Royal Australian Navy amphibious assault ship HMAS Canberra and frigate HMAS Newcastle docked at Cam Ranh International Port, the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa on May 7.

The visit is made as part of Australia’s Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2019 held in regional countries of Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam. This is the first time the programme has been organised in Vietnam since it was launched in 2017. Royal Australian Air Force officer Commander Joint Task Force 661 Air Commodore Richard Owen, who led more than 800 Australian personnel, will have meetings with leaders of the provincial People’s Committee, and the Naval Region 4 High Command. Indo-Pacific Endeavour is expected to help deepen the Vietnam-Australia relations, including the defence ties, based on mutual understanding and trust. Australia always welcomes opportunities to expand defence cooperation with Vietnam, and the goodwill visit made by the royal Australian ships affirms that Vietnam is an important partner of Australia in the region.-VNA