The 21st century is prodigal in its ability to turn old adversaries into enthusiastic partners, with new economic and military architectures replacing the bipolarity of the Cold War. In yet another example of geopolitical metamorphoses, Vietnam and Israel build an alliance fueled by trade, cooperation in technology and agriculture, and military ties unimaginable just a few decades ago.
In August, Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc received former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak in the capital Hanoi and highlighted priorities on the bilateral agenda: innovation, science and renewable energy. The communist host also highlighted the importance of joint initiatives in the area of ​​defense.
When talking about security, Vietnam points to the growing presence, on its radar, of Chinese power, its northern neighbor. The two countries have a history of border disputes, and disagreements advance above all on the issue of sovereignty in portions of the South China Sea, a strategic corridor for international shipping.
Recent shows of strength by Beijing in the dispute with Taiwan have fueled even more concern in Hanoi about the possibility of war in the Far East. Pressured by regional turmoil, the Communist Party of Vietnam obliterates past dogmas and seeks military cooperation with the US, arch-enemy of the Cold War era.
In 1986, Vietnam embarked on a reform process, replicating the model traced by the Chinese Deng Xiaoping: economic opening, with a monopoly of political power in the hands of the communist elite. Hanoi came to command one of the most dynamic poles among Asian economies.
The ideological revision of the PC in Vietnam provided a reinterpretation of global insertion, also reshaping the presence in the Middle East. In the times of Orthodoxy, Hanoi used to receive visits from the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, an opportunity for the distribution of books on the guerrilla tactics used by the Viet Cong in the battles with the Americans.
Shortly after the Cold War melted, Vietnam and Israel established diplomatic relations in 1993. The geopolitical compass began to point to alternative paths, without the shackles of the Manichaeism of the dispute between Washington and Moscow.
In another sign of the intense rapprochement, diplomats of the two nations are currently negotiating a free trade agreement, with Vietnam eyeing exports of its industrialized products and attracting investment and technologies, while Israel also sees gains from the expansion of diplomatic contacts in areas previously interdicted by ideological impositions.
In 1946, in the early days of the dispute between the USA and the USSR, Israeli and Vietnamese leaders carried out a lively gathering, after meeting, by chance, in the hotel that hosted them in Paris. They were leaders in search of independence for their countries: David Ben-Gurion and Ho Chi Minh.
Ho Chi Minh, amid historical dialogues, offered Vietnamese territory for the installation of an Israeli government in exile, reported Ben-Gurion. The Israeli argued that the offer was not necessary, as he believed in the viability of his country’s independence, which took place two years later, in 1948.
The geopolitical polarization of the Cold War sabotaged the rapprochement between the Vietnamese communist and the Israeli socialist. Today, their countries are building again the dialogue started in a Parisian hotel.
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
