Visiting Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has told his Australian hosts that Vietnam hopes for further cooperation with Australia and supports the Australasian country’s increased role in the Asia Pacific region.

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>> Vietnam calls for "self-restraint" in East Sea PM Dung made that statement during his speech before scholars and researchers at the Lowy Institute for International Policy, one of the top 30 global think tanks, in Sydney on Tuesday, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

From a war-torn nation, Vietnam has become a middle-income developing country with diplomatic relations with 185 countries and membership in more than 70 international organizations, the agency quoted the premier as saying. The Southeast Asian country is also a major business destination with nearly 18,000 projects worth roughly US$300 billion invested by over 100 countries and territories, he said. The Vietnamese government leader pointed out that Australia has been among the top 10 trade partners of Vietnam in recent years, with bilateral trade expected to top $6.5 billion this year, more than doubling the 2000 figure of $3 billion. Australian investors are currently developing 320 projects valued at over $1.65 billion in Vietnam, PM Dung added.

He emphasized that the ties between the two countries have deepened in various fields, including politics, economy, education, and culture, since they established their comprehensive partnership in 2009.

Concerning regional security issues, PM Dung said Asia Pacific contributes around 55 percent to the global GDP and plays a vital role in the formation of a future world order, but potential instabilities do exist in the region, including the complicated situation in the East Vietnam Sea.

The Vietnamese leader stressed that current tensions and instabilities in the East Vietnam Sea can only be resolved once all nations comply with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, fully implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Vietnam Sea, refrain from unilateral actions that complicate the situation, avoid threats and the use of force, and rapidly enact a code of conduct for all relevant parties.

On March 17 evening, PM Dung and his entourage left for the capital city of Canberra to have talks with his Australian counterpart Tony Abbott the following day. At the Wednesday meeting, the two sides called for "self-restraint" in the East Vietnam Sea and warned against the unilateral use of force, Reuters reported the same day. Dung told the Australian parliament there was an imperative need to draw up a code of conduct for the East Vietnam Sea, according to Reuters. "We agreed ... (to) exercise self-restraint and refrain from actions that may escalate the tension in the region, including the use of force to unilaterally change the status quo," Reuters quoted Prime Minister Dung as saying.

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