Singapore (VNA) - General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam To Lam on May 29 attended and delivered a keynote address at the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue, as part of his state visit to Singapore.
Rules and dialogue must become effective tools to minimise real risks
In his keynote address, General Secretary and President Lam stressed that the world is facing mounting risks and uncertainties. While all nations continue to speak of peace, stability and cooperation, the strategic environment is marked by a growing lack of trust, fragmentation and unchecked competition. “Therefore, what we need is to reach and advance a shared vision – essential no matter how minimal it may be – to safeguard peace, trust and development for humankind in the 21st century,” he said.
He also proposed strengthening capacity to prevent crises early and from afar as experience repeatedly shows that many major crises began with misunderstandings left unresolved, signals wrongly interpreted, and preventive mechanisms not activated in time.
The leader said current instability reflects three overlapping and interlinked crises: a crisis of the international order, a crisis of development models, and a crisis of strategic trust. He stressed that these three crises are converging most visibly in the Asia-Pacific. Precisely because it is where these challenges converge, the Asia-Pacific must also become where solutions emerge.
From this perspective, he offered several recommendations for jointly shaping an Asia-Pacific that is peaceful, stable, resilient and capable of mitigating risks early and from afar.
According to him, nations must make rules and dialogue truly effective instruments of risk reduction. A rules-based order does not belong to any single grouping of countries. It is the common foundation upon which large, medium and small states alike can coexist peacefully, grounded in international law and the UN Charter, with full respect for independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, non-use or threat of force, peaceful settlement of disputes, and equality among nations. Rules acquire real meaning only when they are implemented consistently and translated into operational mechanisms such as early warning mechanisms, emergency communication channels, incident-management protocols, self-restraint and verifiable actions.
This is particularly vital for seas and oceans. The seas and oceans do not only stand for resources; but they are also the shared spaces of connection and the lifelines of global trade, energy, food and supply chains. No country benefits when these routes become theatres of coercion, confrontation or displays of power.
With regards to the East Sea, the leader affirmed Vietnam’s position remains clear, consistent and principled. Vietnam supports the peaceful settlement of all disputes and disagreements on the basis of international law, particularly the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Vietnam respects the legitimate rights and interests of other states, while remaining resolute and persistent in safeguarding its own independence, sovereignty, and sovereign rights and jurisdictional rights in accordance with international law.
He stressed the need to shape an open, inclusive regional architecture with ASEAN at its centre. ASEAN’s centrality is neither taken for granted nor self-sustaining. It can only be preserved through unity, strategic autonomy and the capacity to shape a common agenda. Inclusiveness must be matched by effectiveness; dialogue must generate actions; and consensus must enable timely regional responses to shared challenges. In this regard, Vietnam supports and stands ready to work closely with the Philippines as ASEAN Chair in 2026, together with all other member states, to strengthen peace and security, expand corridors of prosperity, advance connectivity, inclusive and sustainable development, and keep ASEAN’s people firmly at the centre of common endeavour.
According to the leader, regional nations must place human security and societal resilience at the core of sustainable security. Instability today does not arise solely from military conflict, but also from fractures in development itself. Therefore, strengthening national defence is legitimate, but sustainable security cannot rest on military power alone. Still less can it be built through arms races or by increasing developmental insecurity for others.
"What we need instead is a development foundation capable of withstanding systemic shocks, one supported by open and diversified supply chains, seamless infrastructure connectivity, and cooperation in finance, technology and human capital. At the same time, we must advance practical collaboration in disaster relief, health, water security, food security, energy security, cybersecurity, critical infrastructure protection and search-and-rescue operations. When cooperation tangibly enhances safety, safeguards livelihoods and improves the people’s quality of life, strategic trust is renewed and strengthened."
Asia-Pacific: an open region for cooperation and connectivity
Stressing the need to shape responsible norms for emerging technologies and the defence industry, General Secretary and President Lam said in the defence and security domain, the critical question is not how powerful technology may become, but the extent to which humanity can retain control over it.
"We must therefore deepen dialogue on AI in the defence and security domain; ensure human’s ultimate responsibility in decisions carrying grave consequences; develop clearer norms of responsible conduct in cyberspace; strengthen protection for undersea cables and critical data infrastructure; and promote greater transparency regarding technologies affecting strategic stability. The defence industry should serve legitimate self-defence and regional stability, not to fuel arms races."
He proposed strengthening societal foundation and resilience, protect the information space and elevate public awareness. Safeguarding peace in the new era therefore also means safeguarding truth, strengthening social trust, enhancing the capacity of strategic communications, educating digital citizens, promoting the accountability of technology platforms, and deepening international cooperation to counter false and malicious information. A society capable of discerning truth from falsehood, maintaining cohesion amid turbulence, and resisting manipulation by fear, hatred or distortion provides one of the strongest foundations for sustainable security.
The leader stressed the need to strengthen the capacity for preventive diplomacy, mediation and conciliation in the region. The Asia-Pacific must treat preventive diplomacy as a strategic capability, not merely as an improvised response after a crisis has already erupted.
"We need more diverse channels of consultation, more flexible mediation mechanisms, incident contact mechanisms, quasi-formal exchange platforms, and broader confidence-building initiatives linking defence establishments, security agencies, maritime law-enforcement bodies, scholars, businesses and social organisations. The objective is to create credible “diplomatic off-ramps” before parties become drawn into spirals of escalation that heighten the risk of conflict."
To partners with significant influence both within and beyond the region, Vietnam wishes to convey a sincere message as follows: The Asia-Pacific is an open space, and all countries with legitimate interests can have a role to play in contributing to its peace, stability and development. The region welcomes engagement that is transparent, responsible, respectful of international law, supportive of ASEAN centrality, and conducive to reducing tensions. What the region seeks is neither the mere presence nor absence of any major power. What it seeks is responsible commitment.
"We recognise that competition is an enduring reality of international relations, but competition must remain bounded by law, guided by transparency, and exercised with restraint."
He said "the three crises confronting our world today are not inevitable realities that we are bound to accept. What matters is that we confront them squarely, without allowing them to obscure opportunities for action. In a world of turbulence, the challenge lies not only in external instability, but also in our insufficient preparedness to manage risks. What is needed is a shift from passive response to proactive shaping; from merely reiterating principles to operationalising mechanisms; and from managing crises after they erupt to mitigating risks before they escalate."
Therefore, he stressed, the choice facing the Asia-Pacific today is not between competition and no competition, because competition is an inherent reality of international relations. The more important choice is between unchecked competition and responsible coexistence; between division and dialogue; between mistrust and coercion and an rules-based order and trust. Vietnam believes that our region possesses both the mettle and the shared stakes to choose the path of peace, cooperation, and prosperity.
The General Secretary and President said Vietnam clearly understands the value of peace through its own history, and the value of development through its own journey of Doi Moi (Renewal) and international integration. From that experience, Vietnam has come to recognise profoundly that national interests are intertwined with the peace, stability and prosperity of the region. Contributing to regional peace is also a way of safeguarding Vietnam’s long-term interests. Expanding cooperation, reducing risks and intertwining legitimate interests are likewise how Vietnam fulfils its responsibility to the international community.
Peace, stability and development are the common denominator of all nations and peoples. But they carry meaning only when translated into concrete action: restraint in the face of disagreement; dialogue when divergences deepen; cooperation when challenges transcend borders; and the building of practical mechanisms capable of reducing risks in real terms.
Vietnam therefore stands ready to work with countries both within and beyond the region to reinforce rules, nurture trust, promote dialogue, enhance cooperation, mitigate risks, and together shape an Asia-Pacific that is safer, more resilient and more prosperous, he noted.
On the occasion, General Secretary and President Lam also answered questions from delegates on Vietnam’s recent sweeping reforms, the country’s foreign policy and contributions to peace, stability and development in the region and the world, Vietnam’s response to the energy crisis triggered by the Middle East conflict, as well as the opportunities and challenges posed by AI technology for Vietnam in the current context.
The 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue is taking place in Singapore from May 29-31, drawing more than 550 delegates from security and defence agencies of 44 countries. First launched in Singapore in 2002 at the initiative of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), the Shangri-La Dialogue has become an important annual forum on regional and global security issues./.
