In an interview with Vietnam News Agency correspondents in Paris on Viet Nam’s role in Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific, as well as prospects for bilateral relations on the occasion of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam Central Committee and President To Lam’s upcoming official visit to France, the expert, who is Director (Africa - Asia - Middle East) at the Institute of Strategic Research (IRSEM) under the French Ministry of Armed Forces, said Viet Nam’s strategic choices are not confined to the framework of great-power competition.
He noted that Viet Nam’s strategy is based on a careful assessment of geographical constraints and a strong desire for independence. Over the years, Viet Nam has strengthened ties with the world’s leading economic powers. The elevation of Viet Nam-France relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership should be viewed in this broader context, reflecting Viet Nam’s determination to diversify its strategic relations.
With a pragmatic approach, Viet Nam has significantly reoriented towards Asia over the past three decades, focusing on regional priorities and major economies that are driving Asia’s development, including China, the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Japan.
ASEAN, home to around 680 million people, and now the world’s fifth-largest economy, has been at the heart of Viet Nam’s economic reintegration with Asia. Alongside this process, Viet Nam has also built an extensive network of political and strategic partnerships internationally.
According to the French expert, as Viet Nam continues to expand its network of partners, France faces growing competition in its economic relations with the country. The increasing number of partners creates more opportunities for various sides, but also underscores the need for both countries to further consolidate and deepen economic ties, thereby creating a stronger foundation for political and strategic cooperation.
Nevertheless, the expert considered France an important partner for Viet Nam, given its status as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and its pursuit of “strategic autonomy”, which provides additional room for Viet Nam to balance relations with major powers. Conversely, Viet Nam holds a special position in France’s Asian policy due to historical ties as well as Paris’s economic and geopolitical interests in the Indo-Pacific.
Regarding defense and security cooperation, he noted that although this is one of the pillars of the comprehensive strategic partnership, bilateral defense cooperation remains relatively modest, leaving considerable room for expansion.
France was the first Western country to establish defense ties with Viet Nam in 1991, when it resumed posting a defense attaché in the country. Since then, cooperation has focused mainly on military medicine, French-language training for Vietnamese officers, training for Vietnamese peacekeeping forces and defense diplomacy exchanges, including French naval port calls in Viet Nam and strategic dialogues between the two defense ministries.
According to the expert, bilateral defense ties remain largely symbolic and are still far from operational cooperation. Although the comprehensive strategic partnership aims to expand collaboration into defense industry, progress has yet to match the potential.
He stressed that Viet Nam’s efforts in recent years to diversify its sources of arms and defense equipment could create new opportunities for the two countries to pursue more substantive cooperation in areas of mutual importance.
Looking ahead, he said the two sides should shift greater attention towards Viet Nam’s future strategic challenges in Asia. He suggested that the strategic relationship should focus more on consultations on major global issues, including multilateralism and the environment, and concretely strengthen economic and industrial exchanges.
Viet Nam and France should also build a forward-looking, mutually beneficial partnership in which stronger economic and industrial ties serve as an indispensable foundation, he added.
Source: VNA