‘Bamboo Diplomacy’: Role of India’s Northeast in Strengthening India-Vietnam Ties

In 2016, the General Secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, coined the term ‘Bamboo diplomacy’ as the country’s guiding principle of its foreign policy to ‘maintain peace by using diplomacy, preventing conflicting and fostering international cooperation in the constantly changing world order.’ As bamboo represents resilience, flexibility and strength, bamboo diplomacy aims to display ‘pragmatism and independence in the foreign policy realm.’