Asia defense summit opens with China and doubts about U.S. priorities topping concerns

By — David Rising, Associated Press David Rising, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/asia-defense-summit-opens-with-china-and-doubts-about-u-s-priorities-topping-concerns Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Asia defense summit opens with China and doubts about U.S. priorities topping concerns World May 29, 2026 8:11 PM EDT SINGAPORE (AP) — Vietnam's leader said Friday that the Strait of Hormuz has shown how one flashpoint can throw the rest of the world into turmoil, suggesting that the U.S. and China need to abide by international law to avoid provoking a global crisis as they vie for influence in the Asia-Pacific region. WATCH: Xi hosts Putin in Beijing, cementing China-Russia alliance after Trump's visit Vietnamese leader To Lam was delivering the keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's premier defense summit, to an audience that included U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and a high-level delegation from China. Lam suggested that Iran's stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz during the war in the Middle East has demonstrated how regional conflicts can have worldwide ramifications. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. "Recent tensions along strategic maritime routes in the Middle East remind us that a single flashpoint can rapidly disrupt trade, energy supplies, logistics and social economic life across the globe," the Vietnamese leader said. Vietnam navigates a delicate superpower balance Lam has consolidated his power in Vietnam this year, becoming both Communist Party general secretary and president of the strategically important Southeast Asian nation, departing from its tradition of shared leadership. Like several other countries in the region, Vietnam has competing maritime claims with Beijing that have led to confrontations, but at the same time is heavily tied economically to China, its biggest two-way trade partner. The U.S., meantime, is Vietnam's largest export destination and has been seeking to make diplomatic inroads and expand defense contracts to try and pull some of that market away from Hanoi's traditional partner, Russia. Recently leaked documents showed, however, that even after elevating relations with Washington to the highest diplomatic level, Vietnam's military remained skeptical of American intentions and had taken steps to defend against a possible American "war of aggression." "This is the world's most dynamic center of growth, but also a theater of intense strategic competition, a region defined by vital maritime routes, yet fraught with risk," Lam told the gathering of world leaders, diplomats and top defense officials. He said the region has "benefited profoundly from globalization," but at the same time now faces mounting pressure on many fronts. "What the region seeks is nether the mere presence nor absence of any major power,