The European Union's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, and the Minister of national defence of Vietnam, General Ngo Xuan Lich, signed on 17 October in Brussels a Framework Participation Agreement, establishing a legal framework for the participation of Vietnam in EU-led civilian and military crisis management operations. The signature comes two months after Mogherini's visit to the country.

The EU's Common Security and Defence Policy provides the Union with the capacity to deploy civi...