Ukraine war: Scholz demands a clear edge from Vietnam

Chancellor Scholz has called on Vietnam to position itself clearly against the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. The government in Hanoi has so far avoided this. The country maintains close ties with Russia.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called on Vietnam to take a clear stand against Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. After a meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in the Vietnamese capital, Scholz said he would like the government in Hanoi to take a “clear position” on this issue. “The Russian war of aggression is a breach of international law with a dangerous precedent effect. Small countries can no longer be safe from the behavior of their larger, more powerful neighbors.”

The Chancellor also said this with a view to China, which is fighting over islands, reefs and sea areas in the South China Sea with Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines. The government in Beijing also claims territory there that is more than 800 kilometers away – although the international arbitral tribunal in The Hague in 2016 dismissed Chinese claims as unlawful. “Even in the Indo-Pacific region, the strength of the law must apply, not the law of the strongest,” emphasized Scholz. A clear message in the direction of Beijing, where the Chancellor visited just over a week ago.

Deliberate counterpoint to the trip to China

With his four-day trip to Southeast Asia – the longest of his tenure – Scholz now wants to set a counterpoint. The message: Asia is much more than China. The goal: to reduce the dependence of the German economy on China and broaden the partnerships with Asian countries. Unlike his predecessors, Scholz was the first Asian country to visit the democratic G7 partner Japan – and only half a year later the autocratic China. Government consultations were held in Berlin in May with the second economically strongest country in Asia – India.

With almost 100 million inhabitants, Vietnam is one of the fastest growing economies in the world and is Germany’s most important trading partner in Southeast Asia. As a result of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, Germany must broaden its sales markets, supply chains, sources of raw materials and production sites, Scholz emphasized in Hanoi. “The cooperation with Vietnam plays a very, very central role.”

Close ties between Vietnam and Moscow

However, the communist-led country continues to maintain close ties with the government in Moscow. Russia is Vietnam’s main arms supplier. Both countries are also cooperating in the development of gas and oil fields off the Vietnamese coast. In addition, there are more than 150 investment projects in Vietnam with the participation of Russian companies.

Against this background, Vietnam has not yet condemned the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine – unlike the vast majority of UN members – but has abstained from votes on it in the United Nations General Assembly. On his travels and during talks in Berlin, Scholz has repeatedly tried to change the minds of these countries.