The largest-ever contingent of Vietnamese military personnel training with Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Sailors for at-sea combat survivability exemplifies the nations’ expanding defense relations.
Seventeen Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) members visited HMAS Cerberus Naval Base in Victoria, Australia, in March 2025 to enhance ship-based firefighting, leak-stop repair, and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense skills. Linguists and interpreters assisted at the RAN School of Survivability and Ship Safety.
Personnel from five VPA services participated: Air Force, Army, Border Patrol, Coast Guard and Navy. The nations have held the exchanges since 2004, with 176 Vietnamese personnel completing the training.
Australia and Vietnam elevated their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership in March 2024. The agreement includes a defense-oriented provision to expand education and training programs, practical exchanges, and peacekeeping support. It calls for increased cooperation in defense industry relations; maritime security; combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing; intelligence sharing; and cybersecurity.
The countries established diplomatic relations in 1973, signed a memorandum of understanding on defense cooperation in 2010 and announced a strategic partnership in 2018. “Our steadily growing ties reflect Australia and Vietnam’s mature and diverse bilateral relationship, encompassing wide-ranging cooperation on political issues, trade and investment, education, defense and security, policing, immigration, and combating transnational crime, people smuggling and human trafficking,” the Australian Embassy in Hanoi stated.
The Defence Cooperation Program provides training in both countries for Australian Defence Force (ADF) and VPA personnel, including signals and communications, underwater medicine, and language courses. The program solidifies the partnership and promotes regional security.
“Since the establishment of defence cooperation relations in 2010, a remarkable 3,500 Vietnam People’s Army officers have graduated from Australian-funded training in Australia and Vietnam,” Carlyle Thayer, an emeritus professor at the ADF Academy in Canberra, wrote in March 2024. “Australia has earned considerable trust in Vietnam because of a long history of engagement and policy consistency.”
Combat survivability training “aims to develop closer enduring and collaborative defence partnerships that contribute to collective security of the Indo-Pacific and the maintenance of the rules-based order,” an ADF news release stated.
“Our instructors have been very impressed with the standard of the VPA members’ performance, and we have learnt so much from each other,” RAN Leading Seaman Erin Cox said. “It has been a great knowledge exchange — sharing different techniques and discussing best practice in dealing with incidents that may occur when working together at sea.”
