TTLV: Political and Economic Relations between Vietnam and Australia (2015-2024)

INFORMATION ABOUT THE MASTER'S THESIS

1. Student's full name: Tran Ngoc Long 2. Gender: Male. Date of birth: 07/11/1976

4. Place of birth: Hanoi

5. Decision No. 5626/QD-XHNV, dated December 29, 2023, of the Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, recognizing the student.

6. Changes in the training process: None

7. Thesis title: Political and Economic Relations between Vietnam and Australia (2015-2024)

8. Major: International Relations ; Code: 8310601.01

9. Scientific supervisor:

- Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Hong Hanh, Department of International Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

- Dr. Doan Thi Thu Huong, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences

10. Summary of the thesis results:

The thesis clarifies the meaning of "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership," considered a tool to maximize political and economic standing. The concept of "middle-sized country" is a crucial factor, explaining why Australia (a typical middle-sized country) and Vietnam (rising to become a middle-sized country) share strategic interests and promote cooperation to enhance their position in the regional structure. Objective factors include the strategic competition between the US and China, which compels the two countries to strengthen cooperation to ensure regional security and maintain an international rules-based order. The political and economic relationship between Vietnam and Australia developed rapidly and was continuously upgraded during the period 2015-2024, reflecting a high level of strategic trust and a similarity in their status as "middle-sized countries."

The political and economic relationship between Vietnam and Australia during the period 2015-2024 had the strongest impact on areas such as innovation, education, and human resource development, as these areas were identified as strategic pillars helping Vietnam transform its economic structure to achieve long-term development goals, while also aligning with Australia's core strengths and development support orientation.

The substantive nature of Vietnam-Australia relations during the 2015-2024 period is demonstrated by the concretization of commitments through action programs, specific cooperation projects, and the active participation of both the public and private sectors. One of the outstanding highlights of Vietnam-Australia relations is the complementarity of their economic structures, creating clear bilateral benefits. The upgrading of relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (March 2024) demonstrates the highest level of strategic trust between the two countries. Vietnam is identified as a key growth driver in Australia's Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040. Vietnam-Australia relations are projected to continue developing rapidly and will be of paramount strategic importance to Australia in Southeast Asia after 2024.

Based on the above results, the thesis has drawn several policy implications for Vietnam.

11. Practical applications:

This thesis can be used as a reference document on foreign policy, effectively leveraging opportunities from comprehensive partnerships.

Clearly recognizing the Vietnam-Australia relationship as a typical case study of a middle-sized country in a "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership" with Vietnam can serve as a basis for further research on strategic partnerships, relations with middle-sized countries, and Vietnam-Australia relations in the future.

12. Future research directions:

Expand research on Vietnam-Australia political and economic relations to include other areas. Update on new developments and trends after 2024, linked to changes in the global and regional situation.

13. Published works related to the thesis: None

INFORMATION ON MASTER'S THESIS

1. Full name: Tran Ngoc Long 2. Sex: Male

3. Date of birth: November 7, 1976 4. Place of birth: Hanoi

5. Admission decision number: 5626/QD-XHNV, Dated: Dec 29^th 2023

6. Changes in academic process: No

7. Official thesis title: Vietnam-Australia Political and Economic Relations (2015-2024)

8. Major: International Relations 9. Code: 8310601.01

10. Supervisors:

- Assoc.Prof. Dr. Bui Hong Hanh, Faculty of International Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities - Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

- Dr. Doan Thi Thu Huong, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences.

11. Summary of the findings of the thesis:

The thesis has clarified the understanding of "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership", which is considered a tool to maximize political and economic position, the concept of "middle-sized country" is an important factor, explaining that Australia (a typical middle-sized country) and Vietnam (rising to middle-sized country) share strategic interests and promote cooperation to enhance their position in the regional structure. Objective factors include US-China strategic competition force the two countries to strengthen cooperation to ensure regional security and maintain order based on international law. Vietnam-Australia political and economic relations in the period of 2015-2024 have developed rapidly and been continuously upgraded, reflecting a high level of strategic trust and similarity in the position of "middle-sized country". The Vietnam-Australia political and economic relationship in the 2015-2024 period has the strongest impact on areas such as innovation, education and human resource development because these areas are identified as strategic pillars to help Vietnam transform its economic structure to achieve long-term development goals, while also being consistent with Australia's core strengths and development assistance orientation.

The substance of the Vietnam-Australia relationship in the 2015-2024 period is demonstrated by the fact that commitments are concretized through action programs, specific cooperation projects, and the active participation of both the public and private sectors. One of the highlights in the Vietnam-Australia relationship is the mutual complementarity in economic structures, creating clear bilateral benefits. The upgrading of the relationship to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (March 2024) demonstrates the highest level of strategic trust between the two countries. Vietnam is identified as a key growth driver in Australia's Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040. The Vietnam-Australia relationship is forecast to continue to grow rapidly and be of prime strategic significance for Australia in Southeast Asia after 2024.

From the above results, the thesis has put forward a number of policy implications for Vietnam..

12. Practical applicability:

The thesis can be used as a reference document on foreign policy, effectively exploiting opportunities from the comprehensive partnership.

The clear recognition of the Vietnam-Australia relationship as a typical case study of a middle-ranking country in the "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership" relationship with Vietnam can be the basis for further studies on strategic partnerships, relations with middle-ranking countries and Vietnam-Australia relations in the coming time.

14. Thesis-related publications: None