Australia

The projects selected for funding are not only practical regarding the application of advanced technologies in areas of critical need in Vietnam, but they are also very meaningful in today’s context. The Australian government has partnered with the Ministry of Science and Technology of Vietnam to announced a grant of nearly AUD1.4 million (around US$1 million) for four high-tech application projects in the field of digital transformation. The four initiatives have been funded within the framework of the Innovation Partnership Grants under the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Aus4Innovation Program. The four projects, selected from nearly 70 applicants who responded to the call for proposals from Aus4Innovation Partnership Grants Round 3, “Enhancing Digital Transformation”, will be implemented through well-established partnerships between leading universities in both Australia and Vietnam, together with industry partners and local government agencies. …

Continue Reading about Australia funds US$1 million for Vietnam’s digital transformation projects →

Hanoi (VNA) – An online forum on policies and regulations to ensure water resources security for sustainable development was organised on September 16 within the framework of the Vietnam - Australia Water Week 2021. Co-hosted by the Vietnam Water Supply and Sewerage Association (VWSA) and the Australia Water Association (AWA), the event focused on policies to promote and encourage water safety practices. Accordingly, priority will be given to enhancing coordination in developing plans for water resource management in both rural and urban areas for the fields of finance, planning, agriculture, energy, tourism, industry, education and health. At the event, experts of the two countries presented reports focusing challenges and policy orientations for rural water supply security and safety, managing risks amidst impacts of climate change and solutions to ensure safe water supply in urban areas. According to Tran Thi Thu Hang from the Ministry of Natural Resources and …

Continue Reading about Vietnam, Australia share experience in water sector’s development →

Australia and the US underlined the importance of countries’ ability to exercise their maritime rights and freedoms in the East Sea, consistent with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), including freedom of navigation and overflight and other internationally lawful uses of the sea related to these freedoms. The two countries made the point in the Australia-US Ministerial Consultations Joint Statement, which was issued after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin hosted Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister for Women Marise Payne and Minister for Defence Peter Dutton of Australia in Washington D.C. on September 16 for the 31st Australia-US Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN 2021). Adherence to international law is essential for regional and international stability and prosperity, it stressed. The officials conveyed concern regarding China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea that are without legal basis. …

Continue Reading about Australia, US stress importance of ensuring freedoms in East Sea →

Australia reported 1,607 new coronavirus cases on Sunday as states and territories gradually shift from trying to eliminate outbreaks to living with the virus. Victoria, home to about a quarter of Australia's 25 million people, recorded 507 cases as its premier said a weeks-long lockdown will end once 70% of those 16 and older are fully vaccinated, whether or not there are new cases. Premier Daniel Andrews said the state might reach that vaccination threshold around Oct. 26. About 43% Victorians have been fully vaccinated and just over 46% people nationwide. "We will do so cautiously, but make no mistake, we are opening this place up. There is no alternative," Andrews said. We "cannot perennially or permanently suppress this virus. Lockdowns have been about buying time to get to 70% and 80% vaccination." Many social distancing restrictions will remain and retail and hospitality venues will be limited, but people will be free to leave their house without a reason. Andrews …

Continue Reading about Australia reports 1,607 COVID-19 cases as states learn to live with virus →

Australia's Victoria state on Monday reported its biggest daily rise in COVID-19 cases this year, while some curbs were eased in Sydney despite persistent infections. Hard lockdowns in Victoria will end once 70% of its adult population gets fully vaccinated, expected around Oct. 26, and authorities aim to hit 80% before the Nov. 2 Melbourne Cup, Australia's most famous horse race. A total of 567 new locally acquired infections were detected in Victoria, the majority in state capital Melbourne, up from 507 on Sunday, and one new death was recorded. Daily cases have topped 500 for the past five days. Nearly half of Australia's 25 million people is in lockdown after the Delta variant spread rapidly in Sydney and Melbourne, forcing Victoria and New South Wales to abandon a COVID-zero target and shift to rapid vaccinations to ease curbs. Australia has largely lived in COVID-zero for much of the pandemic, recording 1,163 deaths and some 86,000 cases. About 55,000 cases have been …

Continue Reading about COVID-19 cases jump in Australia’s Victoria as curbs ease in Sydney hotspots →

Defense and security cooperation is one of three priority areas in the Plan of Action for the Strategic Partnership in 2020-2023. Australian and Vietnamese navies will engage in a series of activities, including maritime training in the waters off Vietnam’s Cam Ranh Bay in a four-day port call starting Sept. 20 paid by Australia’s Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2021 (IPE21) Task Group. Commodore Mal Wise, Commander Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2021, along with Commanding Officers of HMAS Canberra, HMAS Anzac, HMAS Sirius, and members of his staff, are formally welcomed upon the arrival of the Task Group in Cam Ranh Bay. Photos: Embassy of Australia in Hanoi The Task Group comprises three Royal Australian Navy (RAN) vessels and approximately 700 Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel. Indo-Pacific Endeavour is Australia’s flagship regional engagement activity, with the Task Group including personnel from all ADF services, Australian government agencies, as well as naval …

Continue Reading about Australia, Vietnam navies boost maritime security cooperation →

SYDNEY/MELBOURNE -- A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck near Melbourne on Wednesday, Geoscience Australia said, one of the country's biggest quakes on record, causing damage to buildings in the country's second largest city and sending tremors throughout neighbouring states. The quake's epicentre was near the rural town of Mansfield in the state of Victoria, about 200 km (124 miles) northeast of Melbourne, and was at a depth of 10 km (six miles). An aftershock was rated 4.0. Images and video footage circulating on social media showed rubble blocking one of Melbourne's main streets, while people in northern parts of the city said on social media they had lost power and others said they were evacuated from buildings. The quake was felt as far away as the city of Adelaide, 800 km (500 miles) to the west in the state of South Australia, and Sydney, 900 km (600 miles) to the north in New South Wales state, although there were no reports of damage outside Melbourne and no reports of …

Continue Reading about Magnitude 6.0 earthquake strikes near Melbourne, tremors rattle southeast Australia →

Australia and Vietnam have a defense relationship that extends back to 1999. Regular goodwill visits to Vietnamese ports by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) have contributed to building up the defense cooperation relationship, according to Carl Thayer, emeritus professor at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Canberra. The Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2021 task Group is formally welcomed by Senior Captain Nguyen Thai Hoc, Deputy Chief of Staff of Naval Region 4, and other officers from the Vietnam People’s Navy, Vietnam People’s Army-Military Region 5, Border Guards, and the Australian Embassy Vietnam. Photos: Embassy of Australia in Hanoi The Hanoi Times . Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Robyn Mudie at the in-person meeting in Hanoi on Sept. 22. On the occasion of the Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2021 (IPE21) Task Group’s visit to Cam Ranh, the two countries’ defense ministries on Sept. 22 held a virtual and in-person exchange on gender, …

Continue Reading about Australia’s navy visits to Vietnam indicate larger defense ties: Carl Thayer →

Indonesia has agreed to allow Sun Cable's Australia-Asia PowerLink or AAPowerLink route through Indonesian waters (Photo: Sun Cable) Jakarta (VNA) - Indonesia n authorities announced on September 23 that the country had approved a giant solar power link between Australia and Singapore after a 2.5 billion USD investment commitment. Specifically, the country has agreed to allow Sun Cable's Australia -Asia PowerLink or AAPowerLink route through Indonesian waters and approved the undersea survey permit. Addressing a virtual press conference in Jakarta, Indonesian Coordinating Minister of Maritime and Investment Luhut Binsar Panjaitan said this project is expected to have a sustainable impact on the country’s economy through various procurement programmes that will benefit the industry and the government's revenue. AAPowerlink will generate solar electricity from one of the world's biggest solar farm projects and transmit it from Darwin to Singapore starting in …

Continue Reading about Indonesia approves solar power link between Australia, Singapore →

Australian-based Bato Ausales said it sold seven tons of frozen Ri6 durians from Vietnam just hours after the completion of customs clearance. Phuc Truong, director of the company, said more than 200 tons of the fruit will be quickly imported to serve local distributors’ demand. Another importer, Uu Dam Australia, also posted its successful distribution of 80 tons of the frozen durians, with the company soon receiving 49 more tons. The company unveiled its plan to intensify investment in its production facility in Vietnam for an export of up to hundreds of tonnes per year. In the past, Thai and Malaysian durians used to dominate the Australian market. The Vietnamese fruit have to date gained its foothold, with a host of brands availabe including Asean Produce, Vin Eni, Basel, and Uu Dam. Nguyen Phu Hoa, head of the Vietnam Trade Office in Australia, said the agency began its market survey and building a promotion strategy for Vietnamese durians in 2019, helping the products …

Continue Reading about Vietnamese durians gain foothold in Australia →