From 12th to 14th May 2019, the 16th United Nations Day of Vesak (UNDV) will take place in Vietnam. Vesak is the most significant Buddhist celebration, which commemorates the birth, full awakening, and the passing away of the historical Buddha Gautama. Since being recognized as an international holiday by the United Nations on 15th December 1999, UNDV has been celebrated worldwide, representing the Buddhist community’s contribution to endorse world peace. This is the third time (2008, 2014, 2019) that the National Vietnam Buddhist Sangha has hosted this international event. The main theme of the 2019 Vesak conference will be “Buddhist Approach to Global Leadership and Shared Responsibilities for Sustainable Societies.”
Vietnam becoming host of the 2019 Vesak, nevertheless, should not be looked at as a stand-alone event. It is in fact an essential component of the long-term international diplomacy strategy carefully crafted by the Vietnamese government in realizing Vietnam’s “Rising Dragon” dream. This article will analyze the strategic role of Vesak in Vietnam’s foreign affairs as well as contextualize the event in Vietnam’s dynamic socio-political landscape.
2019 Vesak – a strategic diplomacy tool
Vietnam expects to welcome 1650 international delegates, including Buddhist leaders, professors, doctors, researchers, and scholars studying Buddhism from 112 countries and territories, to participate in Vesak 2019. Moreover, this is the first time that Vesak will be attended by many regional Heads of States, namely the President of Myanmar, the Prime Minister of Nepal, the Vice President of India – who will also be a keynote speaker at the conference, the Chairman of the National Council of Bhutan, and Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. Visits of Heads of States to Vesak 2019 are combined with important discussions about economic investment and diplomatic cooperation, signifying Vietnam’s emphasis on enhancing strategic partnerships in the region. Prior to the official celebration in May, preparatory meetings also attracted considerable international attention with involvement of delegates from India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, China, Japan, the United States, France, Hungary, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Cambodia, Myanmar and Malaysia.
The Vietnamese government repeatedly highlights the importance of Vesak 2019 in confirming the country’s commitment to religious freedom and its responsibility with the UN. As said by the most Venerable Thích Thiện Nhơn, Chairman of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha’s Executive Council, “The UNDV conference is an important foreign affairs event which helps enhance Việt Nam Buddhism’s role in international integration, and confirms the country’s position and responsibility with the UN.” The Communist Party of Vietnam’s online Newspaper also stated that “Being an important foreign affairs event in 2019, the day (Vesak) is expected to contribute to increasing Vietnam’s religion in international integration, and heightening the country’s prestige and responsibility towards the UN.”
In order to fully comprehend the significance of Vesak 2019 to Vietnam’s diplomatic strategy, it is important to contextualize this event in a broader picture – that is Vietnam’s running for the 2020-2021 membership in the UN Security Council – the highest level of international integration that the country attempts to achieve. Vietnam is currently the only Asian candidate for this position and thus stands a very high chance of winning. If succeeded, this will be the second time that Vietnam host UNSC membership. Becoming a non-permanent UNSC member will boost Vietnam’s influence over resolutions of world security issues, which also adds significant advantages to the country’s stance in dealing with the ongoing tensions in the South China Sea Dispute. Moreover, Vietnam will take over the ASEAN Chairmanship for the second time in 2020. This doubling second-time leadership roles will lend Vietnam a powerful position to coordinate between the ASEAN and the UN, push regional interests on the UN agenda as well as enhance its importance as a regional player, which is an inherent aspect of the Vietnamese “Rising Dragon” dream. Vietnam’s determination to embrace “a foreign policy of pro-active and active international integration” is also illustrated in other recent events such as organization of APEC 2017, participation in the G7 Summit’s outreach session, and most noticeably Vietnam’s hosting Kim Jong Un and Trump’s negotiation, which undoubtedly furnished the country’s status as an international peace promoter as nailed perfectly by the Economist “The message was hard to miss – Welcome to Hanoi, city of peace.”
Vietnam’s “Rising Dragon” dream and religious freedom
For Vietnam, the “Rising Dragon” dream is not only about the increased international and regional influence, but also about the commitment to boost the nation’s economic development and the well-being of its people. Vietnam has repeatedly articulated its desire to become an upper-income country by 2045. A Resolution on the strategy for the sustainable development of Viet Nam's marine economy by 2030 with a vision to 2045 (Resolution No. 36-NQ/TW) was passed by the Communist Party in the end of 2018. Most recently, in the first National forum on developing Vietnam Technology Companies in Hanoi May 9th, which featured the theme of “Aspiration, Vision, and Strategy for a Prosperous Vietnam” and the slogan “Make in Vietnam”, the Prime Minister once again emphasized the role of the information-technology sector in lifting Vietnam out of the middle-income trap to become a developed nation. According to World Bank statistics, Vietnam GDP per capita in 2018 is 2587 USD, which is 6.65-times-increase in 3 decades. Should this development rate maintain, Vietnam’s GDP per capita can reach 18,000 USD by 2045, claimed the Prime Minister.
Vietnam has undoubtedly made astonishing achievements in terms of diplomacy and GDP statistics. The country has put unprecedented efforts in combatting corruption as well as improving government transparency with the E-government initiative. With regards to religious freedom, Buddhism has indeed enhanced its involvement in socio-political life of Vietnamese citizens. Vietnamese Buddhist leaders have been very active in organizing various public education programs (as can be seen in widespread YouTube publications) to discuss citizens’ ethics, rights, and responsibilities, which would not have been possible without the government’s support. This is also reflected in topics to be discussed in Vesak 2019, which include: 1) Mindful leadership for sustainable peace; 2) Buddhist approach to harmonious families, healthcare, and sustainable societies; 3) Buddhist approach to global education in ethics; 4) The Forth Industrial Revolution and Buddhism; and 5) Buddhist approach to responsible consumption and sustainable development.
Nevertheless, the abovementioned participation of the Buddhist community is still far from what could be considered religious freedom. There remain many shortcomings in terms of human rights protection as pointed out in reports of the UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, Amnesty International, Transparency International, and the US International Religious Freedom report. Thus, while hosting Vesak events is unquestionably a good indicator for religious freedom, Vietnam needs more than just a government-sponsored show to demonstrate its commitment. Should Vietnam want to achieve its “Rising Dragon” dream of becoming a developed country, the government must reconsider its current policies towards religious minorities, peaceful activists, and advocacy activities, as well as re-evaluate implementation of the new Law on Belief and Religion, which has caused a lot of controversy since 1st January 2018.
In other words, it is important to remember that power comes with lots of responsibilities. To be respected as a regional player, Vietnam is expected to become a role model for economic development and good governance in embracing rule of laws and respecting human rights and the country’s leaders should clearly understand the need to fulfill these responsibilities.
Written by Linh Ton - a Master student of Public Administration at the School of Public Policy, Central European University. She also interns at the Institute of Policy Studies and Media Development (IPS), which conducts research on E-government ranking, Cyber Security Law, and Privacy rights in Vietnam.
