Vietnam: What kind of New Diplomacy does Vietnam want to Create?
November 2022
The author of this article is Prof. Yu Xiangdong, is the Director of the Vietnam Research Institute of Zhengzhou University, China. This article was originally published in World Knowledge, Issue 11, 2022
Vietnam’s diplomacy has been quite active recently. On April 30, Vietnam welcomed the visiting Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. On May 12, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended the US-ASEAN Special Summit held in Washington. On the same day, Vietnam also began to host the 31st Southeast Asian Games in a high-profile manner. The 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam held in February 2021 made new strategic arrangements for Vietnam’s diplomacy. Since then, Vietnam has worked hard to create a new pattern of “diplomacy” with Vietnamese characteristics proposed by party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong through measures such as studying and formulating a diplomatic strategic plan until 2035, adjusting personnel in the diplomatic sector, strengthening the construction of diplomatic cadres, convening a national foreign affairs and diplomatic work conference, and a series of work conferences on economic diplomacy, cultural diplomacy, and military diplomacy. All the manifestations of Vietnam’s diplomacy over the past year or so are a reflection of the implementation of the spirit of the resolution of the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
What is the “New diplomacy” of Vietnam?
The so-called “New diplomacy” can be said to be a summary of the achievements and lessons learned in Vietnam’s diplomatic development in history, and it is also a vivid expression of the Vietnamese national way of thinking in the field of diplomacy. Its outstanding feature is swaying in the wind without completely falling to one side (one great power), using both hard and soft means to maintain its position and propositions, and being flexible and adaptable to the situation, including seeking a balance between major powers, “both struggle and cooperation”. This new diplomacy reflects the combination of modernity and national tradition, as well as the combination of professional leadership and national participation. Focusing on the national medium- and long-term development strategic goals decided at the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Vietnam has made flexible adjustments to the existing diplomatic structure and diplomatic methods. Under the framework of continuing to develop political and security diplomacy, economic diplomacy and cultural diplomacy, Vietnam has further built a macro-strategic layout supported by the new “three pillars” of inter-party diplomacy, state diplomacy and people’s diplomacy. New diplomacy’s overall concept is to emphasize that national interests are above all else, highlight realism, nationalism and pragmatism, be more proactive and confident, more diversified, and pay more attention to interest relations, in order to seek an external environment that is favorable to itself, and at the same time exert greater influence in the regional and international community.
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam believes that the layout of diplomatic work is closely related to the development and changes in both domestic and international aspects. To do a good job in diplomacy, it is necessary to make accurate judgments on changes in the situation and mobilize the joint efforts of the entire political system. Vietnam thinks: at present, peace, development and cooperation are still the general trend of world development. Multi-polarization and multi-centralization are accelerating, and globalization is also continuing to develop. However, the international political and security environment faces severe challenges and many tests, and many situations are difficult to predict. The strategic competition and mutual constraints among major and powerful countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including Southeast Asia, have become more intense and serious. Vietnam must properly deal with the “middle-income trap”, prevent “peaceful evolution back to capitalism towards “, “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” and other difficult challenges coming from both inside and outside, and adjust Vietnam diplomacy in response to changes in the situation and establish a new situation. In December 2021, the Politburo and Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam directly hosted a high-level foreign affairs conference, which was the first time in Vietnam. This conference and a series of actions indicate that Vietnam will build a comprehensive, modern and integrated Vietnamese diplomatic infrastructure system through inter-party diplomacy, state diplomacy and people’s diplomacy to improve the effectiveness of diplomatic work.
What changes will Vietnam’s diplomacy show?
Specifically, Vietnam’s diplomacy will show the following changes:
First, Vietnam’s diplomacy will be more confident and proactive.
Over the past 30 years of reform and opening up since 1986, Vietnam’s system of “market economy with a socialist direction” was gradually established and improved, and remarkable achievements was made in economic and social development. In particular, in recent years, in response to world trade frictions and the impact of the epidemic, Vietnam’s economy has maintained rapid growth. The 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam determined the “two centenary” goals, namely, to build an industrial country in a modern direction by the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Party in 2030, and to build a socialist modern developed country by the 100th anniversary of the founding of the country in 2045. To build a new diplomatic pattern is to take advantage of internal and external times and trends, seize various opportunities, combine national strength with the power of the times, maintain a peaceful and stable development environment, and serve the overall development goals of the country.
Second, Vietnam will always emphasize the maintenance of national independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial security.
Especially since the implementation of the comprehensive reform and opening-up policy at the Sixth Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam in 1986, Vietnam’s diplomacy has always put the goal of national independence and the pursuit of national interests in the first place. At the beginning of the 21st century, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam formulated the “Strategy of Defending the Motherland” in the new era. In recent years, Vietnam has proposed to develop the real and actual interests of the country and the nation as much as possible through the use of political and security diplomacy, economic diplomacy and cultural diplomacy. The 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the National Conference on Foreign Affairs clearly emphasized the protection of national independence and sovereignty. Under the new situation, the new diplomatic pattern constructed by Vietnam will adhere to the diplomatic concepts of realism, pragmatism and nationalism, and take various measures to implement the various diplomatic and security strategies determined by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
Third, Vietnam will continue to uphold multilateralism, promote economic diversification and the strategy of “international integration”.
Vietnam thinks: “only by adhering to reform and opening up can it make the most of the external forces of the times and achieve an organic combination with the internal national forces”. This is one of the basic experiences of Vietnam’s reform and opening up over the past 30 years. In particular, in recent years, Vietnam has actively responded to the development of globalization and regional integration, promoted domestic reform by deepening opening up, actively participated in the “Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement” (TPP) and the “Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement” (CPTPP), joined the “Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership” (RCEP), maintained and developed close relations with ASEAN and the EU, signed a free trade agreement with the EU, and adopted a more proactive attitude to implement the “international integration” strategy. In Vietnam’s new diplomatic landscape, economic diplomacy will continue to play a dominant role, while also seeking to diversify international economic relations, reduce risks, and enhance the flexibility and effectiveness of “international integration.”
Fourth, more attention will be paid to interest relations.
Starting from pragmatism, Vietnam’s diplomacy takes national interests as the basis of diplomacy, and focuses on building multilateral and bilateral relations based on interests. In carrying out bilateral and multilateral diplomatic work, further promoting strategic docking with the United States will be a very important part of Vietnam’s diplomacy. “However, Vietnam must also consider its own long-term and fundamental national interests and political security and stability, and carefully maintain this relationship within the scope of sovereign security. It will not move towards a substantive alliance with the United States in the short term, but its security cooperation relationship with the United States will continue to heat up”. Communist Party of Vietnam believes that Vietnam’s diplomacy has not fully kept pace with the times and has not fully utilized and effectively promoted the interest relations with various partners. Under the new situation, Vietnam’s diplomacy, especially bilateral diplomacy, must create a trend of intertwined interests and mutual penetration, and enhance mutual trust with the international community and partners. In the new diplomatic landscape, Vietnam will more actively participate in the formulation of global and regional rules, strengthen cooperation with ASEAN, the United Nations, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and the Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Cooperation Mechanism (GMS), and particularly emphasize ASEAN’s central role in building regional security. It also hopes to play a greater role and influence within ASEAN.
Fifth, the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam over foreign affairs will be further strengthened.
The 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam decided that the innovation of the Communist Party of Vietnam’s political leadership style is still slow and unsatisfactory. The power control mechanism of the Republic of Vietnam, including in the field of diplomacy, is not sufficient, not enough coordinated and effective. At the National Conference on Foreign Affairs, Party secretary Nguyen Phu Trong emphasized the need to strengthen the party’s “absolute and unified leadership” over foreign affairs. In recent years, the Communist Party of Vietnam has continuously strengthened party building and rectification work and anti-corruption work, improved leadership and governance capabilities, and strengthened unified leadership, all of which will have a significant impact on the construction of Vietnam’s new diplomatic landscape.
For a long time, Vietnam’s diplomatic departments had obvious deficiencies and lagged in implementing the diplomatic ideas, lines and policy propositions of the Communist Party of Vietnam. This situation has changed after the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Recently, the Party Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam held a meeting of thousands of people, including overseas cadres, in a combination of online and offline forms to study, learn and implement the resolutions of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 13th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, study and learn from Ho Chi Minh’s thoughts, morality and style, and strengthen the unified leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam over diplomatic work and the centralized management of the state. This is the future trend.
Vietnam has close diplomatic ties and common interests with Russia and Ukraine, which is a new test for Vietnam’s “new diplomacy”.
In dealing with the Russian-Ukraine conflict, Vietnam has shown its basic position of upholding the UN Charter and the principles of international law and hoping that the parties concerned will negotiate to resolve the issue, and it is flexible in dealing with specific issues. Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son said on April 14 that he hopes to resolve the conflict in a peaceful manner, protect civilian infrastructure and civilian safety, rescue refugees, promote the process of diplomatic dialogue and negotiation, and achieve the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine. Nguyen Phu Trong also reiterated Vietnam’s diplomatic position when he spoke with Indian Prime Minister Modi on April 15, hoping to respect international law, not use force or threaten to use force, and that the parties concerned stop the war, restore peace, ensure people’s safety, and solve humanitarian problems through dialogue and negotiation.
What Can Happen in China-Vietnam relations? Given that Vietnam will generally continue to adhere to its long-term diplomatic concepts and policies and implement the diversification and diversification of diplomatic relations, it can be estimated that its policy toward China will also maintain the general trend of good neighborliness, mutually beneficial cooperation, and development. From the perspective of the new “three pillars” of Vietnam’s diplomacy, party-to-party exchanges are the highlight of China-Vietnam relations, with smooth channels and good results, and have a guiding significance for the development of state relations. In recent years, China-Vietnam relations have encountered some problems, especially occasional maritime frictions, which have affected the improvement of bilateral mutual trust and the positioning of strategic cooperation, but economic and trade relations have been playing a positive role as the “ballast stone” of bilateral relations. People-to-people exchanges are an area that both Chinese and Vietnamese leaders are promoting, but the actual effect still needs to be improved. Vietnam is an important Southeast Asian country with a population of nearly 100 million, and its status in the region and the world is constantly improving. With the rapid development of the country and the increase of its strength, Vietnam will adopt both hard and soft methods to develop relations with China. In order to contain China in the South China Sea and seize more maritime rights and interests, the possibility of Vietnam and the United States, Japan, Australia, India and other countries linking up with each other in military security and forming a “practical alliance” or “quasi-alliance” cannot be completely ruled out. Vietnam thinks: “it should further coordinate land and sea, strengthen the struggle for rights protection in the South China Sea, enhance our voice in the dissemination of international public opinion, and continue to promote the consultation process of the “Code of Conduct in the South China Sea” (COC). In addition, Vietnam feels necessary to further develop China-Vietnam economic and trade cooperation on the basis of mutually beneficial cooperation, promote production capacity cooperation and epidemic prevention cooperation while preventing and controlling the epidemic, increase the import of Vietnamese agricultural products, develop China-Vietnam tourism cooperation, and enhance the connection between the construction of the “Belt and Road” and the construction of Vietnam’s “Two Corridors and One Circle” in key construction projects. Vietnam also feels necessary to continue to play the role of “stabilizer” in the relationship between the two parties, strengthen inter-party exchanges and communication, and lay a solid foundation for long-term good-neighborly and friendly cooperation between China and Vietnam from a strategic perspective.