AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTYou have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.In a speech to military leaders from the region, To Lam said that distrust and a lack of respect for established rules had created a culture of “the big fish swallowing the small fish.”Vietnam’s leader, To Lam, in Singapore, giving the keynote address on Friday to an annual Asian security conference. While careful not to criticize the United States or China directly, Mr. Lam acknowledged that a series of threats is making it harder for his country and the region to prosper.Credit...Edgar Su/ReutersMay 29, 2026, 12:09 p.m. ETVietnam’s most powerful and globally minded leader in decades, To Lam, warned Asia’s military leaders on Friday that peace and stability require a renewed focus on economic development, criticizing a world of unchecked competition where “might makes right.”In his keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual security forum in Singapore, Mr. Lam stressed that “instability today comes not only from military conflict, but also from disruptions in development.”Mr. Lam, while careful not to criticize the United States or China directly, acknowledged that a series of threats is making it harder for his country and the region to prosper.A global arms race will not make countries more secure, he warned, as he sought to present Vietnam in a new light — not just as a nation of flexible foreign policy, but also as a proactive force in world affairs and a resilient manufacturing hub that aims to shape policy and partnerships across Southeast Asia.“What we need is a development foundation with high resilience to shocks,” he said, adding, “When cooperation provides safety, livelihoods and better living standards for people, strategic trust will be strengthened and nurtured.”Mr. Lam’s half-hour speech, just a few weeks after he officially took on dual roles as chief of Vietnam’s Communist Party and its head of state, marked a high point in his effort to project confidence and preserve the conditions required for what he has described as Vietnam’s “era of national rise.”Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT