The Australian warships docked at Cam Ranh International Port in the central province of Khanh Hoa on September 20. (Photo: VNA) They comprise amphibious assault ship HMAS Canberra,missile frigate HMAS Anzac and tanker HMAS Sirius.
Their arrival is part of the Indo-Pacific Endeavour2021 (IPE21), an annual Australian Defence Force (ADF) activity which deliverson the promise of the 2016 Defence White Paper to strengthen Australia’sengagement and partnerships with regional security forces.
Departing Australia in late August, IPE21 willprovide an opportunity for Australia to engage with Southeast Asian partnersbeyond traditional military activities, with supporting elements from acrossthe Australian Government.
Present at the welcome ceremony on September 20 wereColonel Ho Thanh Hoa, Deputy Commander of the Naval Region 4 High Command, andrepresentatives of Khanh Hoa province’ Military Command and Border GuardCommand.
The two sides will engage in a series of exchanges onhumanitarian aid and disaster relief; gender, peace and security; and maritimesecurity cooperation.
Defence ties between Vietnam and Australia have beenenhanced through official visits, high-level dialogues, professional training, post-graduatetraining, and collaboration in peace, maritime security and anti-terrorism. Thedefence cooperation has become an important pillar of the Vietnam-Australiastrategic partnership.
Following the welcome ceremony, Commander of IPE21Commodore Mal Wise paid a courtesy visit to Colonel Hoa in the form ofteleconference./.
VNA
