The Political Economy of Pakistan's Vision East Asia Strategy. The Case of Vietnam

Abstract

While examining political economy of Pakistan-Vietnam relations during 21^st century, this study reports three research questions. First, how has Pakistan's Vision East Asia Strategy reshaped its political and economic engagement with Vietnam? Second, what structural opportunities and constraints have influenced bilateral cooperation during the past two decades? Third, how can deeper engagement with Vietnam contribute to Pakistan's broader geo-economic objectives within ASEAN? Existing scholarship has examined Pakistan-Vietnam relations from diplomatic and trade perspectives. Hussain (2013) highlighted the significance of Pakistan's East Asia policy in strengthening regional partnerships. Haider (2018) argued that economic diplomacy has become central to Pakistan's engagement with Southeast Asia. Acharya (2014) explained ASEAN's growing role in regional institutionalism while Ravenhill (2014) emphasised the political economy of East Asian production networks. Kimura (2018) demonstrated Vietnam's integration into global value chains and Menon (2021) discussed ASEAN's expanding economic architecture. Despite these contributions, limited attention has been given to Pakistan's Vision East Asia Strategy through an integrated political economy perspective with Vietnam as the principal case. This study adopts the theoretical framework of Comparative Political Economy combined with Geo-economic Statecraft.

Comparative Political Economy explains how domestic institutions, trade structures and development priorities shape bilateral economic relations while Geo-economic Statecraft interprets economic cooperation as a strategic instrument for advancing foreign policy objectives under conditions of regional competition. The study employs qualitative document analysis of policy papers, bilateral agreements, trade statistics and official statements from Pakistan and Vietnam. It argues that Vietnam has emerged as a strategic partner capable of supporting Pakistan's trade diversification, regional connectivity and economic diplomacy within ASEAN while reducing excessive dependence upon traditional bilateral economic relationships.