Thayer Consultancy Background Brief:

ABN # 65 648 097 123

Vietnam Speaks Out on the War
in Ukraine at UN General
Assembly
February 24, 2023

According to Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the meeting of the United

Nations General Assembly in New York on 22 February, Ambassador Dang Hoang
Giang, head of the Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the UN, expressed concern about
the conflict in Ukraine over the past year as well as worrisome developments, the
consequences of the conflict, the huge loss of life, property, and infrastructure,
negative impact on the region and the world, and joint efforts to promote an
international response to these global challenges.
Faced with that situation, the Ambassador Giang emphasized the need to comply with
international law and the UN Charter, especially the most important basic principles
of respecting independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and not to use force or
threaten the use of force.
Ambassador Giang urgently called on all parties to end hostilities, avoid actions to
escalate tensions, resume dialogue and negotiations to find a comprehensive,
satisfactory and long-term peaceful solution to disagreements on the basis of
conformity with the law and respect international law and the Charter of the United
Nations, taking into account the legitimate interests and concerns of relevant parties,
for peace and stability of the region and the world.
We request your assessment of Ambassador Giang’s statement. What has been
Vietnam’s policy on the situation in Ukraine in the past? And what actions should
Vietnam take now?
ANSWER: Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang’s remarks to the United Nations General
Assembly debate on Russian aggression against Ukraine signals that Vietnam is
seeking to align its declaratory position with the majority of the international
community without gratuitously antagonising Russia.
Last year Vietnam abstained on two of three resolutions put to the General Assembly
on Russia’s war against Ukraine. Vietnam voted against the third resolution to suspend
Russian membership on the UN Human Rights Council. Vietnam was conspicuous for
its isolation from the majority of ASEAN members who voted for all three resolutions.
Vietnam was joined by Laos on all three votes and by Brunei on the third.
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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine took Vietnam by surprise and directly threatened the lives
and livelihoods of an estimated 7,000 Vietnamese living in Ukraine. They were
successfully evacuated from the country.
Russia’s aggression created a dilemma for Vietnam’s leaders. It appears that
Vietnamese society was divided, with the plurality initially supporting Vladimir Putin’s
actions. More significantly, Russia was a comprehensive strategic partner and a firm
supporter of Vietnam. Russia was by far the major provider of military equipment,
weapons and defence technology to Vietnam. Quite simply, in strategic terms, it was
not in Vietnam’s interest to see Russia weakened or forced into a dependent
relationship with China.
The policy dilemma facing Vietnam was how to craft a policy on the war in Ukraine
that did incur the threat of western sanctions for maintaining normal relations with
Russia or threats of Russian retribution for siding with the west. For example, prior to
the UN General Assembly vote on suspending Russian membership on the Human
Rights Council, the Russian Ambassador to the UN reportedly told his Vietnamese
counterpart that a vote in favour of the resolution would be viewed as a hostile act.
Another consideration for Vietnam’s leaders was how to minimize damage to its
international reputation and prestige for not taking a firm stand against a blatant act
of Russian aggression against the civilian population and infrastructure of Ukraine. In
other words, how could Vietnam have its cake and eat it too.
Ambassador Giang’s remarks clearly signal that Vietnam has sought to align itself with
the majority of the international community, including its major economic partners in
Europe, North America and East Asia, by publicly supporting the UN Charter,
international law and the sanctity of sovereignty and territorial integrity. It is notable,
however, that Ambassador Giang did not mention Russia by name.
What has changed after a year? Putin’s war of aggression has failed to achieve its
objectives and looks like heading into a protracted stalemate. Vietnam’s priority
objectives of resuming high economic growth, increased international integration and
military modernization will be undermined by a continuation of the conflict. The
sharpening of tensions between the Russia-China partnership ‘without limits’ and the
unified network of U.S. alliances does not serve Vietnam’s interests as well.
Vietnam’s leaders have concluded that their self-interests are best served by
supporting de-escalation of the conflict, an end to hostilities and dialogue leading to
a negotiated settlement. Vietnam’s declaratory policy is cleverly worded to appeal to
all the protagonists without offending any one, including Russia. Ambassador Giang
concluded his statement:
Viet Nam supports international efforts and initiatives, including those by the UN and
Secretary General, to bring all parties together.
In this vein, results of ongoing initiatives such as the Black Sea Grain initiative should
serve as the foundation to finding a comprehensive solution to the conflict.
Within our capacity, we re-emphasize our readiness to make contributions to
diplomatic efforts and to the reconstruction, recovery and assistance in Ukraine.
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True to its past form, Vietnam joined thirty-one other United Nations members and
abstained. One hundred and forty-one UN members voted for the resolution, nine
against and thirteen states failed to register a vote.

Suggested citation: Carlyle A. Thayer, “Vietnam Speaks Out on the War in Ukraine at
UN General Assembly” Thayer Consultancy Background Brief, February 24, 2023. All
background briefs are posted on Scribd.com (search for Thayer). To remove yourself
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Thayer Consultancy provides political analysis of current regional security issues and
other research support to selected clients. Thayer Consultancy was officially
registered as a small business in Australia in 2002.