Vietnam backs Canberra summit bid
SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- Vietnam will back Australia's bid to be included in a key Asian forum to be held later this year despite Canberra's reluctance to sign a regional non-aggression pact, the Southeast Asian nation's leader told media Thursday.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai told media his country "highly appreciated the role played by Australia in the region and the world" and therefore supported Australian participation in the East Asia Summit to be held in Malaysia in December.
Australia, for its part, said it would support Hanoi's attempts to gain entry into the World Trade Organization.
Khai, who is making his second visit to Australia, was speaking at a joint media conference following a meeting with Australian Prime Minister John Howard in the capital, Canberra.
Australia is keen have a voice at the East Asia Summit which will see Association of Southeast Asian Nations grouped with other Asian powers such as Japan, China and South Korea.
While some nations such as Indonesia support Australia's inclusion, others, like Malaysia, are opposed because of Canberra's refusal to sign a regional Treaty of Amity and Cooperation.
Australia is afraid that treaty might compromise its long-standing ANZUS security pact with the United States, but diplomatic efforts are under way to find a compromise position.
Vietnam and Australia have been gradually increasing ties since the end of the Vietnam War 30 years ago, particularly following moves by the communist regime in Hanoi to embrace a market economy.
"Australia supports Vietnam's accession to the WTO and, subject to agreement on some outstanding matters, it will be possible for a bilateral understanding regarding that accession to be concluded between Australia and Vietnam," Howard told media.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1973, ties between the two countries have expanded in the fields of economics, trade, education, culture development, science, technology and defense.
Formal defense ties between the two countries were established in 1999 and more than 100 Vietnamese military officers have received training in Australia in the past three years.
In 2004, bilateral two-way trade between Australia and Vietnam in goods and services was valued at Aust. $3.7 billion ($2.85 billion), with trade growing at 14.7 per cent over the previous year.
Khai will leave Australia on Saturday before heading to New Zealand.
He also announced Thursday that he would be visiting the United States next month, the first such visit by a Vietnamese prime minister since hostilities between the two nations ended in 1975. (Full story)
