The sixth Thailand-Vietnam Defense Policy Dialogue, held in Bangkok in March 2025, highlighted a strategic relationship that has matured from Cold War-era border skirmishes to a cooperative partnership.
The summit co-chairs — Gen. Sanitchanog Sangkachantra, Thailand’s permanent defense secretary, and Senior Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien, Vietnam’s deputy defense minister — emphasized the nations’ cooperation on regional and transnational security challenges. The talks underscored common concerns such as maritime security, cyber threats, transnational crime and growing external military threats to Southeast Asia.
The leaders reaffirmed the importance of defense ties in fostering regional stability, as well as the central role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which both states are members.
Among the most pressing issues addressed was security in the South China Sea, known in Vietnam as the East Sea, where both nations advocate for freedom of navigation and adherence to international law. Beijing’s aggressive moves to push its arbitrary and illegal territorial claims in the resource-rich sea have heightened tensions among littoral states.
“Vietnam’s consistent position is that all parties concerned should abide by international practices and law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982,” Vietnam’s Defense Ministry stated after the meeting, while calling for “a substantial and effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea.”
Bangkok and Hanoi have strengthened maritime cooperation. In September 2024, Thailand’s Maritime Enforcement Command Centre and the Vietnam Coast Guard signed an agreement on joint patrols, intelligence sharing, and coordinated search and rescue to combat illegal fishing, drug trafficking and piracy, the Thai newspaper The Nation reported.
In early April 2025, the countries’ navies concluded their 51st annual joint patrol along their maritime border, the state broadcaster Voice of Vietnam reported.
The nations also face growing cyber threats, including data breaches and state-backed espionage, and jointly engage in ASEAN-led efforts to boost cyber resilience and protect sensitive military systems.
Meanwhile, transnational crimes such as human trafficking, illegal immigration and cross-border terrorism have prompted both governments to improve information sharing and coordinate law enforcement strategies. Since December 2023, they have deepened collaboration through platforms such as Interpol and committed to preventing their territories from being used against each other by hostile actors.
Chien emphasized Vietnam’s broader strategic principles, including a foreign policy of “independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation, development, multilateralization and diversification of relations,” according to the Defense Ministry.
The summit also expanded cooperation in defense education, training and joint military activities, with the nations agreeing to promote officer exchanges, increase high-level delegation exchanges and deepen collaboration among military branches, Vietnam’s Defense Ministry stated.
Also in March, Thai Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai reaffirmed Bangkok’s commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation in key areas including cybersecurity and cross-border crime, Voice of Vietnam reported.
