Vietnam’s President says Asia Pacific seeks ‘responsible commitment,’ including from major powers Vietnamese President To Lam stated that the Asia-Pacific region desires ‘responsible commitment’ from all parties, emphasizing that all nations with legitimate interests can contribute to regional peace, stability, and development. He highlighted the erosion of strategic trust as a global crisis, where mistrust can escalate differences into confrontation and minor incidents into spirals of reaction. Lam proposed building strategic trust by managing differences within a rules-based framework, ensuring competition remains bounded, responsible, and predictable, rather than eliminating differences or competition.

• Vietnam’s President To Lam called for ‘responsible commitment’ in the Asia-Pacific region.
• He stated that all countries with legitimate interests can contribute to regional peace, stability, and development.
• The region faces fragmentation of trust and unchecked competition.
• Competition must be bounded by law, guided by transparency, and exercised with restraint.
• The erosion of strategic trust is a global crisis, where mistrust can escalate issues.
• Building trust involves managing differences within a rules-based framework.
• The IISS Shangri-La Dialogue is taking place in Singapore, with key figures attending.
• China’s defense minister missed the event for the second consecutive year.