It will be from ASEAN and together with ASEAN.

Vietnam's peace, security, and sustainable development are organically linked to ASEAN.

Trong khuôn khổ chuyến thăm cấp Nhà nước Cộng hòa Indonesia, thăm chính thức Ban thư ký ASEAN, sáng 10/3, tại Trụ sở Ban thư ký ASEAN, Tổng Bí thư Tô Lâm và Phu nhân cùng đoàn đại biểu cấp cao Việt Nam đã dự Lễ kỷ niệm 30 năm Việt Nam gia nhập ASEAN và có

General Secretary To Lam and his wife, along with ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn and his wife, cut a cake to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Vietnam's accession to ASEAN. (Photo: Tuan Anh)

General Secretary To Lam's visit on March 10th marked the first time the head of the Communist Party of Vietnam visited the ASEAN headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia. This is a historically significant event, demonstrating the important position of ASEAN in Vietnam's foreign policy, especially in the new era, an era of national progress for Vietnam. On this occasion, I have some thoughts on the "mission" of ASEAN and Vietnam's "mission" within ASEAN in this new context.

Ambassador Nguyen Trung Thanh. (Photo: Provided by the interviewee)

The more polarized the world becomes, the more ASEAN must unite and play its central role. As geostrategic competition among major powers intensifies, ASEAN must maintain strategic autonomy, inclusiveness, and balance.

As global developments become increasingly unpredictable, ASEAN must be more dynamic, flexible, intelligent, and decisive, leveraging the ASEAN way of thinking while maintaining principles but being flexible in decision-making in a proactive and positive manner, keeping pace with the times.

The more multilateral cooperation is disregarded, the more regional cooperation within ASEAN and with external partners must be emphasized. The more international law is disregarded, the more ASEAN must take the lead in building a rules-based world order.

Intelligent and dynamic consensus within ASEAN means that ASEAN respects diversity but needs to increase consensus. In a multipolar and fragmented world, small and medium-sized countries must unite and come together even more. This can be seen as a "hard-learned lesson."

Vietnam's accession to ASEAN not only transformed Southeast Asia into a truly peaceful, developed, and interconnected region in accordance with natural logic, but also marked the opening of an unprecedented era of genuine integration with the entire world in Vietnam's history. Thirty years is a historical period not only for regional integration but for the entire process of reform and international integration of Vietnam.

Thirty years within the ASEAN "roof" represent three decades of pioneering and shaping. The future will be a journey of Vietnam's growth alongside ASEAN. Vietnam's peace, security, and sustainable development are organically linked to ASEAN. To "stand shoulder to shoulder with the great powers of the world," as President Ho Chi Minh always hoped, will also come from and be achieved together with ASEAN.

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