According to observers, General Secretary To Lam is trying to create reforms that bear his own mark. Since officially becoming General Secretary, in his articles and speeches, Lam has also talked about effectively implementing “bamboo diplomacy.”
It is known that “bamboo diplomacy” is a term referring to Vietnam’s diplomatic policy, under General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. This concept appeared in 2016. However, it was only mentioned more after the Covid-19 pandemic, especially after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. State media also “praised” it, considering it the essence of the Vietnamese people.
However, the former Editor-in-Chief of the Ho Chi Minh City Sports Newspaper, Ho Thu Hong – who is said to be the lover of former Deputy Minister of Public Security Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Huong, a close confidant of former Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, has openly stated on her personal Facebook page:
“What is bamboo diplomacy? It is flirting with everyone you meet. All the metaphors of the past are of a nation that is both weak and cowardly, next to a strong but evil person, so they have to teach each other to be cunning and petty… In today’s world, people put their trust in places that love peace and know how to put national interests first.”
At the same time, Hong also hopes that General Secretary To Lam “will not be ‘infected’ with the love of folk art, by reciting Kieu, not comparing bamboo.
According to observers, recently, when working with the Party Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as speaking on the occasion of National Day September 2, General Secretary To Lam emphasized:
“The world is in a period of epochal change, our country is standing at a new historical starting point, a new era, an era of the Vietnamese people’s rise.”
These are signs that General Secretary Lam, although still following the bamboo diplomacy, will lean towards the West and the United States, instead of leaning towards China like Trong before.
On September 5, Vietnam’s state media simultaneously reported “The New York Times establishes a permanent office in Vietnam.” The news said that Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang had granted a license to establish a permanent office in Vietnam to The New York Times.
According to Hang, this will help The New York Times contribute to strengthening the Vietnam-US bilateral relationship.
It is known that The New York Times is one of the most prestigious newspapers in the United States, as well as in the world.
Some comments say that since the normalization of Vietnam-US relations in July 1995, no General Secretary has dared to make a decision like Lam. That further shows that General Secretary Lam does not hide his “bamboo diplomacy” policy leaning towards the United States and the West.
There are also many opinions asserting that, in order to carry out the “reform” process in Vietnam, General Secretary Lam must say goodbye to, and say no to the “bamboo diplomacy” policy leaning towards China of the late General Secretary Trong.
Is it possible that the change mentioned above by Lam has made the Beijing leadership unhappy? Some speculate that China has given the green light to the forces that are the remnants of Trong, especially the military generals, to resolutely block the reform of General Secretary Lam.
The public is questioning whether General Secretary Lam can reach the goal or not, and hopes that Lam will not misunderstand those dangerous signals.
Tra My – Thoibao.de
