtually, it was an opportunity for the two sides to share their views on regional situation, peace, stability and development, the Australian official added.
According to Peter Tesch, Australia has committed to helping Vietnam transport personnel of its level-2 field hospital to the U.N. Peacekeeping Mission in South Sudan in 2022 and to donating some equipment to improve the capacity of the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations.
At the dialogue, the two sides agreed that despite difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vietnam - Australia strategic partnership in general and defense ties in particular have been maintained and promoted over the past time for peace and stability in each country and common development in the region and the world.
The two officials also exchanged views on the global and regional situations and issues of mutual concern and shared a common stance on the East Sea (South China Sea) issue. They emphasized the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight in the waters, and of settling disputes at sea by peaceful means on the basis of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
The two sides also stressed the need to fully and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) as well as to speed up negotiations to soon achieve an efficient and effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) in line with international law.
Regarding missions in the coming time, the two officials agreed to continue maintaining and fostering the defense ties with a focus on such fields as delegation exchange, consultation and dialogue mechanisms, U.N. peacekeeping operations, cooperation in military medicine and training, collaboration among arms and services.
At the event, the Vietnamese deputy defense minister and the Australian Deputy Secretary for Strategy, Policy, and Industry approved Vietnam - Australia Defense Cooperation Plan for the 2022-2024 period.
Regarding multilateral cooperation, they stated that both countries are responsible members of the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM+) and regularly consult and support each other at regional forums.
Translated by Tran Hoai