'South China Sea in Australia's vital interests'

“The East Sea is an important part of Australia's vital interests, because most of this country's key partners trade with them through maritime routes,” said Dr. Tran Viet Thai.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc is on an official visit to New Zealand and Australia, with an important highlight being his attendance at the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit (March 14-18).

Mr. Tran Viet Thai, Deputy Director of the Institute of Foreign Affairs and Strategy, said that the Prime Minister's visit is part of a series of activities to celebrate the ASEAN-Australia partnership and the 45th anniversary of Vietnam-Australia relations.

Through the trip, Vietnam wants to convey the message that Vietnam is an active member of ASEAN, wants to promote the ASEAN-Australia partnership in substance, contributing to the peaceful and stable development of the region. Vietnam wishes for the East Sea region to be peaceful, stable and developed.

Mr. Thai also commented that the organization of the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit is a major milestone, marking ASEAN as an outward-looking organization with equal relations with partners, of which Australia is an important partner. Vietnam and other countries in the region are trying to coordinate to handle challenges and contribute to making ASEAN-Australia relations more and more substantive and effective. At the same time, as a bilateral partner as well as a member of ASEAN, Vietnam welcomes Australia's positive contributions to peace, stability and development in the region. Vietnam hopes that the Australia-ASEAN relationship will develop further, go into depth, benefit both sides and bring common benefits to the region.

It can be said that Australia has long been very interested in regional security issues, including maritime security and safety. The East Sea is an important part of Australia's vital interests, because most of its key partners trade with them through maritime routes. That partly reflects the country's interest and Australia's interests in maritime security and safety issues in particular and regional security in general.

In a joint statement following talks between Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in November 2017, the two sides also affirmed the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the region, including in the East Sea. The two sides stressed their shared interest in protecting freedom of navigation and overflight, and resolving disputes by peaceful means in accordance with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), without resorting to the threat or use of force.

The bilateral relationship between Vietnam and Australia has also achieved many successes in the past year. Australia is currently the destination of about 22,000 Vietnamese students. The trade turnover between the two countries in 2017 reached 6.46 billion USD, of which Vietnam exported 3.3 billion USD. At the meeting in Da Nang in November 2017, the Prime Ministers of Vietnam and Australia agreed on an agreement to upgrade the bilateral relationship to a strategic partnership.

At the meeting, both sides acknowledged the progress in bilateral trade and investment cooperation, committed to promoting direct investment and trade, and working together to integrate the two economies deeply into the regional economy. The two Prime Ministers also encouraged the early commencement of ministerial-level consultations on the “Economic Partnership” issue, in order to continue implementing the priorities of the two countries in the fields of trade, investment and development cooperation.

Mr. Tran Viet Thai acknowledged that in recent times, Vietnam has done a number of things that have made a big splash, such as successfully hosting APEC, organizing many initiatives with substantial contributions, participating in the construction and successful signing of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), in the context of the US withdrawal, which has had a strong impact on the remaining countries, dividing some partners.

The event of the first US aircraft carrier docking in Vietnam since the war not only reflects the two countries entering into a substantive relationship, but also contributes to peace and stability in the region. Not to mention, Vietnam's socio-economic development achievements in recent years have been positively evaluated by the regional community.

It can be said that the role and position of Vietnam in the world in general and ASEAN in particular are highly appreciated, thereby creating a good mindset and development force for the country. This also creates momentum for the Vietnam - Australia relationship.