Australian Navy warship HMAS Darwin will pay a diplomatic visit to HCM City from 28 September to 2 October, the Australian Consulate General announced.

“The tour is expected to strengthen the goodwill and nation to nation ties between Australia and Vietnam through personal relationships established during the port visits,” the statement wrote.

The ship will arrive in the city with a total of 206 officers and crew aboard. The crew will meet with senior officers and sailors from the Vietnamese People’s Navy. The crew will also participate in a friendly sporting activity and play Australian football against the Vietnam Swans at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Ho Chi Minh City Campus.

The crew intend to conduct charity work and make a tour.

Colonel Stuart Dodds, Australian Defence Attaché in Vietnam, said, “Since the establishment of Defence Relations in 1999, fifteen Royal Australian Navy ships have paid goodwill visits to Vietnam and these visits have been one of the highlights in the defence relations between the two countries.”

The Darwin is a long-range escort frigate that undertakes roles including area air defence, anti-submarine warfare, surveillance, reconnaissance and interdiction. The ship is capable of countering simultaneous threats from the air, surface and sub-surface.

VietNamNet/SGGP