OpinionHow Vietnamese army’s rising influence in politics reflects South China Sea security concerns

What does the election of two top generals to the Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam mean for the country’s political, economic and foreign policy prospects?

The Vietnam People’s Army has also deepened its influence through significant business interests, including in telecoms conglomerate Viettel

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Delegates cast their votes during the 13th National Congress of Vietnam’s Communist Party in Hanoi on January 30. The military has gained more influence in the country’s political system. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 5:00pm, 2 May 2021Updated: 5:00pm, 2 May 2021

The 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), which concluded in early February, resulted in several surprising personnel arrangements. One of them was the election of two army generals into the party’s Politburo – the first time this has happened in 20 years.

In addition, the number of military representatives in the Party’s Central Committee also increased from 20 to 23, cementing the status of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) as the largest voting bloc in the Committee.

What is behind the military’s increased representation in the CPV’s top echelons, and hence its increasing leverage? And what does this trend mean for Vietnam’s political, economic and foreign policy prospects?

‘THE PARTY COMMANDS THE GUN’

Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong famously said in 1938 that “Every Communist must grasp the truth, ‘political power grows out of the barrel of a gun’. Our principle is that the Party commands the gun, and the gun must never be allowed to command the Party”.