80th anniversary of Vietnam People’s Army marked in Australia

The event was attended by representatives of the Australian Department of Defence, the Royal Australian Air Force, the Australian Navy, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade along with many diplomatic delegations, international friends and Vietnamese expatriates in Australia.

Upon addressing the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Pham Hung Tam affirmed the role of the Vietnam People’s Army in the country’s history as a contribution to protecting the homeland and promoting peace and stability in both the region and around the world. The dedication of the Vietnam People’s Army in peacekeeping operations, disaster relief and international cooperation demonstrates the great aspiration of the Vietnamese people for a peaceful world, he stressed.

Vietnamese Defence Attaché Col. Nguyen Ngoc Huy reviewed the important achievements of the VPA in the cause of national liberation, national construction and defence, and national reunification.

The efforts included firmly protecting the independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Vietnam. In the new period, the VPA continues to promote its heroic tradition, constantly improve its level and combat readiness, and perform well their functions, Huy went on to say.

He underlined the characteristics of Vietnam’s national defence, which is based on all people, peaceful, and self-defensive and to actively, proactively, resolutely and perseveringly prevent risks of war.

Consistently implementing the Vietnamese Party and State’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation and development, and proactive, active and comprehensive integration into the world, the VPA over the past years have stepped up defence diplomacy in both bilateral and multilateral aspects, reaping pragmatic results. It has actively become involved in UN peacekeeping operations as well as international cooperation in non-traditional security areas, humanitarian assistance, search and rescue, along with war aftermath settlement, thereby contributing to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world, he said.

Defence diplomacy has become a pillar of the Party and State’s diplomacy and also a critical channel for building and strengthening the strategic trust, and developing Vietnam’s friendship with other countries and international organisations, helping promote the stature and prestige of Vietnam and the VPA, he added.

Vietnam has so far engaged in many regional and international multilateral defence and military mechanisms and forums. It has enjoyed defence cooperation relations with more than 100 countries, of which, it has established Defense Attaché/Military Attaché Offices across 35 countries and at the United Nations.

As many as 42 countries have established Defense Attaché/Military Attaché Offices in Vietnam.

Ambassador Pham Hung Tam hailed the diverse defence cooperation activities between Vietnam and Australia, from training, visits of naval ships to the implementation of UN peacekeeping missions. Notably, in August 2024, a Vietnamese naval ship participated for the first time in the Kakadu exercise in Darwin, Northern Australia.

Tam affirmed that these activities reflect the spirit of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and voiced his wish for expanded defence links between the two countries.