Mutual trust, common political goals, ideological convergences and people’s aspirations are some of the drivers which encourage nations to continuously expand bilateral engagements. States take pride in hosting political leaders, diplomatic missions and expert delegations from friendly countries to consolidate relations as also identify new areas of cooperation. A ‘2+2’ political and security dialogue is one of the many institutional formats for such engagements and these platforms serve as powerful tools for building strategic alignment of foreign policy, shared concerns on regional security, and defence and security goals. The latter are pursued through cooperation - confidence building - communication - interoperability between the militaries based on common agendas including activities such as UN Peacekeeping Operations. These can also trigger transfer of critical defense technology.

An expanded format of the ‘2+2’ dialogue is the ‘3+3’ format; and Vietnam – China can be credited as being the pioneers. It involves (a) Political/Diplomacy (political trust through Party level exchanges); (b) Defense (military trust between militaries) and (c) Internal Security (public security, domestic disorder, cross-border crime, etc.).

President and general Secretary To Lam has labelled the Vietnam-China ‘3+3’ dialogue a “clear message of both sides working together to promote development and revitalization and addressing common challenges”; and according to Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh “Hanoi is willing to work with China to enhance political mutual trust and advance pragmatic cooperation” while adhering to One China Policy.

There are at least four reasons for Vietnam and China to pursue the ‘3+3’ Dialogue: First, both sides now enjoy high degree of mutual trust notwithstanding their differences on issues concerning South China Sea. The diplomats and military have managed and addressed contentions views/claims in a mature way and chosen dialogue as a potent tool.

Second, through the 3+3 format, according Prime Minister Yang Yi, “China and Vietnam will demonstrate to the world the significant advantages of the socialist system, the vitality of the socialist cause, and the bright prospects for human development and progress”. Further, both sides are committed to “maintain strategic clarity to safeguard ideological security” and “strengthen strategic resolve to unite more closely”.  

Third, the ‘3+3’ format integrates security threats and challenges arising from internal-domestic issues such as “domestic radicalization, and political subversion” and by bringing the public security ministries of the two countries together they would be able to “prioritize political security and enhance efforts to prevent and resist "color revolutions".” Issues related to “extradition, data security, and border management” that normally fall under public security ministries can be part of the military and diplomatic discussions.

Fourth, public policy and foreign policy are increasingly intertwined and in recent times the domestic dynamics directly drive foreign policy objectives. In some cases there is visible overlap between domestic public policy and foreign policy. For instance, issues such as climate change energy security, digital safety, and health issues (COVID) transcend established silos necessitating regional-sub regional plans and common approaches.

The ‘3+3’ strategic dialogue between Vietnam and China is both symbolic as well as significant being the first such format anywhere in the world and is meant for “safeguard[ing] the security of the political system and deepen strategic coordination”. The first meeting of the "3+3" strategic dialogue on diplomacy, defense and public security was held on 16 March 2026 in Hanoi, Vietnam. It was chaired jointly between Vietnamese Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung, Defense Minister Phan Van Giang and Minister of Public Security Luong Tam Quang and from the Chinese side by Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Minister of National Defense Dong Jun and Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong. In particular, Minister Wang Xiaohong emphasized the “need for the public security ministries of the two countries to prioritize political security and enhance efforts to prevent and resist ‘color revolutions’.”

Foreign Minister Wang Yi has observed that ‘3+3’ dialogue is a “necessary move for revitalizing the world socialist cause" and a Chinese scholar has argued that the ‘3+3’ format is significant and from the perspective of regional security it offers a “ model of cooperation featuring nonalignment and non-confrontation, proving that nations can achieve security cooperation through equal consultations”.

The second ministerial meeting of the ‘3+3’ dialogue is scheduled in China and will add robustness to the bilateral relations. It is fair to argue that it could even serve as a model for other countries who find their ideological beliefs are aligned and internal-domestic issues are closely tied to foreign policy.

Dr.Dr. Vijay Sakhuja is associated with the Kalinga International Foundation, New Delhi.