New Delhi: Vietnam will always support India’s initiatives for peace in the Indo-Pacific region, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said in an address in New Delhi Thursday.
“We always support India’s initiatives for peace in the region and the world,” said the Vietnamese PM while delivering the 49th Sapru House Lecture at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA).
During his speech, the Vietnamese PM also underlined the need to settle disputes in the South China Sea according to international law.
“We have a vision for peace in the seas and oceans, including the South China Sea. We believe in settling disputes in accordance with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),” he told a packed auditorium with high-ranking officials and ambassadors in attendance, including the Chinese envoy to India, Xu Feihong.
Chinh’s comments come amid rising tensions in the South China Sea as China increasingly asserts itself in the region. Beijing has maritime disputes with nearly all its neighbours, including Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Japan.
With Vietnam, the dispute is over the Paracel Islands, Spratly Islands and parts of the South China Sea. In April 2020, the Chinese Coast Guard sank a Vietnamese fishing vessel near Vanguard Bank, prompting it to lodge an official protest.
The Vietnamese PM was on an official visit to India from 30 July to 1 August. It was the first high-level visit since India and Vietnam established a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2016. India was the third country to become a strategic partner to Vietnam in the mid-2000s, after Russia and China.
Vietnam is in talks with India to purchase BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, according to multiple media reports.
However, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) did not expand on this when asked, at a press briefing Thursday, if the matter was discussed during talks between Modi and Chinh.
‘Don’t resort to selfish power politics’
During his speech, the Vietnamese PM made a note of the “major power competition” in the Indo-Pacific, and said New Delhi and Hanoi can work together as a positive influence in the region.
“There is major power competition [in the Indo-Pacific]. We must prioritise peace, diplomacy and dialogue instead of threats of force. We should not resort to selfish power politics,” he said.
“Our two countries ought to work together as a positive influence for peace and stability in the region and world,” he added.
He called India an important pole in an emerging multi-polar world.
“During discussions with Indian leaders, I said India is a role model for growth…India is an influential country among others in the region, including Vietnam,” he remarked.
‘Conflicts affect supply chains’
The Vietnamese PM also touched on some ongoing conflicts across the world, specifically mentioning the Israel-Hamas war and the situation in the Red Sea. He did not mention the Russia-Ukraine war.
“The world is in a deep, profound state of flux today. There are localised conflicts. Perhaps a new arms race is on the way and not just in a few countries,” he said.
“Whether it’s events in the Red Sea, Middle East or in Myanmar, conflicts affect supply chains, logistics and prices of goods. No citizen of one country can feel safe if a citizen of another country is facing insecurity. We must uphold multilateralism,” he added.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
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