Vietnam, where Vladimir Putin is making a one-day state visit this Thursday after North Korea, is a long-time ally and loyal buyer of Russian weapons. Before his arrival, the Russian president thanked Hanoi for its “balanced” approach to Ukraine, in a column published in the newspaper of the ruling Vietnamese Communist Party (CPV). Russia and Vietnam also share a “similar” reading of the situation in the Asia-Pacific, he argued.
And this afternoon, the master of the Kremlin met his counterpart To Lam, in the presidential palace, during a formal ceremony with cannon fire and soldiers standing at attention. In the streets of Hanoi on Wednesday, the presence of Russian flags and extensive security demonstrated the welcome provided by local dignitaries, commensurate with the long history that unites the two countries since the Soviet era. 20 minutes takes stock of this state visit as Vladimir Putin’s last trip to Vietnam dates back to 2017.
But why do Moscow and Hanoi get along well?
The proximity between Hanoi and Moscow has its roots in Soviet times. For decades, the USSR trained cadres of the Vietnamese Communist Party (CPV), including Ho Chi Minh, the father of independence, who visited the country for the first time in 1923.
During the Vietnam War, Soviet power provided weapons, fighter planes, tanks and thousands of soldiers to its Northern ally, in response to the direct intervention of Washington which supported the capitalist South. Since the collapse of the USSR, Russia has continued to enjoy a positive image in Vietnam, which took the turn towards a market economy in the 1980s. In 2012, Hanoi elevated Moscow to the rank of partner. special strategic”, i.e. the highest degree of cooperation after China (2008), but before the United States (2023).
What is Vladimir Putin doing/saying/showing?
This is an opportunity for the Russian president to show that he has an “economic and political ally increasingly courted by the West,” explains Huong Le Thu, deputy director of the Central Asia program of reflection International Crisis Group. Vietnam, with one hundred million inhabitants, indeed represents a market with strong potential for Russia, under Western sanctions, especially since the volume of trade between the two countries (3.5 billion dollars in 2022 ) remains much lower than the levels observed between Vietnam and China (175 billion USD) or the United States (123 billion USD).
Mr. Putin’s visit should help improve cooperation in the areas of investment, technology, energy and security, the Russian ambassador to Hanoi said on Wednesday, quoted by Vietnamese state media. .
Vietnam is a long-standing customer for Russian military equipment: arms imports from Russia reached $7.6 billion between 1995 and 2023, or more than 80% of the total arms purchased by the Vietnam abroad, according to figures from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri). And if since 2020, we have seen a slowdown, the two countries have a “mutual interest in resuming arms sales”, estimates Carl Thayer, professor emeritus at the Australian University of New South Wales.
What does Hanoi risk by welcoming Vladimir Putin?
By welcoming Vladimir Putin, the subject of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC), Hanoi – which does not recognize the ICC – risks the disapproval of its Western partners whom the communist regime is also trying to pamper. The regime’s foreign policy is governed by the flexible principles of “bamboo diplomacy”, seeking to avoid too close association with any major power.
But the war in Ukraine has made this balancing act (between pragmatism and prudence) difficult, according to experts. Especially since Vladimir Putin is due to meet this Thursday with the general secretary of the PCV, Nguyen Phu Trong, considered the most influential personality of the communist regime. The 80-year-old leader spent part of his studies in the USSR in the 1980s.
Our file on the war in Ukraine
Putin’s visit therefore represents “a test to see how far Hanoi’s multidirectional diplomacy can go, and whether it is still accepted by other major powers,” explains Huong Le Thu, deputy director of the Asia program at the International Crisis Group. . And we must also keep in mind that Vietnam did not participate in the first summit for peace in Ukraine, organized in Switzerland in mid-June. While Hanoi could also seek support from Moscow to join the Brics group.