As an "antenna" of the country, diplomacy must do a good job of research and strategic forecasting, so that Vietnam does not deviate from the flow of the times and is not surprised by any situation.

Deputy Prime Minister,Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh answers the press on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the industry.

On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam's Diplomacy, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh wrote an article reviewing the outstanding contributions and role of Vietnam's Diplomacy today.

Established 70 years ago, the diplomatic sector is extremely proud to be under the direct leadership and guidance of President Ho Chi Minh. The first Minister of the sector once said: "The best way to use troops is to fight with strategy, the second is to fight with diplomacy, and the third is to fight with troops."

Small country in multilateral diplomacy arena

Right from the beginning, when facing many internal and external enemies, with the Preliminary Agreement on March 6, 1946 and the Provisional Agreement on September 14, 1946, diplomacy made an important contribution to successfully protecting the young revolutionary government by implementing the strategy of "peace to advance", dividing the enemy, and gaining more time to consolidate forces to prepare for a long-term resistance war.

The bold and correct foreign policy decisions at the critical moment of the country's fate further highlighted the stature of President Ho Chi Minh's ideology and genius in foreign affairs. From the principle of "responding to all changes with the unchanging", "putting national interests first" to the diplomatic strategy of "making more friends, fewer enemies", all have become classic lessons in the art of diplomacy imbued with Ho Chi Minh's style that still retain their value today.

In the resistance war against colonialism and imperialism, the close coordination between the three fronts of politics, military and diplomacy created a combined strength, leading our nation's long-term resistance war from one victory to another. Not only simply reflecting the situation on the battlefield, diplomacy also proactively and actively gathered forces, creating favorable conditions for the military and political fronts.

Acting as a bridge between the Vietnamese people and the people of the world, including the people of the warring countries, diplomacy has maximized the support and assistance of international friends for our people's just struggle, opposing the unjust war of aggression of colonial and imperialist forces. The resounding victories on the battlefield were successively concretized by diplomacy at the negotiating table through the Geneva Agreements of 1954 and the Paris Agreements of 1973, from which our nation achieved the great victory of the spring of 1975, unifying the country and bringing the country together. During those heroic years, diplomacy contributed to making Vietnam a symbol in the hearts of international friends of a heroic nation, loving peace and always thirsting for independence and freedom. This is also the period when we learned many valuable lessons about the principles of independence and self-reliance, how to protect the interests of small countries in the multilateral diplomatic arena, and the strategy of "fighting while negotiating". In particular, the skillful way of dealing with big countries according to the motto of "five knowledges" imbued with Eastern philosophy was raised to the level of art by President Ho Chi Minh.

In the process of national construction and development, from being economically besieged, politically isolated and having relations only with countries in the Socialist bloc, our country has now established diplomatic relations with 185/193 member countries of the United Nations, has economic, trade and investment relations with more than 230 countries and territories, is an active member of over 70 regional and international organizations, plays an important role in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and many important agencies of the United Nations.

The country's foreign economic relations are increasingly open, effectively serving the country's socio-economic development. Vietnam has attracted a total of over 250 billion USD in FDI capital, and is one of the few countries participating in all important economic linkages in the region, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP).

During 70 years of accompanying the nation, Vietnamese diplomacy has contributed to bringing Vietnam from a country without a name on the world map to the proper position of a country playing an increasingly important role in the region, respected by international friends.

Throughout the 70-year history, countless Vietnamese diplomats have gone straight from the revolutionary war zone to the international negotiation table, still making friends and opponents admire them with their intelligence, talent and personality.

From only 20 staff in the early days of its establishment, today the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has become the country's main foreign affairs force with 2,400 well-trained and politically steadfast staff, effectively serving the work of planning and implementing the foreign policies of the Party and State. From only 3 diplomatic missions abroad in the early years of independence, up to now, 98 Vietnamese representative missions abroad have become the "extended arms" of the country in all continents of the world.

Keep up with the times

In a globalized world with increasing interdependence between countries, international integration has become an objective and inevitable choice. As a “pilot” contributing to bringing the Vietnamese ship to the open sea, Vietnamese diplomacy has correctly identified, closely followed the flow of the times, always making every effort to position the country in the most advantageous way in the regional and world situation.

First of all, we have stepped up the deepening of relations with other countries, basically completing the institutionalization of the framework of relations with priority and important partners. In particular, for the first time in the history of foreign affairs over the past 70 years, we have built the framework of Strategic Partnership and Comprehensive Partnership with all major countries, including the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

Second, diplomacy has always been at the forefront of implementing the comprehensive international integration policy set forth by the 11th Party Congress. Diplomacy has actively contributed to strengthening foreign economic relations: for the first time in two decades, Vietnam continuously had a trade surplus from 2012 to 2014, continuing to be a bright spot in Southeast Asia in attracting foreign investment with the presence of over 100 leading multinational corporations in the world, many of which have and will set up their "headquarters" in Vietnam.

After the Politburo issued Resolution 22 on international integration, foreign affairs have witnessed strong progress. For the first time, Vietnam participated in UN peacekeeping activities, simultaneously negotiated many major free trade agreements such as TPP and RCEP, and was trusted by international friends to be elected with a very high number of votes to important UN agencies.

During this period, multilateral diplomacy was also elevated, shifting from the motto of “active participation” to “proactively contributing to building common rules of the game” with Vietnam putting forward many initiatives and cooperation proposals that were supported and highly appreciated by friends and partners at forums from ASEAN to ASEM, APEC and the United Nations.

Diplomacy has also closely coordinated with national defense and security to firmly protect the security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Fatherland. We have completed demarcation and marker planting along the entire land border with China and Laos, and are currently implementing border demarcation with Cambodia, contributing to making the land border between Vietnam and neighboring countries a border of peace, friendship, stability and development. Diplomacy has also won broad support from the international community for Vietnam's just stance and legitimate interests in the East Sea issue.

Cultural diplomacy, foreign information and propaganda, citizen protection and work with overseas Vietnamese have achieved many important results, such as successfully campaigning for UNESCO to recognize Ho Dynasty Citadel, Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex, Nguyen Dynasty Records, Hung King worship, and Phu Tho Xoan singing as world cultural heritages.

Diplomacy is also always present at the forefront of cooperation and struggle to protect the legitimate rights and interests of our overseas Vietnamese, mobilizing overseas Vietnamese to increasingly turn towards their homeland and country, making practical contributions to the cause of building and defending the Fatherland with spiritual and material resources.

Don't let the country be surprised

Today, the world and regional situation is constantly changing. We are living in a world of peace, but not tranquility. Asia-Pacific is still the most dynamically developing region and has the potential to become the new center of power in the world in the 21st century, but it has also become a site of strategic competition between major countries. Peace and cooperation are still the dominant trend, but unstable factors, even the risk of local conflicts, are increasing.

In particular, the situation in the East Sea is very complicated, and threats to the country's security and sovereignty over its islands are increasingly fierce. Challenges and opportunities are always intertwined and mutually transformative. How to "turn danger into safety" and position the country in the most advantageous way in the strategic chessboard in the region and the world is a concern of those working in foreign affairs day and night. In the past, Uncle Ho once said: "When in a lost country, two carts are wasted. When in a good time, one is also successful". The task of diplomacy today is to use the mindset of "in danger, there is opportunity" to find opportunities and fortunes for the country.

In today's world, a country, even if its economy is not strong and its population is not large, if it has the right foreign policy, can still protect its legitimate interests and enhance its position in the international arena. As a country with an important geo-strategic position in the Asia-Pacific region, Vietnam is facing many opportunities to combine national strength with the strength of the times in the new situation, taking advantage of favorable conditions to successfully carry out the cause of industrialization and modernization, helping the country overcome the risk of the "middle-income trap". To do that, it is time for Vietnamese diplomacy to "engage" more.

At the 28th Diplomatic Conference (December 2013), General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong affirmed that the three most important foreign affairs tasks in the coming time are to maintain a peaceful and stable environment; protect the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Fatherland; and protect the socialist regime.

To fulfill that great responsibility, the entire diplomatic sector is making efforts to innovate thinking, to seek more creativity from thinking to working methods to further improve the effectiveness of foreign affairs. Sticking to the "unchangeable" national and ethnic interests to respond flexibly to the "ever-changing" and adapt to a world that is constantly changing is a mandatory requirement for Vietnamese diplomacy in the new era. As an "antenna" of the country, diplomacy must do a good job of research and strategic forecasting to discover new trends, put Vietnam in the right flow of the times, and at the same time not let the country be surprised by any situation.

According to TPO