Shangri-La Dialogue: Vietnam's To Lam warns of global risk from Strait of Hormuz

Vietnam's leader To Lam said on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz has demonstrated how a single flashpoint can create widespread global turmoil, warning that the United States and China must adhere to international law to avoid triggering a broader global crisis as they compete for influence in the Asia-Pacific region.

Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s leading defense summit, To Lam delivered the keynote address to an audience that included U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as well as a high-level delegation from China, News.Az reports, citing AP.

He pointed to recent tensions involving Iran and the Strait of Hormuz during the conflict in the Middle East, suggesting that developments in the region highlight how quickly localized crises can escalate into global disruptions affecting international systems.

“Recent tensions along strategic maritime routes in the Middle East remind us that a single flashpoint can rapidly disrupt trade, energy supplies, logistics and social economic life across the globe,” the Vietnamese leader said.

Lam has consolidated his power in Vietnam this year, becoming both Communist Party general secretary and president of the strategically important Southeast Asian nation, departing from its tradition of shared leadership.

Recently leaked documents showed, however, that even after elevating relations with Washington to the highest diplomatic level, Vietnam’s military remained skeptical of American intentions and had taken steps to defend against a possible American “war of aggression.”

“This is the world’s most dynamic center of growth, but also a theater of intense strategic competition, a region defined by vital maritime routes, yet fraught with risk,” Lam told the gathering of world leaders, diplomats and top defense officials.

He said the region has “benefited profoundly from globalization,” but at the same time now faces mounting pressure on many fronts.

“What the region seeks is nether the mere presence nor absence of any major power, what it seeks is responsible commitment,” he said. “We recognize that competition is an enduring reality of international relations, but competition must be bound by law, guided by transparency and exercised with restraint.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev