France's Macron on a visit to Vietnam urges for greater cooperation in defense and trade

HANOI: French President Emmanuel Macron called on Monday for closer cooperation between Vietnam and France in an increasingly unstable global landscape as he visited Hanoi as part of a Southeast Asia tour focused on strengthening regional ties. Macron emphasized the need for "an order based on law" at a time of "both great imbalance and a return to power-driven rhetoric and intimidation." He next heads to Indonesia and Singapore. The visit comes amid trade tensions, with the US threatening steep tariffs on goods from Europe. Vietnamese imports to the United States were hit with 46% tariffs - among the highest rates applied to any country - in April. Macron signed more than a dozen agreements on defense, nuclear power and trade, including one with the Vietnamese budget airline company VietJet and Airbus to buy 20 A330-900 planes. He paid tribute at a Hanoi war memorial to those who fought the French colonial rulers and met with his counterpart Luong Cuong, as well as Communist Party general secretary To Lam. Macron also visited the 11th century Temple of Literature in the heart of the Vietnamese capital. France and Vietnam's "sovereignty partnership" could be the central axis of France's approach in the Indo-Pacific, Macron said. France has demonstrated its "desire to defend international maritime law" when it deployed the French carrier strike group in the South China Sea in early 2025, Macron said.

China and Vietnam have long had a maritime agreement governing the Gulf of Tonkin, but have been locked in competing claims in the South China Sea over the Spratly and Paracel Islands and maritime areas. Macron said France would also support Vietnam in key sectors, including critical minerals, high-speed rail, civil nuclear energy and aerospace, and focus on partnering with the Asian nation to help it transition away from dirty coal power while adding new capacity in renewable energy and civil nuclear power. This is Macron's first trip to Vietnam since he took office in 2017. France and Vietnam share a comprehensive strategic partnership, Vietnam's highest diplomatic status, also held with Russia, China, and the US.