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Vietnam’s evolving network of CSPs, powered by the principles of Bamboo Diplomacy, encapsulates its dynamic approach to navigating great-power rivalries
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Vietnam’s network of Comprehensive Strategic Partnerships (CSPs) serves as the engine of its distinctive “Bamboo Diplomacy” in an era defined by multipolarity and shifting global alignments. Strategically recalibrating its foreign policy, Vietnam has established CSPs with 12 countries as of March 2025, reflecting its resolute effort to forge multifaceted ties that balance economic development, political sovereignty, and strategic flexibility amid a complex geopolitical landscape. This integrated framework transcends traditional bilateral relations, underpinning Vietnam’s emergence as a middle power adept at navigating great-power competition while safeguarding its national interests.
At the heart of this strategy is an adaptive approach designed to mitigate the risks inherent in great-power rivalry. By cultivating robust partnerships with major powers such as the United States, China, and Russia, as well as with key regional players like India, Japan, and South Korea, Hanoi avoids overreliance on any single nation. This multi-directional hedging enables Vietnam to harness economic opportunities—evidenced by China’s status as its largest trading partner, responsible for 26 percent of total trade—while addressing pressing security concerns in regions like the South China Sea. The elevation of US-Vietnam relations to a CSP in 2023 further underscores this delicate balancing act, allowing Hanoi to counterbalance Beijing’s assertiveness through an astute blend of diplomatic and economic manoeuvres.
By cultivating robust partnerships with major powers such as the United States, China, and Russia, as well as with key regional players like India, Japan, and South Korea, Hanoi avoids overreliance on any single nation.
Simultaneously, CSPs have amplified Vietnam’s influence within multilateral institutions and regional frameworks, bolstering its standing as an energetic middle power. Through enhanced partnerships with ASEAN members such as Thailand and Indonesia, Vietnam has fostered regional solidarity, notably coordinating ASEAN’s pandemic response between 2020 and 2021. Expanding its global outreach, CSPs with the European Union and Australia have provided critical access to advanced technologies and new markets. For instance, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) triggered a 14.8 percent surge in bilateral trade during its inaugural year, illustrating how such arrangements underpin both economic integration and geopolitical clout.
Central to this expansive CSP framework is Vietnam’s unwavering commitment to strategic autonomy. By diversifying its international engagements, Vietnam secures the freedom to make flexible policy decisions, even in the face of external pressure. This autonomous posture was epitomized in 2022 when Hanoi abstained from a UN vote condemning Russia’s actions in Ukraine—a move that defied Western expectations while underscoring its refusal to align exclusively with any bloc. The resulting pluralism within its foreign policy has ensured that Vietnam remains focused on protecting national interests amid a constantly shifting global order.
Through enhanced partnerships with ASEAN members such as Thailand and Indonesia, Vietnam has fostered regional solidarity, notably coordinating ASEAN’s pandemic response between 2020 and 2021.
Through the practical application of ‘Bamboo Diplomacy’, Vietnam has adeptly translated its CSP network into concrete, multidimensional outcomes. The economic dimension of this strategy is marked by a sophisticated asymmetric hedging approach that counteracts dependency paradigms. Even as China continues to be its largest trading partner with US$205 billion in trade in 2024, diversified investments from Japan and South Korea have bolstered foreign direct investment, with Japan contributing US$4.8 billion in 2022. Moreover, initiatives such as the EVFTA, which reduced EU tariffs on Vietnamese goods by 99 percent, have spurred significant growth in high-tech exports. Concurrently, Vietnam’s diplomatic initiatives have expanded its multilateral leverage, enabling it to shape regional norms and institutions. During its 2020 ASEAN Chairmanship, Hanoi harnessed its extensive network to institutionalise the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP)—an innovative regional framework resisting US-China bipolarity. The upgrade of ties with India to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2023, coupled with initiatives like India’s US$300 million credit line for Vietnam’s maritime security, exemplify minilateral coalition-building. Similarly, strategic collaborations with Australia, focusing on climate resilience and critical minerals, have positioned Hanoi as a pivotal actor in the evolving “Southwest Pacific supply chain corridor” aimed at mitigating China’s rare-earth dominance.
At its core, Bamboo Diplomacy embodies an omni-enmeshment hedging strategy that fosters overlapping partnerships to avoid binary alignments. This is vividly illustrated by the inclusion of advanced radar systems and capacity-building measures for the Coast Guard within the 2023 US-Vietnam CSP—a move designed to strengthen deterrence in the South China Sea. Yet, in a complex dual engagement, Vietnam simultaneously maintains energy cooperation with Russia, as highlighted by Rosneft’s $1 billion offshore gas project under Block 06-01. This tactical balancing act reflects Vietnam’s unique adaptation of its “Four No’s” defence policy, ensuring flexible security collaboration even as it preserves non-alignment. Although such an approach has drawn Western criticism, particularly over its abstention from the UN Resolution condemning Russia’s actions in Ukraine, Hanoi remains resolute in prioritising systemic survivability over adherence to any specific bloc—a pragmatic stance in what scholar Amitav Acharya describes as a “multiplex world order”.
The intensification of US-China competition places Hanoi in a precarious balancing act, as exemplified by recent US semiconductor export controls targeting China, which test the resilience of its hedging strategy.
Despite its strategic merits, the CSP framework is not without challenges. The management of over a dozen active CSPs stretches diplomatic and bureaucratic resources, risking fragmented policy implementation and diluting strategic focus as partners increasingly demand customized commitments ranging from technology transfers to enhanced security cooperation. Moreover, the intensification of US-China competition places Hanoi in a precarious balancing act, as exemplified by recent US semiconductor export controls targeting China, which test the resilience of its hedging strategy. Domestic challenges further compound these issues; with Vietnam ranking 43rd in the World Bank’s 2023 Logistics Performance Index, persistent infrastructure deficits and bureaucratic inefficiencies constrain the absorption of foreign direct investment and the diffusion of advanced technologies. Addressing these interlinked challenges will require streamlining high-impact CSPs with clear returns, establishing cross-ministerial coordination mechanisms, and accelerating much-needed infrastructure modernization. Such reforms are essential for transforming CSPs from symbolic diplomatic instruments into potent catalysts for systemic resilience.
Vietnam’s evolving network of Comprehensive Strategic Partnerships, powered by the principles of Bamboo Diplomacy, encapsulates its dynamic approach to navigating great-power rivalries while steadfastly pursuing national interests. By interweaving economic pragmatism, multilateral engagement, and a commitment to strategic autonomy, Vietnam not only presents a compelling blueprint for middle powers in a turbulent global order but also sets the stage for its potential future as a bridging power in the Indo-Pacific.
Do Khuong Manh Linh is a researcher at the Institute of Politics and International Relations, Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, Vietnam.
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Do Khuong Manh Linh is a researcher at the Institute of Politics and International Relations, Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, Vietnam. His primary ...
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