The impact on Australia and Vietnam of China’s approach to the South China Sea and disputed islands is expected to feature in diplomatic talks over the weekend.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will make his first visit to Vietnam as leader on June 3, amid concern in Hanoi over Chinese ships operating in its exclusive economic zone.
Albanese is expected to meet with four key leaders—Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, the Communist Party general secretary, the president and the chairman of the National Assembly.
As recently as last week, Vietnam accused a Chinese survey vessel and its escorts of violating its sovereignty.
The South China Sea is a strategic waterway through which trillions of dollars of trade passes each year, including many vessels carrying Australian export goods.
Before heading to Hanoi, Albanese told the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that upholding sovereignty was “not just for the biggest powers, or the loudest voices—but for every nation.”
“Sovereignty that confers on every nation the right to determine its own destiny ... to have confidence in the integrity of our borders, including our maritime zones, and control of our own resources,” Albanese said.
“If this breaks down, if one nation imagines itself too big for the rules, or too powerful to be held to the standards that the rest of us respect then our region’s strategic stability is undermined and our individual national sovereignty is eroded.”
Albanese portrayed Australia’s decision to boost its defence capabilities as not to prepare for war “but to prevent it—through deterrence and reassurance and building resilience in the region.”
“Doing our part to fulfil the shared responsibility all of us have to preserve peace and security,” Albanese said.
“And making it crystal clear that when it comes to any unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force—be it in Taiwan, the South China Sea, the East China Sea or elsewhere—the risk of conflict will always far outweigh any potential reward.”
Beyond regional security, the talks are expected to range across clean energy technology, tourism, education and transnational crime-fighting.
There will also be discussions on improving Vietnamese workers’ access to jobs in Australia.
Australia is home to about 350,000 people of Vietnamese background.
The country of more than 100 million people has a growing middle class, and aims to have “developed nation” status by 2045.
Albanese will attend events to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Vietnam.
