Vietnam and Australia need to maintain and develop further their defense cooperation, said Lieutenant General Phan Van Giang, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA), and Deputy Minister of National Defense.

At the meeting

He made the statement at a meeting with Vice Admiral Raymond Griggs, Vice Chief of Australia’s Defense Force, in Hanoi on July 27, as part of the guest’s ongoing visit to Vietnam from July 26-30.

Giang said the bilateral defense cooperation has reaped positive outcomes over the past time, including the effective implementation of a Memorandum of Understanding in the field signed in 2010.

He affirmed that Vietnam always attaches great importance to the comprehensive cooperation with Australia and hoped the two sides will increase all-level delegation exchanges and explore new cooperation spheres. 

Earlier the same day, Senior Lieutenant General Pham Ngoc Minh, Deputy Chief of the VPA General Staff held talks with Raymond, during which the two sides discussed regional and global security situations and issues of mutual concerns.

They also put forth a number of measures to boost the bilateral cooperation, including the maintenance of current dialogue mechanisms and enhancement of all-level delegation exchanges.

The two sides agreed to increase affiliations in foreign language training and improving capacity for medical military forces and sappers to join the UN peace keeping activities as well as sharing experience in search and rescue and fostering coordination within the framework of the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM ) and multilateral forums.

During their stay in Vietnam, the Australian defense officers are scheduled to work with the High Command of Marine Police, High Command of Air Defense and Air Force, and Navy High Command.

VNA