This is one of the outcomes of Tô Lâm’s visit to Thailand.
Driving the News: On May 28, Thailand’s The Nation and Vietnamese state media reported on the talks between President Tô Lâm and Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. During the meeting, the two leaders reaffirmed that their governments would not allow any political activity against the other country on their respective territories.
The two sides also pledged to support each other in implementing the ASEAN Extradition Treaty and agreed to soon negotiate and sign an extradition treaty and a mutual legal assistance treaty in criminal matters.
This is one of the directions for Việt Nam and Thailand to elevate their comprehensive strategic partnership for the 2026–2031 period.
Why It Matters: Thailand is currently home to the largest number of Vietnamese political refugees, including democracy activists and persecuted religious communities such as the Montagnards and the Hmong.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Thailand currently hosts more than 80,000 refugees from Myanmar and about 5,000 refugees and asylum seekers from more than 40 other countries, including Việt Nam.
From International Human Rights Advocates: On X, Phil Robertson, a human rights advocate focused on Southeast Asia, said the agreement was unacceptable. Robertson stated the cooperation amounts to promoting transnational repression and the enforced disappearance of activists and dissidents.
For Clarity: This instance is not the first time Việt Nam and Thailand have affirmed this principle of cooperation. It was first stated in a 2013 joint statement during the visit of Nguyễn Phú Trọng to Thailand.
The principle was later reaffirmed in several other documents, including a 2015 joint press statement during Nguyễn Tấn Dũng’s visit to Thailand; a 2017 joint statement during Nguyễn Xuân Phúc’s visit; and a 2025 joint statement on upgrading bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership during Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s visit to Việt Nam.
The Context: Human Rights Watch said that between 2014 and 2023, Thailand expelled at least 25 dissidents from Cambodia, Việt Nam, Laos, and China, even though many had UN refugee status and were awaiting resettlement in third countries.
They also noted that Việt Nam has cooperated with Thailand to monitor dissidents who fled from Việt Nam to Thailand. The group described this as a form of “swap mart” transnational repression.
In November 2025, despite warnings from human rights groups, the Thai government extradited Y Quỳnh B’Đắp to Việt Nam just two days after a Thai court issued its appeals ruling.
The Thai court concluded that although Thailand does not have an extradition treaty with Việt Nam, the two countries could still cooperate based on the principle of reciprocity. In Việt Nam, Y Quỳnh B’Đắp was prosecuted on terrorism charges and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Between 2018 and 2024, Việt Nam processed 41 extradition requests from foreign countries and sent 95 extradition request files.
In recent years, the Vietnamese government has issued arrest warrants and tried in absentia several activists and dissidents living abroad, including Lê Trung Khoa, Nguyễn Văn Đài, and others.
Lê Sáng wrote this article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on May 29, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine has the copyrights to the English translation.
