HANOI/SINGAPORE (Bloomberg): Vietnamese leader To Lam told a major Asian defence forum Friday that military power alone can’t ensure security, and called for the creation of mechanisms to actively prevent conflicts from spiraling.
Lam laid out his vision of a regional order to hundreds of delegates at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, a rare display of foreign policy prescriptions from the country’s Communist Party chief and president to an international audience of defense chiefs and diplomats.
"Defense preparedness is a legitimate need, but sustainable security cannot rest on military power alone,” Lam said in the keynote speech. "Still, less can it be built through arms races or by increasing developmental insecurity for others.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is scheduled to speak Saturday, underscoring the gathering’s role as a key venue for major-power signaling in Asia. The two met earlier in the day to discuss cooperation on maritime security, including unmanned systems.
Vietnam is seeking to raise its international profile, as one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies and a major exporter to the US, while balancing ties among rival powers. Hanoi has stepped up South China Sea maritime patrols and security cooperation with regional partners in recent years, even as it maintains close economic ties with China, which has overlapping territorial claims with Vietnam in the disputed waters.
Lam diagnosed the world as facing crises of the international order, development models, and strategic trust, which he said, "may be a silent yet dangerous crisis.”
"It causes states to interpret one another’s actions through the lens of mistrust and anxiety,” he said. "When trust erodes, defensive measures may even be perceived as provocation.”
He called on the region to create a mechanism of "preventative diplomacy as a strategic capability, not merely as an improvised response after the crisis has already erupted.”
Lam, who is seen as one of Vietnam’s most powerful figures in years, secured the presidency earlier this year after becoming General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam in 2024. The 68-year-old was the sole nominee for the five-year post, with the assembly’s approval largely a formality in the one-party state.
The Singapore stop is part of a broader regional swing by Lam that includes Thailand and the Philippines, following recent engagements with leaders from India and Japan aimed at deepening economic, strategic, and defence cooperation.
During a visit to India earlier this month, Lam and Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to strengthen cooperation in areas including defense and security. He also reiterated Vietnam’s longstanding policy of an independent and diversified foreign policy during talks in Hanoi with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
--With assistance from Nguyen Xuan Quynh. -- ©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
