ASEAN-Russia: Foundations and Future Prospects

Russia and Vietnam: Building a Strategic Partnership

173 RUSSIA AND VIETNAM: BUILDING A STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP1 Vladimir Mazyrin INTRODUCTION The reasons behind the dramatic decline in relations between Moscow and Hanoi in the late 1980s and early 1990s are too well known to describe them here in any detail. Even before the fall of the Soviet Union, the donorrecipient relationship that existed earlier between the two socialist states was gone. The strategies of economic reforms adopted in Yeltsin’s Russia and under the Vietnam’s “Doi Moi” policy could hardly be more different. In the foreign policy realm, Russia mostly aspired for membership in the Western club. Meanwhile, its former Southeast Asian ally had no choice but to adapt to the realities of its regional neighbourhood — a traditionally strong American presence, the rise of China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEANs’) claim for a bigger role. This combination of factors suggested that with time, the two countries would only be drifting away from each other. Nevertheless, by the middle of the 1990s there were signs of a somewhat restored mutual interest. If anything, political dialogue was resuming, and high-level contacts were taking place again. In 1994, Russia and Vietnam concluded a Treaty on the Foundations of Friendly Relations. In a very basic sense, they agreed that what they needed in the new geopolitical and geo-economic setting was a reconfiguration, not an abandonment of the old relationship.2 174 Vladimir Mazyrin This common stand was confirmed in 1998 when President Tran Duc Luong came to Moscow for the first Russia-Vietnam Summit. The intention to develop and diversify bilateral relations was the central theme of the talks. It took two more years to find a solution to a key problem inherited from the past — that of repaying Vietnam’s state debt to Russia. In terms of opening ground for a new stage in trade and economic cooperation, this was a major step forward. REINFORCING POLITICAL AND MILITARY TIES Intensified political dialogue: Upon arrival in Hanoi in March 2001, President Vladimir Putin — the first head of the Russian state to ever visit Vietnam — received an enthusiastic welcome and, in turn, he expressed readiness to open a new chapter in the history of the relationship. The Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership signed by the parties reflected their common preference for a mutually advantageous cooperation based on market principles, past experience and new international realities.3 This first Presidential visit and later another one, right after the AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit that was held in Hanoi in 2006, helped the countries to consolidate political understanding at the highest levels and make some headway in the economic sphere. However, nothing too impressive seemed to happen for quite a while. Pulling out of the decade-long slump proved to be more difficult than sliding into it. Perhaps, only now or, to be more precise, in the last four or five years, the accumulated improvements in Russia-Vietnam cooperation are beginning to result in something like a steady trend. The latest political landmark in that direction was President Dmitry Medvedev’s official visit to Vietnam in October 2010. The number of important bilateral documents signed on that occasion is just as telling as their spectrum. Covering the whole span of bilateral relations, these agreements show that interaction between Russia and Vietnam is becoming more mature, deep and diverse.4 On the whole, the recent history of political contacts leads to a conclusion that relations between Russia and Vietnam are now on the rise. In international affairs, these partners hold similar or very close positions on a great majority of issues — for instance, on the anti-terrorist struggle, on disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation, on the need to uphold the principles of national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the states, on the role of the United Nations in the modern world, on the resolution of regional and other conflicts by diplomatic and peaceful means. Vietnam appreciates the contribution of Russia and Vietnam: Building a Strategic Partnership 175 Russia to the maintenance of stability in Asia and the world, and backs up Russia’s initiatives within international bodies to which they both belong. In Russia’s view, Vietnam’s membership in ASEAN is a factor that contributes to stronger linkages between the Association and Moscow.5 Intergovernmental contacts and administrative links: The main body that deals with promotion and monitoring of bilateral activities at the level of the states is...