Thayer Consultancy Background Brief:

ABN # 65 648 097 123

China’s Response to the
Vietnam-Australia
Comprehensive Strategic
Partnership
March 17, 2024

We request your assessment of the following statement by Wang Wenbin, spokesman

for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the Vietnam-Australia relationship:
"Development and cooperation is the common aspiration of countries in Asia-Pacific,
and moves to stir up bloc confrontation and make exclusive cliques are against the
countries' wishes."
Q1. What do your make of Wang’s remarks?
ANSWER: China is well-aware of Vietnam “four no’s” defence policy of “neither joining
any military alliances, siding with one country against another, giving any other
countries permission to set up military bases or use its territory to carry out military
activities against other countries nor using force or threatening to use force in
international relations.”
Wang Wenbin’s remarks sounded discordant, especially after Xi Jinping visited Hanoi
immediately after President Biden and General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong met and
raised bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership. It should be
recalled that in their joint statement Xi and Trong agreed “to build a Vietnam-China
Community with a Shared Future having strategic significance.”
China has been treated differently in Vietnam’s top tier relationships. For example,
Russia was Vietnam’s first strategic partner. But China was Vietnam’s first “strategic
and comprehensive cooperative partner/comprehensive strategic partnership of
cooperation” (Vietnamese/Chinese translations of the official text respectively) in
2008. No other country has that appellation.
Wang Wenbin’s comments could be a sign that tensions have arisen in the South China
Sea after Xi’s visit. China provocatively still deploys a Coast Guard ship to monitor
activity in the waters near Vanguard Bank. Vietnam has been more critical of China in
recent public statements.
Wang Wenbin’s remarks came two days after Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affair’s
spokesperson Pham Thu Hang, when asked in their joint statement about the China-
Philippines clash ay Second Thomas Shoal, replied: “Vietnam is deeply concerned
about the recent tension in the East Sea that may affect peace, security and stability
in the waters.”
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Three days later, on 14 March, Vietnam held a number of memorial requiems to

commemorate the loss of sixty-four Vietnamese naval personnel who were killed by
the Chinese in a clash at Gac Ma (Johnson South) reef in March 1988. Ceremonies
were held in Quang Binh province and at a memorial site in Khanh Hoa province where
a delegation from the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army and Naval Region 4
Command were present.
The English-language newspaper VietnamPlus published an OpEd to mark the
occasion that noted “National sovereignty is supreme and inviolable. Generations of
Vietnamese people have exerted huge efforts and sacrificed blood to establish
national sovereignty and safeguard the sacred national territory, seas and islands of
the Motherland.”
Also on 14 March, after China unilaterally announced new baselines in the Gulf of
Tonkin, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hang stated: “Vietnam requests that China
respect and comply with the Agreement on the delimitation of the territorial sea,
exclusive economic zones and continental shelf between the two countries in the Gulf
of Tonkin signed in 2000 and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.”
Chinese officials should also be aware that Vietnam added a caveat to its policy of
“four no’s” in its most recent Defence White Paper published in 2019: “Depending on
circumstances and specific conditions, Viet Nam will consider developing necessary,
appropriate defence and military relations with other countries…”
Q2. Could you please share with us your expectations on the newly established
comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Australia?
ANSWER: Australia and Vietnam just celebrated fifty years of diplomatic relations. The
newly signed comprehensive strategic partnership comprises six major areas of
cooperation: deepening political, defence security and justice cooperation; enhancing
economic engagement; building knowledge and connecting people; strengthening
climate, environment and energy cooperation; supporting science and technology,
innovation and developing digital transformation; and reinforcing regional and
international cooperation. In sum, now that bilateral relations have been raised to a
comprehensive strategic partnership “the sky is the limit.”
Over the course of fifty years Vietnam has hosted visits by two Vietnam Communist
Party Secretary Generals, Do Muoi (1995) and Nong Duc Manh (2018). The Joint
Statement on the elevation of relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership
noted: “We renew our commitment to frequent high-level engagement in all channels
between the Communist Party, Government and National Assembly of Viet Nam, and
the political parties, Government and Parliament of Australia; and to bilateral
cooperation mechanisms, including Annual Leaders’ Talks.”
Australia and Vietnam developed substantial defence ties since defence attaches were
exchanged in 1999-2000. In 2010 Australia and Vietnam signed a Memorandum of
Understanding on Defence Cooperation. Since then 3,500 Vietnam People’s Army
officers have graduated from Australian-funded training in Australia and Vietnam.
Under the comprehensive strategic partnership cooperation in peacekeeping will
be elevated to a peacekeeping partnership and defence cooperation will be
eexpanded to include defence industry, maritime security, information and
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intelligence sharing, strengthening maritime cooperation, and enhancing cooperation

in cyber-security and critical technology, including through cyber security capacity-
building initiatives to address cyber security threats.
It is not coincidental that China’s former State Councillor and Minister of Foreign
Affairs Wang Yi is currently visiting Canberra after Vietnam’s elevation of ties with the
United States, Japan and Australia to comprehensive strategic partnerships. Wang Yi’s
objective is to repair relations with the Albanese Labor Government while playing on
political disarray in Washington as the November elections approach. Wang Yi will try
to dissuade Canberra from “playing the Vietnam card” against Chinese interests.

Suggested citation: Carlyle A. Thayer, “China’s Response to the Vietnam-Australia

Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,” Thayer Consultancy Background Brief, March
17, 2024. All background briefs are posted on Scribd.com (search for Thayer). To
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Thayer Consultancy provides political analysis of current regional security issues and
other research support to selected clients. Thayer Consultancy was officially
registered as a small business in Australia in 2002.