Vietnam’s Proactive International Integration: Case Studies in Defence Cooperation

This paper discusses the exchange of high-level visits, strategic dialogues, defence cooperation agreements (equipment procurement, military technology, education and training, military medicine and maritime security), naval port visits and engagement activities, and national defence industry cooperation. This paper concludes that Vietnam seeks to use international defence cooperation to give each strategic partner equity in Vietnam’s stability and development in order to ensure Vietnam’s non-alignment and strategic autonomy.
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Vietnam’s Proactive International Integration: Case Studies in Defence CooperationVNU Journal of Science, Vol. 32, No. 1S (2016) 25-48Vietnam’s Proactive International Integration:Case Studies in Defence CooperationCarlyle A. Thayer*The University of New South Wales, School of Humanities and Social Sciences,Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra, ACT AustraliaReceived 06 October 2016Revised 18 October 2016; Accepted 28 November 2016Abstract: In January 2016, Vietnam’s Cabinet approved the Overall Strategy for InternationalIntegration up to 2020, Vision to 2030 (Chiến lược tổng thể hội nhập quốc tế đến năm 2020, tầmnhìn 2030). This document reviewed Vietnam’s bilateral strategic and comprehensive partnershipswith twenty-five countries and concluded that more efforts had to be made to implement politicalcommitments and to deepen cooperation, including defence and security cooperation. This paperfocuses on Vietnam’s efforts in 2016 to step up international defence cooperation with majorstrategic partners including the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council(China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States) as well as India and Japan.This paper discusses the exchange of high-level visits, strategic dialogues, defence cooperationagreements (equipment procurement, military technology, education and training, militarymedicine and maritime security), naval port visits and engagement activities, and national defenceindustry cooperation. This paper concludes that Vietnam seeks to use international defencecooperation to give each strategic partner equity in Vietnam’s stability and development in orderto ensure Vietnam’s non-alignment and strategic autonomy.Keywords: International Integration, deepen cooperation.1. Introduction*a “multi-directional foreign policy” orientationwith the goal of making “more friends, fewerenemies” (them ban bot thu) [1-5].Vietnam’s multi-directional foreign policywas officially endorsed in the SecretaryGeneral’s Political Report to the VCP’sSeventh National Congress held in June 1991.The Political Report now called for Vietnam to“diversify and multilateralize economicrelations with all countries and economicorganizations . . . regardless of different sociopolitical systems” [6, 7]. Later politicalrelations were included in Vietnam’s policy ofmultilateralization and diversification ofrelations. For example, by 1995 VietnamFor the past twenty-five years Vietnam haspursued a policy of multilateralizing anddiversifying its foreign relations. The genesis ofthis policy may be traced back to May 1988when the Vietnam Communist Party (VCP)Political Bureau adopted Resolution No. 13entitled, On the Tasks and Foreign Policy inthe New Situation. This resolution codifiedVietnam’s foreign policy objectives by givingpriority to economic development and calling for_______*Tel.: +61262511849Email: c.thayer@adfa.edu.au2526C.A. Thayer / VNU Journal of Science, Vol. 32, No. 1S (2016) 25-48expanded the number of countries it haddiplomatic relations with from twenty-three in1989 to 163, including normalized relationswith China, Japan, Europe and the UnitedStates [8].Vietnam’s policy of multilateralizing anddiversifying its foreign relations was endorsedby all subsequent national party congressesfrom the eighth (1996) to the most recent. Forexample, the Political Report to the TwelfthNational Congress held in January 2016 stated,“To ensure successful implementation offoreign policy and international integration…consistently carry out the foreign policy ofindependence, autonomy, peace, cooperationand development... [and] diversify andmultilateralize external relations”1.One key mechanism in Vietnam’smultilateral foreign policy is the promotion ofstrategic partnership agreements. Between2001 and 2016 Vietnam reached strategicpartnershipagreementswithsixteencountries, including all five permanentmembers of the United Nations SecurityCouncil, and agreements on comprehensivepartnerships with ten other countries,including Australia and the United States.The purpose of strategic partnerships is topromote comprehensive cooperation across anumber of areas and to give each major powerequity in Vietnam’s stability and developmentin order to ensure Vietnam’s non-alignment andstrategic autonomy.A little studied aspect of Vietnam’s policyof multilateralizing and diversifying its foreignrelations through strategic partnerships isVietnam’s successful promotion of defence andsecurity cooperation with its strategic partners.This paper aims to redress this neglect byanalyzing Vietnam’s defense cooperation withthe major powers, including Russia, India,Japan, China, the United States, UnitedKingdom and France during 2016, after theTwelfth Party Congress2.This paper is divided into two parts. Part 1provides an assessment of Vietnam’s defencecooperation with the major powers, while Part 2offers some conclusion._______21Nguyen Phu Trong, “Redouble Efforts to Build OurParty Clean and Strong; Promote the Entire Nation’sStrength and Socialist Democracy; Push ForwardComprehensively and Harmoniously the Renewal Process;Defend Firmly the Homeland and Maintain Sturdily aPeaceful and Stable Environment; and Strive for Ours toSoon Become Basically an Industrialized Country TowardModernity”, Political Report to the Twelfth National PartyCongress,January2016.https://m.vietnambreakingnews.com/2016/01/11th-partycentral-committees-report-on-congress-documents/.2. Part 2 providing equity to the majorpowers2.1. Policy frameworkIn January 2016 Vietnam’s Cabinetapproved the Overall Strategy for InternationalIntegration Through 2020, Vision to 2030(Chiến lược tổng thể hội nhập quốc tế đến năm2020, tầm nhìn 2030). This document reviewedVietnam’s bilateral strategic and comprehensivepartnerships with twenty-five c ...