General Secretary and President To Lam delivered a keynote speech at the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on 29/5, addressing three global crises: the crisis of international order, the crisis of development models, and the crisis of strategic trust.

General Secretary and President To Lam speaks at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on 29/5. Photo: AP

Reuters news agency assessed General Secretary and President To Lam's speech as one of the most attention-grabbing events at this year's Shangri-La Dialogue.

The General Secretary and President noted that these three crises are clearly converging in the Asia-Pacific region. He then outlined six orientations aimed at fostering a peaceful, stable, developed, resilient region capable of early and remote risk mitigation.

"Peace, stability, and development are the common denominators for all nations and peoples, but they only hold meaning when translated into concrete actions: restraint in disagreements, dialogue when differences escalate, cooperation when challenges transcend borders, and the establishment of practical risk mitigation mechanisms," the Vietnamese leader emphasized.

Japan's Nikkei newspaper reviewed the key points from the General Secretary and President's speech. It also cited expert opinions suggesting that this message underscored Vietnam's increasing role in regional security.

"The speech demonstrated Vietnam as a stabilizing factor and a rising middle power, ready to play a more active role in shaping the regional security architecture," Nikkei quoted Nguyen Khac Giang, a visiting fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, as saying.

Commenting on the address, the New York Times wrote that General Secretary and President To Lam pointed out that peace and stability require a renewed focus on economic development, because "economic instability can easily transform into social, political, and even strategic uncertainty."

The US newspaper suggested that the speech marked a new step in Vietnam's efforts to project a confident stance and sustain the necessary conditions for its "era of ascent."

Singapore's Business Times, meanwhile, focused on General Secretary and President To Lam's message that military strength alone is insufficient to guarantee security.

"The defense industry must serve legitimate defense and regional stability, not become a driver for an arms race," the General Secretary and President affirmed.

"Mr. To Lam presented a vision for regional order to hundreds of delegates at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, a rare articulation of Vietnam's General Secretary and President's foreign policy directions before an international audience of defense officials and diplomats," the newspaper wrote.

China's Xinhua news agency noted the General Secretary and President's message highlighting ASEAN's central role.

General Secretary and President To Lam "emphasized the importance of ASEAN's central role in safeguarding regional peace, stability, and development, while calling for unity, dialogue, and strategic autonomy amidst increasing geopolitical competition," the news agency stated.

The South China Morning Post (SCMP) in Hong Kong mentioned the three crises General Secretary and President To Lam addressed in his speech. "Precisely because it is a convergence point for challenges, the Asia-Pacific must also be the starting point for solutions," the newspaper quoted him as saying.

Additionally, a host of other major news agencies and newspapers, such as AP, Bloomberg, and Channel News Asia, also paid attention to the speech, offering many positive assessments.

General Secretary and President To Lam delivers a keynote speech at the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue. Video: VTV

The Shangri-La Dialogue is the region's leading security and defense forum, founded in 2002 by IISS, a UK-based research institute. The forum serves as an occasion to share visions, discuss strategic issues, build trust, foster strategic cooperation, and reflect the diverse perspectives of nations on security and defense. The keynote address, which sets the annual theme and focus of the entire event, is a key component of the Shangri-La Dialogue's program.

The 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue took place from 29-31/5 in Singapore, with the participation of over 550 delegates from security and defense agencies of 44 countries.

This marked the first time a Vietnamese General Secretary and President delivered the keynote address at this forum. IISS invited the General Secretary and President to attend and speak, reflecting high regard for Vietnam's important, responsible role and position in regional and international affairs.

Vu Hoang (Compiled)