Ambassador Pham Quang Vinh: Vietnamese identity on the 30-year journey of joining ASEAN

Talking about Vietnam's identity throughout its 30-year journey of participating in ASEAN, former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador Pham Quang Vinh said that there are three words that cannot be ignored: solidarity, responsibility and creativity.

Former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs , Ambassador Pham Quang Vinh. (Photo: Quang Hoa)

Sharing with The Gioi & Viet Nam Newspaper on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Vietnam joining ASEAN (July 28, 1995 - July 28, 2025), former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Head of SOM ASEAN Vietnam (from 2007-2014) Pham Quang Vinh highlighted Vietnam's outstanding contributions and achievements in its journey with ASEAN over the past three decades.

Ambassador, please evaluate the significance of the milestone of 3 decades of Vietnam joining ASEAN?

Looking back at three decades of Vietnam's participation in ASEAN and the entire historical process before that, we can see the following points:

Firstly, Vietnam’s participation in ASEAN was a strategic decision – not only for Vietnam but also for ASEAN at that time. This decision ended a long period of separation, division and confrontation in Southeast Asia, to open a new period, starting the process of regional integration, towards an “ASEAN family”.

Second, the process of Vietnam joining ASEAN is also closely linked to the formation of ASEAN's common vision: from ASEAN with 10 countries, to building the ASEAN Community and developing together.

From a Vietnamese perspective, it can be divided into stages:

The first stage, getting acquainted and promoting integration within ASEAN. Immediately after joining ASEAN, the first milestone was that Vietnam hosted the 1998 ASEAN Summit with the Hanoi Declaration which was highly appreciated by countries in the region, especially emphasizing the vision of narrowing the development gap between new and old member countries.

This period also witnessed Vietnam joining ASEAN in 1995 and then Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia completing the accession process in 1999. Thus, for the first time, ASEAN completed its 10-country structure.

At the same time, Vietnam also participates in the ASEAN economic integration roadmap, reducing tariffs to nearly zero, catching up with other countries to form a common economic space. This is the stage where ASEAN unites into a bloc, while Vietnam gets acquainted, integrates and from there gradually reaches out to the world.

Joining ASEAN in 1995 was also Vietnam's first step in its journey of international integration, creating the premise for signing the Bilateral Trade Agreement with the US in 2001 and joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2006-2007.

Even in this early stage, Vietnam also made significant contributions: hosting the 1998 Summit; serving as Chair of the ASEAN Standing Committee in 2000–2001... These contributions were recognized and highly appreciated by countries in the region.

Closing session of the 6th ASEAN Summit, held in Hanoi, December 1998.

In the second phase, Vietnam and other member countries create and promote ASEAN's development in the context of internal development and international fluctuations.

During the period from 2007 to 2020, Vietnam and ASEAN built an ASEAN community vision with three pillars: politics-security, economy, and culture-society.

We also contributed to the development of the ASEAN Charter (adopted in 2007-2008 and effective in 2008). This is the most important legal document of the association (previously ASEAN was based only on the 1967 Bangkok Declaration).

2010 was a very important milestone when Vietnam assumed the role of ASEAN Chair for the first time under the new model of the Charter. Vietnam coordinated all ASEAN activities during the year, put the new apparatus into effective operation, and promoted the theme “Towards the ASEAN Community: From Vision to Action”.

Another milestone was 2020, when Vietnam chaired ASEAN for the second time under the theme of “Cohesive and Responsive”. This was also the time when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, affecting the whole world. Vietnam led ASEAN to navigate through that difficult period: convening urgent meetings to coordinate pandemic prevention; proposing initiatives on medical supplies reserves and vaccine funds; maintaining supply chains; and planning for post-pandemic recovery. We combined online and in-person meetings, for the first time in ASEAN’s history, while still ensuring important results: promoting priorities on community building, cooperation with partners, and handling regional issues.

A typical example is that Vietnam and other member countries conducted a mid-term review of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and then laid the first bricks to build the ASEAN Community Vision after 2025, which is now the 2045 vision.

The third stage – the current stage, when the world is changing a lot, ASEAN sets out Vision 2045 and requires the region to develop to a new level. In this stage, Vietnam will continue to accompany ASEAN to adapt to the profound changes in the world; improve the quality of intra-bloc connectivity; promote cooperation in new development areas (science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, green transformation, etc.); promote the central role, independence, and strategic autonomy to both maintain its position and take advantage of international relations for peace and development.

In short, the significance of the 30-year milestone lies not only in its strategic vision, but also in Vietnam's continuous and increasingly profound contributions to the process of building and developing ASEAN.

According to the Ambassador, what makes Vietnam special and unique in its 30-year journey of joining ASEAN?

Talking about Vietnamese identity throughout the journey of participating in ASEAN, I think there are three words that cannot be ignored:

Solidarity: Vietnam always values the spirit of solidarity in ASEAN.

Responsibility: Vietnam always demonstrates responsibility in participating in and promoting the development of ASEAN.

Creation: Vietnam and ASEAN countries build the community, play a central role in handling regional issues and proactively adapt to continue effective cooperation with external partners.

ASEAN SOM Chief Pham Quang Vinh (center) chairs the ASEAN Senior Officials' Meeting in Da Nang, January 2010. (Source: VNA)

As the person who has held the position of Head of SOM (Senior Official Meeting) ASEAN Vietnam for 7 years (from 2007-2014), can you share your memories and the opportunity to be attached to this role?

The position of ASEAN SOM Chief came to me as a chance, but also as a recognition, a decision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' leadership for which I am very grateful. In 2007, I had worked for 27 years at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, mainly in the field of multilateral diplomacy - especially the United Nations. However, global issues are closely linked to the region, from peace, security, climate change, environment, to interactions in multilateral strategies.

However, being appointed as ASEAN SOM Head at that time was quite a surprise to me, because before that, most of the people who held this position were senior leaders in the Ministry. Promoting a Deputy Director to Director and ASEAN SOM Head was a bold decision. I felt very honored, but also deeply aware that this was a huge responsibility. I am truly grateful to the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Gia Khiem and Deputy Minister Le Cong Phung at that time for trusting me with this task.

The total time I held the position of ASEAN SOM Head was about 7 and a half years – a period that was both long and challenging but also very memorable. I feel particularly fortunate because the period 2007-2014 when I held this position was also a time when ASEAN was moving very strongly in terms of organization, vision, and foreign relations. During this period, Vietnam not only “got acquainted” but also truly integrated with ASEAN, creating a new vision and taking new steps.

As I just shared, the period 2007-2010 was a very important period in the development of the ASEAN Charter, in which I directly participated in part in the High-Level Working Group on drafting this Charter; developing three master plans for three pillars: politics-security, economics, and culture-society; developing the ASEAN Connectivity Master Plan; and especially in 2010 when Vietnam was ASEAN Chair, we put the new ASEAN apparatus (according to the Charter) into practical operation.

During that time, strategic issues, especially those related to relations with major countries, or complex developments emerged that required ASEAN to handle skillfully and unitedly, while cooperation with external partners also developed strongly. In particular, in 2010, Vietnam hosted the East Asia Summit (EAS) with the participation of all major countries and official partners of ASEAN.

It can be said that I was not only lucky to be trusted by the Ministry's leaders to appoint me, but also lucky to join at the right time when ASEAN had great changes in terms of institutions, strategy and international relations. Those were very memorable years in my career.

Ambassador Pham Quang Vinh chaired the second plenary session of the ASEAN Future Forum 2024 with the theme "Ensuring comprehensive security for a people-centered community", April 2024. (Photo: Nguyen Hong)

In the context of many challenges in the world and region, what does the Ambassador expect from Vietnam's contribution and participation in ASEAN in the future?

Currently, the world is changing very deeply and the region is also changing strongly. Although ASEAN has affirmed its role and been recognized by the region and the world, there is still much to strive to move forward. In the context of profound changes in the world and the region, ASEAN is still the only organization in this region that not only connects the current 10 Southeast Asian countries and the upcoming 11 countries, but also plays a central role in connecting with key partners such as China, the US, Japan, South Korea, the European Union (EU), Australia, India, etc.

Over the past 50 years, ASEAN has operated effectively and has been highly appreciated by countries, becoming a voice that shapes the standards of conduct and public opinion in the region. Every time ASEAN speaks out on regional issues, not only ASEAN countries support it, but also major partners and power centers in the world show their support. The fact that more and more countries have applied to become observers or partners, from partial partners to comprehensive partners, has demonstrated ASEAN's position and voice.

Not only simply connecting, ASEAN also has dialogue and cooperation mechanisms with key partners such as ASEAN+1; ASEAN+3; East Asia Summit (ASEAN+8); expanded defense cooperation (ADMM+); or regional security forums such as ARF...

However, there are still many requirements and tasks for ASEAN ahead. In terms of geopolitics, competition between major countries is increasing, the unstable situation in the world requires ASEAN to take advantage of major countries but at the same time avoid falling into a competitive position, protecting peace and stability in the region.

Economically , in the face of a volatile world economy with increasing protectionism, eroded globalization, and broken supply chains due to both objective (epidemic) and subjective factors (strategic competition, crisis), ASEAN needs to maintain a sustainable supply chain and continue to cooperate effectively with partners.

In terms of science and technology , the world is entering a period of rapid development thanks to science and technology. If ASEAN fails to keep up, it will face the risk of falling behind. Therefore, ASEAN needs to take advantage of innovation, digital transformation, and green transformation to keep up with the new growth model.

In that context, ASEAN's mission is to win over major countries by promoting justice, strengthening strategic autonomy, while emphasizing the significance of multilateral cooperation and respect for international law; improving the quality of economic cooperation with partners, while strengthening the internal strength of the ASEAN Economic Community itself; and taking advantage of science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, and green transformation to catch up with the new growth pace and new growth model of the world. Regarding regional issues such as Myanmar, Cambodia - Thailand, the East Sea, etc., ASEAN must continue to emphasize dialogue, not to let tensions escalate, and to peacefully and satisfactorily resolve disagreements on the basis of the fundamental principles of international law.

It can be said that ASEAN today is an organization with a very high position, respected in the region and the world, but at the same time ASEAN also faces expectations of greater development.

Vision 2045 has set new development directions for ASEAN. I am confident that Vietnam, with the goal of higher quality, more sustainable development, towards a new era, will continue to contribute to the Vietnamese identity in ASEAN. That is, to continue promoting ASEAN solidarity and centrality; to contribute responsibly in all areas from politics, economics, security to handling common challenges; and to join ASEAN in creating new steps and visions for the regional organization to develop more and more.

Thank you very much Ambassador!

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/dai-su-pham-quang-vinh-ban-sac-viet-nam-tren-hanh-trinh-30-nam-tham-gia-asean-322507.html