Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has met with Vietnam’s president Tô Lâm in Canberra, where they agreed to deepen economic cooperation. The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to rules based multilateral trading amid uncertainty caused by rising protectionism and conflict overseas. Critics have called on the Australian government to press Vietnam on its domestic laws, which have been criticised by human rights groups.
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TRANSCRIPT
Australia has agreed to deepen economic cooperation with Vietnam as President Tô Lâm visits Canberra with a high-level delegation including several ministers.
Building on a comprehensive strategic partnership launched last year, both countries reiterated their commitment to rules-based multilateral trading.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says resilient supply chains are more important than ever.
“At a time when the world is becoming more uncertain, resilient supply chains matter more than ever. Whether it's food, energy, or critical goods, both our countries have an interest in keeping trade open and reliable. That is good for our economies, good for our security, and good for our region.”
The two leaders have also welcomed stronger cooperation across defence, maritime and border security, the digital economy, agriculture, energy, minerals, science and innovation.
“I am particularly pleased that Vietnam has agreed to provide market access for Australian kangaroo and deer meat. This will open up avenues for up to half a million dollars in trade for Australian exporters.”
RMIT University has also received an investment license agreement that will facilitate construction of a campus in Hanoi.
Earlier, Tô Lâm announced VietJet will fly into the new Western Sydney airport from next year.
“We also spoke about the strategic challenges which face our region. Australia and Vietnam both want an Indo-Pacific that is peaceful, stable, and prosperous.”
Mr Lâm, who is also the General Secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party’s central committee, has welcomed Australia's role in promoting peace and stability across the region.
He's speaking here through a translator.
“I appreciate the policies and initiatives of Australia in bolstering unity with Southeast Asia. The Prime Minister and I have had very open, and candid, and substantive bilateral talks.”
Neither leader addressed the topic of China’s role in the region, nor security in the South China Sea, although Mr Lâm was accompanied by his ministers for security and defence.
Opposition leader Angus Taylor raised the issue in parliament, referencing and Mr Lam’s keynote speech at the influential Shangri-La Dialogue in May.
“He spoke about the values of peace, independence, and freedom. Australia shares these ambitions and values too, and I'm sure, like Australia, he was deeply concerned about China's recent test launch of a nuclear-capable ballistic missile in the Pacific. As he correctly acknowledged in his Shangri-La Dialogue, no country benefits when our region becomes a theater for coercion, confrontation, or displays of power. And so we welcome all nations of our region calling out and condemning acts of coercion and aggression, whatever the source.”
Vietnam is strategically sandwiched between China and the US, which are its two largest trading partners.
As the South East Asian country seeks to grow its economy and status as a middle power, Mr Lam signalled his interest in deeper bilateral cooperation on emerging industries.
“We consider science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation as a key pillar and important impetus for our bilateral ties. The two nations will enhance cooperation in AI, semiconductor, digital technology, cyber security, green technology, and emerging technology. The two sides will also support each other in enhancing capacity to better participate in regional and global supply chains, especially in important areas such as critical minerals, clean energy, energy transition, and advanced technology. ]]
The talks come one week after the Vietnamese Communist Party held its biennial diplomatic conference, and passed a resolution relating outlining how it wants to relate to diaspora communities.
There are 350,000 Australians with Vietnamese heritage, but not all of them were happy to see the red carpet rolled out for Mr Lâm.
The President of the Vietnamese Community in Australia’s A-C-T chapter, Cong Le joined a protest near Parliament House.
“We are direct victims of the communist regime in Vietnam after the fall of Saigon in 1975, and Tô Lâm, the guy who ought to be here today, he is now the chief of the Communist Party in Vietnam as well as the president of the of the country.”
He says Mr Lâm has centralised power by occupying the two positions simultaneously.
“His regime is responsible for the 22 years of human rights abuse in Vietnam, big corruption. All the foreign aid come to Vietnam. We don't know where they went, and now Australia are thinking of shaking hands with this guy. We are very concerned because it is a regime that keep very close contact with dictators around the world, for instance, communist China, North Korea, Iran, Russia.”
Mr Le urged Anthony Albanese to exercise caution.
“And we also demand that Tô Lâm, as the head of Vietnam today, respect human rights and democracy, and give respect to their people. Do not suppress people who speak up, because if you are afraid of people speaking up, you are afraid of the truth, and the truth will not go away unless you change.”
Asia Advocacy Director at Human Rights Watch, John Sifton, describes Vietnam as a closed society.
“If you are a Vietnamese labour organiser or a political dissident, you have no avenue to complain or criticise the Vietnamese government. Unlike Australia, you are not able to organise a trade union. You're not able to organise a protest or a strike. All of those avenues are closed to you if you are in Vietnam.”
He says members of the diaspora have also been targeted overseas, and he’s calling on the Australian government to raise these human rights issues with Mr Lâm.
“The trade agreements that Australia has with Vietnam, give it an opportunity to raise these issues and demand that Vietnam change its labour laws and stop using its overbroad and abusive penal code provisions. This is not a democracy. It's a one party authoritarian state.”
The Vietnamese government dismisses any human rights complaints as 'biased' and maintains that it protects fundamental freedoms under its constitution while prioritising social stability, economic development, and poverty reduction.
At a joint press conference after their meeting, neither Anthony Albanese nor Mr Lâm took questions from the press.
