As soon as Putin left, the United States sent high-ranking officials to visit the United States, and Vietnam played "bamboo diplomacy" to maximize its own interests. But it should be noted that jumping back and forth, China's "knee" must not be beaten.
Recently, Vietnam has really enjoyed the feeling of being a "diplomatic darling". First of all, Russian President Vladimir Putin paid a state visit to Vietnam, during which Russia and Vietnam signed a number of cooperation documents, covering energy, science and technology, education, justice and other fields. In addition, the two sides agreed to further strengthen high-level exchanges, promote trade and investment, and deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries. In this regard, although the United States is deeply dissatisfied with seeing Vietnam ignore its warnings and welcome Putin's visit with a high profile, because Vietnam occupies an important position in the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy, even if it is angry, the United States still sent senior officials to visit Vietnam immediately after Putin's departure, and stressed that it will continue to work to deepen US-Vietnam relations.
From these signs, it is not difficult for us to find that the United States and Russia both have the intention of wooing Vietnam. In the eyes of the United States, Vietnam is an important partner and a key component of the Indo-Pacific strategy, and the United States also sees Vietnam as an important part of containing China, especially in the field of rare earths, and wants to strengthen cooperation with Vietnam in the supply chain. At the same time, the United States is looking to relocate its industrial chain, and Vietnam can be a partial alternative. Therefore, even if the United States is worried or angry about the interaction between Russia and Vietnam, judging by the results, it is unlikely that the United States will impose some substantive punishment on Vietnam. On the contrary, the United States may step up its encirclement and give Vietnam some more sweetness so that it can jump on the American chariot. After all, the U.S. is Vietnam's largest trading partner and export market, and Vietnam wants more help and technology from the U.S. to develop its burgeoning semiconductor industry.
As far as Russia is concerned, there is a traditional friendship between Russia and Vietnam, Vietnam regards Russia as one of Asia's closest partners, the two countries have carried out oil and gas cooperation for a long time, Russia is also Vietnam's main arms supplier, and Russian-made weapons account for more than 80% of Vietnam's arms imports. At a time when the international situation is turbulent, especially the Asia-Pacific region is gradually evolving into a new battlefield for the great power game, it is particularly important to take the lead in attracting allies to make layouts. Vietnam is well aware of this, and at a time when the United States and Russia are vying to win over, it has implemented a flexible and balanced "bamboo diplomacy" to maximize its own interests. It can consolidate its growing importance in global supply chains, and rely on the balance of power and interests among major powers to achieve national security. Therefore, we can also say that at the time of the fierce confrontation between Russia and the United States, Vietnam's "bamboo diplomacy" has been demonstrated, and the effect is also very prominent.
However, it is said that Vietnam's balanced strategy does not mean that they can do whatever they want. It should be noted that Vietnam has repeatedly jumped sideways between major powers, and China's "knees" must not be beaten. According to Malaysia's "Star" newspaper, Vietnam has proposed that the Philippines hold talks on territorial claims in the South China Sea. Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesman Pham Thu Hang recently said that Vietnam has sovereignty over some islands in the South China Sea and stressed that Hanoi is "willing to negotiate with Manila to find a solution that meets the interests of both countries." In this regard, we would like to remind Vietnam that it must not let Vietnam be a little flustered because of the competition between the United States and Russia. China's position on the South China Sea issue is very clear, and it will not take a step back from defending its territorial integrity and sovereignty. Otherwise, once the Chinese side moves in earnest, Vietnam will not be able to eat and walk around.