Vietnam President To Lam warned of three converging global crises during his keynote speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Friday [1].
The address signals Vietnam's growing role in regional diplomacy as it seeks to navigate tensions between superpowers while advocating for the stability of international trade routes.
To Lam identified the three primary threats as the erosion of the international order, intensifying superpower rivalry, and insecurity regarding strategic waterways. He described the current state of global power dynamics as "the big fish swallowing the small fish," according to reports from the New York Times [3].
Lam said that the stability of maritime corridors is essential for global economic health. "The war in the Middle East has shown how important strategic waterways can be to the world as a whole," he said [2].
The summit included representatives from 44 countries [1]. Throughout his remarks, the president urged regional and global leaders to move away from confrontational postures and toward cooperative security arrangements. He said that the Asia-Pacific region should lead the development of solutions to these overlapping crises.
To address these vulnerabilities, Lam proposed the creation of a new diplomatic architecture. "We must build a strategic framework for trust building to avert these threats," he said [1].
His call for a trust-building framework comes amid increasing volatility in the South China Sea and shifting alliances across Asia. Lam said that without such a framework, the convergence of these three crises could lead to systemic instability that threatens smaller nations and disrupts global commerce.
“"The big fish swallowing the small fish"”
President To Lam's rhetoric reflects Vietnam's 'bamboo diplomacy,' which seeks to maintain balanced relations with major powers like the U.S. and China. By framing the current geopolitical climate as a series of converging crises, Vietnam is positioning itself as a neutral mediator and an advocate for a rules-based order that protects the sovereignty of smaller states against superpower hegemony.
