New Pakistan – North Vietnam (1972–1976) relations

See also: British India – Indochinese Union relations

Reverted Pakistan—Democratic Republic of Vietnam relations

PAKISTAN   (Occupied Kashmir)   †Former East Pakistan	North Vietnam

The relations between the two is acknowledged on the 8th of November in 1972, when Pakistan had formally Recognized it on the 13th of January in 1972, whilst the occupying Indian troops were still in her erstwhile capitulated Eastern theatre. Pakistan did not play a direct military role in the US-led Vietnam War. However, Pakistan maintained a diplomatic stance of Non-alignment during the Cold War and refrained from actively participating in Military alliances. This position allowed Pakistan to avoid direct involvement in conflicts such as the Vietnam War. There was a lot of pressure by the USA on Pakistan to send its troops in Vietnam as a member of SEATO because its two other members namely Australia and New Zealand had sent their forces. However, Pakistan resisted this pressure under the guidance of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the foreign minister of Pakistan. A quote from his book The Myth of Independence will be instructive

To counter its increasing isolation, the United States seeks the participation of other countries on its side in the war. That is why so much pressure is being brought to bear on Pakistan to make some token contribution to the United States' war effort, but under no circumstances, no matter how heavy the pressure, should we weaken in our resolve to have no part in that war or desist from condemning its continuance.

Such a stand might entail the loss of economic and military assistance, but by defending its just position, Pakistan would finally gain much more than it loses in material terms.

Neither Pakistan nor France fully supported the U.S. intervention in Vietnam, and both nations were pulling away from the organization in the early 1970s. Pakistan formally left SEATO in 1973, because the organization had failed to provide it with assistance in its ongoing conflict against the Soviet-ally Republic of India.

While not directly engaged in the military aspects of the war, Pakistan did express diplomatic support for the principles of Self-determination and Non-interference in the Internal affairs of other nations. Pakistan's role during the Vietnam War was primarily diplomatic and aligned with its broader foreign policy objectives at the time. Pakistan was having problems of it’s own, but they were very much pro-American at the time and maintained close ties with the United States-led Western Bloc to counter rival Republic of India's allegiance with the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the United States was involved in the Vietnam War against Soviet-backed North Vietnam (which emerged the victor of the war and its government superseded that of South Vietnam) while in the same time period, Pakistan had engaged in two major wars with neighbouring Republic of India in 1965 and 1971, the latter of which resulted in a devastating defeat for Pakistan and saw the emergence of an independent province named-Bangladesh. Due to the fact that Pakistan was an ally with the United States and had begun to indirectly wage war against the Soviets in Afghanistan with heavy U.S.−backing, relations became strained between the two, with Pakistan closing its diplomatic mission in Vietnam in 1980 and Vietnam doing the same in 1984. However, relations greatly improved in the 2000s, and Pakistan reopened its embassy in Hanoi in October 2000. Vietnam also reopened its embassy in Islamabad and trade office in Karachi in December and November 2005, respectively. Throughout the following decade, several visits were made by various Vietnamese and Pakistani ministries to each other. A major part of Pakistan's pursuit to enhance its relationship with Vietnam is outlined in Pakistan's "Vision East Asia" strategy. The emergence of such a strategy came as a result of Pakistan's desire to balance its relations with Vietnam and other East Asian/Southeast Asian states by making an effort to circumvent Pakistan's close relationship with China and Vietnam's growing relationship with India—the former being a cause of concern for Vietnam due to its tense relationship with China and the latter being a cause of concern for Pakistan due to its rivalry and history of armed conflict with Hindutva India.

Pakistan's counter to Bharati influence in Vietnam

Pakistan has been seriously following Vietnamese diplomacy and has a sense of wary over the development of strong ties between Republic of India and Vietnam, consequently having the potential of deteriorating relations between Pakistan and Vietnam. This is due to the fact that Pakistan is a long-time close ally of China, the latter of which has tense relations with Vietnam. Developments in Vietnam's relations with Pakistan's rival India would prove to be a major problem for Pakistan. To circumvent this, Pakistan's "East Asia Vision Strategy" was projected in order to balance Pakistani-Vietnamese relations.

Vietnamese in Pakistan

Many factors contribute to the limited presence of Vietnamese communities and culture within Pakistan, most notably the latter's close relationship with China. Due to the absence of a strong historical connection and no close relations between the two countries (as well as the geographical distance between them), there continues to be a lack of interaction between the Vietnamese and Pakistani people (not taking into account the diasporas of both communities that are present in countries such as the United States and Canada). Despite this, it is not uncommon for the two communities to cross paths as Pakistan regularly hosts a respectable amount of Vietnamese tourists and small communities of Vietnamese people and cuisine can be found in Karachi.

Notes

†Did Not accept Bangladeshi passports, and Pakistani passports were not permitted for valid to travel in Bangladesh during that era in time.

---