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Shangri-La Dialogue: Vietnam’s To Lam warns of 3 crises converging in Asia-Pacific security

Vietnam’s leader To Lam on Friday struck a sombre tone at a summit when he warned of three foundational crises converging to cause global instabilities…

By Samantha Johnson / May 29, 2026
Vietnam’s leader To Lam on Friday struck a sombre tone at a summit when he warned of three foundational crises converging to cause global instabilities – those of international order, development models and strategic trust.
He was delivering the keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia’s premier defence forum, in his first speech on Vietnam’s foreign policy to an international audience since being elected president in April.

Speaking to defence ministers, military chiefs, diplomats and analysts at the 23rd edition of the dialogue, Lam said the three crises – a changing world order where might was right, the erosion of globalisation and the loss of trust among countries – reinforced each other and converged most clearly in the Asia-Pacific region.

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“This is the world’s most dynamic centre of growth, but also a theatre of intense strategic competition, a region defined by vital maritime routes, yet fraught with risk at sea; a region that benefited profoundly from globalisation, yet now faces mounting pressure from supply chain fragmentation, climate change, technological transition and emerging geoeconomic competition,” said Lam, the president and general secretary of Vietnam’s Communist Party.

“Precisely because it is where these challenges converge, the Asia-Pacific must also become where solutions emerge.”

Vietnam’s President To Lam (centre) walks with Singapore’s Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing (centre right) during the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore on Friday. Photo: AFP
Vietnam’s President To Lam (centre) walks with Singapore’s Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing (centre right) during the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore on Friday. Photo: AFP

On the crisis of strategic trust, Lam called this “a silent yet dangerous crisis” that caused states to interpret actions through mistrust and anxiety, a situation made more complex by rapid developments in emerging technologies.

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