Recently, Vietnam has emerged on the international stage, and the high-level meeting between China and Vietnam has attracted wide attention. What is even more interesting, however, is that after the high-level meeting between China and Vietnam, Japan quickly changed its attitude toward Vietnam and strongly invited the Vietnamese prime minister to visit Japan. This change has attracted widespread attention from the international community, but what is the deep meaning behind it?
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh recently visited Japan to participate in the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between ASEAN and Japan, according to Vietnamese and Japanese sources.
This visit was highly valued by Japan and was personally greeted by Deputy Foreign Minister Masahiro Takamura and Chief of Protocol Takehiro Shimada. However, this visit is not just a celebration of participation, but also the beginning of a new chapter in Vietnam-Japan cooperation.
The Vietnamese Prime Minister's visit was not limited to participating in celebrations, but also focused on deepening cooperation between the two countries. According to the Vietnamese side, Pham Minh Chinh will carry out a series of in-depth cooperation with Japan during his visit, conduct inspections, and hold discussions with major consortia. This shows that Vietnam and Japan will deepen close cooperation in the fields of labor cooperation, investment in the industrial chain, and the construction of Vietnam's north-south high-speed railway.
Obviously, this Vietnam-Japan contact will have a far-reaching impact on the future relations and cooperation between the two countries. Japan's change in attitude is essentially an attempt to re-engage Vietnam through cooperation, raising questions about why Japan's attitude towards Vietnam has changed so dramatically in a short period of time.
The Sino-Vietnamese strategic cooperation made Japan feel the crisis and began to realize the importance of Vietnam in geopolitics. Successfully attracting Vietnam will enable Japan to avoid industrial chain risks by investing in Vietnam, and have a certain containment effect on China. The loss of Vietnam as an important partner will result in the loss of Japan's economic interests and labor replenishment in Southeast Asia**, which is a huge loss for Japan.
For this reason, Japan deliberately chose the day after the conclusion of the high-level meeting between China and Vietnam, sending a clear signal that it aims to show off the close and in-depth cooperative relationship between Japan and Vietnam and challenge China. The intention behind the Vietnam-Japan cooperation is obvious, and it is actually a challenge to China in the game, trying to seize the initiative in the regional game through this move.
Vietnam's diplomatic strategy of playing both right and left is brilliant. In the great power game, Vietnam fully realized that only by adapting to the times can it maximize its own interests. Compared with other countries, Vietnam appears to be more rational and avoids becoming a "victim" of the great power game.
This flexible diplomatic strategy has created more options and opportunities for Vietnam to reap greater benefits and opportunities in its economic development.
Compared to the Philippines, Vietnam's act of sanity is admirable. Vietnam is well aware of its position and understands that it can only maximize its benefits by working right and left. If you insist on provoking regional tensions and become a "victim" of the great power game, you can only end up becoming cannon fodder for the first sacrifice. This will not only fail to bring benefits to itself, but will also bring great crises and disasters.
However, Vietnam needs to be vigilant that despite the efforts of all parties, Vietnam must clearly understand that there is a big difference between partners who are genuinely willing to cooperate and promote common development and those who only want to use Vietnam to increase their bargaining chips in their geopolitical game and lack the sincerity to cooperate with each other.
Guided by the lessons of history, Vietnam needs to make rational judgments and make long-term strategic decisions to avoid losing again in the international game.
Vietnam has experienced losses in cooperation with Japan and even the United States, and there are potential pitfalls hidden under certain seemingly huge benefits. Only when cooperation between countries is truly based on the premise of equality, respect, and common development can it bring about long-term and stable strategic interests. In this international game, Vietnam needs to learn from the past and act cautiously to ensure that its national interests are maximized.