Vietnam - Australia continue to promote cooperation between military branches and services

On the afternoon of October 13, at the headquarters of the Ministry of National Defense (Hanoi), General Nguyen Tan Cuong, member of the Party Central Committee, member of the Central Military Commission, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, Deputy Minister of National Defense, received Lieutenant General Stephen Chappell, Commander of the Royal Australian Air Force.

Affirming that Vietnam always attaches importance to its relationship with Australia and highly appreciates Australia's position and potential in the international and regional arena, General Nguyen Tan Cuong expressed his delight at the two countries upgrading their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership in March 2024, creating favorable conditions to further promote cooperation in many fields, including defense cooperation.

The Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army acknowledged the effective and practical results of defense cooperation between the two countries in recent times based on the 2010 Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation and the 2018 Joint Vision Statement on Promoting Defense Cooperation, notably in areas such as: Delegation exchanges; dialogue and consultation; training; United Nations peacekeeping ; experience exchange between armies and services; overcoming the consequences of war and multilateral cooperation on defense, especially within the framework of the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM+).

Sharing the loss of life and property caused by recent storms in Vietnam, Lieutenant General Stephen Chappell informed General Nguyen Tan Cuong of the results of the effective and practical talks earlier in the day with Major General Vu Hong Son, Commander of the Air Defense - Air Force; and emphasized that the results of the talks created conditions for the two forces to further promote cooperation in the future.

The Commander of the Royal Australian Air Force suggested that in the coming time, Australia and Vietnam continue to strengthen defense cooperation, focusing on training, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, military medicine, and search and rescue.

General Nguyen Tan Cuong highly appreciated the results of the talks, expressing his joy at the fact that the air force cooperation between the two sides in recent times has achieved remarkable results and has great potential for further development in the coming time. On this occasion, General Nguyen Tan Cuong thanked the Royal Australian Air Force for sending vehicles to support Vietnam in transporting the Level 2 Field Hospital to the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) 7 times, making an important contribution to promoting cooperation in the field of peacekeeping between the two countries, contributing to world peace.

According to General Nguyen Tan Cuong, in the coming time, based on the direction of the two countries' senior leaders, the two Ministries of National Defense , the Vietnam People's Army and the Australian Defense Force will continue to promote cooperation between the military branches and services, in accordance with the needs, capabilities, interests of each side and the actual situation, contributing to further enhancing mutual understanding and trust between the two countries' armies.

The Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army affirmed that the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense supports and recommends that the two countries' Air Forces increase delegation exchanges at all levels, promote training cooperation, and share experiences in the aviation sector; and hopes that the leaders of the Ministry of National Defense, the Australian Defense Force and Royal Australian Air Force, and Australian defense enterprises will continue to pay attention and support Vietnam in the next international defense exhibitions.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/viet-nam-australia-tiep-tuc-thuc-day-hop-tac-giua-cac-quan-binh-chung-20251013201005486.htm