Visits by Indian, French leaders demonstrate success of foreign policy

French President Hollande at the talks with Vietnamese State President Tran Dai Quang in Ha Noi on September 6, 2016. Photo: VGP

Australian professor Carl Thayer made the above remarks in an interview with the Government Online Newspaper.

Viet Nam just hosted India's Prime Minister after a gap of fifteen years and is now welcoming the French President after a gap of twelve years.

During Prime Minister Modi's visit Viet Nam and India raised their bilateral relations from a strategic partnership to a comprehensive strategic partnership. Twelve agreement were signed reflecting the wide ranging nature of bilateral ties. India's offer of a US$500 million Line of Credit was a notable advancement in defense and security relations.

Viet Nam’s strategic partnership with France is more recent than with India. Viet Nam and India became strategic partners in 2006, while Viet Nam’s strategic partnership with France dates to 2013.

During President Francois Hollande's state visit the two sides are expected to sign twenty agreements. This demonstrates the breadth of bilateral relations in such areas a politics and diplomacy, trade and investment, agriculture, science and technology, education, public health. judicial and legal affairs and climate change, according to Mr. Carl Thayer.

State President Tran Dai Quang has said that defense cooperation is one of pillars of the strategic partnership and it is likely the two leaders will reach agreement on how to raise cooperation in this area.

France is emerging as a new defense player in regional affairs after securing a multibillion contract to build six conventional submarines for Viet Nam. At this year's Shangri-La Dialogue the French Defense Minister stated he would ask other European countries to join France in freedom of navigation patrols in the East Sea, said Mr. Carl Thayer.

Professor Carl Thayer believed that the visits by Prime Minster Modi and President Hollande demonstrate agreement with Viet Nam on the East Sea. All agree that disputes must be settled peacefully with force or the threat of force under international law including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. All agree that the East Sea should not be militarized and that freedom on navigation and overflight should not be impeded.

The visits by PM Modi and President Hollande are also an illustration that Viet Nam's policy of multilateralizing and diversifying its external relations has been successful and that strategic partnership need to be constantly reviewed and updated for mutual benefit. They have occurred in the context of a regional visit by President Quang to Singapore and Brunei as well as the visit to China by Minister for National Defense General Ngo Xuan Lich./.

By Quang Minh