Vietnam’s “middle ground” strategy balances BRICS engagement with ties to the West

How Brix is becoming a growing counterweight to Western influence, Vietnam It is positioning itself as a partner rather than a full member, a strategic choice that observers say reflects its desire to strike a middle ground in relations with world powers.

At the BRICS summit last week in Kazan, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Trinh expressed Hanoi’s readiness to cooperate with the bloc, whose most influential members are Russia And China.

But Chinh’s remarks conspicuously lacked a desire for full membership, a move that would likely have brought Vietnam closer to Beijing and Moscow at the potential cost of its relationship with Washington.

Instead, Vietnam joined the list of countries classified as “partner countries,” indicating a middle ground in the geopolitical landscape.

“Trinh reiterates that Vietnam is ready to work with the BRICS countries and the international community to realize the vision of working together to build a better world for all,” the Vietnamese government said in a statement posted online on Friday.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Trinh, Communist Party General Secretary To Lam and other officials before the opening of the National Assembly in Hanoi on October 21. Photo: AFP

A Vietnamese official hinted at the country’s interest in joining BRICS days before the summit, but said in comments to Reuters that the timing and scope of such an application remained uncertain.