Vietnam and Thailand have upgraded their ties to the highest level of diplomatic cooperation – a move that analysts say reflects Hanoi’s strategy of deepening regional ties even as it quietly ranks its partners’ strategic weight using a “two-tiered stratification system”.

The new Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP), formalised during Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s visit to Hanoi last Friday, places Thailand among a growing list of countries with which Vietnam has strengthened its diplomatic framework in recent years.