The Vietnam “story” has changed over time. First, it was a war story; then Vietnam “became a country” in the run-up to the normalization of U.S.-Vietnam relations in 1995. Now the country is moving forward with a new narrative, a strategy of active and proactive international integration.
Now, the country’s top foreign policy makers have decided it’s time for Vietnam to fully launch itself into the international arena. In a conversation with the Council on Foreign Relations last year, Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh said: “This was a turning point in our foreign policy, because before we focused on economic integration, but now we also integrate in all areas such as not only economic but politics, diplomacy, security, defense, culture and social effects.”
This “active and proactive integration” will include the market’s “invisible hand” with all the resultant spillover effects. Vietnam’s trade volume now exceeds 160 percent of GDP. Being a member of the World Trade Organization and APEC, having concluded many free trade agreements and being part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Vietnam sees the world as a myriad of markets and business opportunities. Trade with China, for example, has increased 900 times since 1992. Vietnam has also become an attractive market for many other countries. In July, the U.S. 2011 National Export Strategy added Vietnam to its list of “next tier” markets, identifying the five important markets as Colombia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Vietnam. Singapore alone has invested more than $23 billion in Vietnam. Vietnamese businesses have begun their own projects abroad, and they are now worth $11 billion.
Vietnam’s term as a nonpermanent member of the U.N. Security Council during 2008 and 2009, and its chairing of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2010 are two vivid examples of a country becoming more confident in international affairs. Deepening and upgrading relations with leading partners have been prioritized. Vietnam has had strategic partnerships with Russia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Britain, Spain, the Netherlands, and is working to arrive at a relationship of that level with the United States. Relations with traditional friends and international organizations are also being strengthened.
But two security issues have risen to the fore recently – the dispute over the East Sea (South China Sea) and tensions over Mekong water resources. In both cases, Vietnam’s sustained position is one of peace and negotiation. At the same time, it advocates adherence to international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Declaration on the Code of Conduct, vis-à-vis the South China Sea, and other collective mechanisms such as the Mekong River Commission to deal with the water resource controversy. Vietnam’s stance on issues of concern is consistent with standards shared by the international community. In other words, the rules of the game are being respected. Vietnam has also shown willingness to work with partners within and outside ASEAN to create new ones as long as they are conducive to the preservation of peace and stability in the region such as the much debated Code of Conduct in the South China Sea. This confirms Vietnam’s commitment to genuine regional integration.
Yet daunting challenges remain. The world is changing so fast and unpredictably that every foreign policy struggles to keep pace. On domestic issues, Vietnam needs to work harder to achieve a higher level of economic development; remarkable progress has been made since the introduction of Doi Moi (economic reforms) but Vietnam is still a poor country. This requires a response of Himalayan magnitude, which in turn demands quality policies and people.
Quality requires having the right direction. Vietnam’s policymakers have been guided by the principle of self-reliance and internal strength. That is now coupled with the tapping of nonindigenous resources via international cooperation. Enhancing economic capability is critical, and so issues like restructuring state-owned enterprises (SOEs) top the national agenda. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung says this is one of the three major targets for restructuring the national economy. Thus, some 1,300 SOEs will be restructured in the next five years, of which 573 will be privatized, according to an announcement by the Steering Committee for Restructuring State-owned Enterprises late last year. Significantly, the revamping of the economy must be done in a way that’s consistent with Vietnam’s commitments to the international business community.
Strengthening defense capabilities is another important policy. In 2009, Vietnam issued its third White Paper on National Defense, which emphasizes a defense policy of peace and self-defense. That policy also attaches greater importance to international cooperation. Vietnam now has bilateral defense relations with 65 countries and participates actively in regional security and defense forums such as the Shangri-La Dialogue, the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting Plus (ADDM+), and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). Since 2008, Vietnam has talked about joining peacekeeping operations (PKOs) within the U.N. framework, and specific actions have been taken. This is an another important indicator as analysts of foreign policy often use PKOs as an index of political integration into the international community.
One could argue that full integration is a must for any country in today’s globalized world. But others argue that this might be too ambitious a plan for Vietnam, which faces real domestic obstacles and lags behind many international partners. For instance, every round of negotiation within the TPP forces Vietnamese negotiators to think about what they can do to protect and/or promote industries at home, especially when no small number of domestic enterprises and associations aren’t yet ready for competition. Several sticky issues emerging from the TPP for Vietnam include labor relations, government expenditure, and market access to some key industries.
Integration is not only a natural development but is also a political decision. Cost and benefit calculations are therefore to be expected. The adoption of an active and aggressive integration strategy shows that Vietnam is well on its way, looking for opportunities and ready to take risks.
Le Dinh Tinh is deputy director general of the Institute of Foreign Policy and Strategic Studies at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam. This piece reflects the views of the author alone and not his institution or government. This article was originally published by Pacific Forum CSIS here.
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Ryan Lee
Vietnam should work with US, Philippines, South Korea, Japan, Australia and India to deter bully China. China wasn’t your friend, is not your friend and won’t be.
Watch out for China lip service.
Kangmin Zheng
Dear John Chan,
As a Chinese I’d like you to think of this – just take a moment and think hard about this. How do you feel to have your ONLY SON to go to war and get killed while the sons of elite CCP members live in luxuries life styles? How do you feel when your son risking his life because of imaginary 9 dotted line territory ambitions?
Did we have enough wars with Vietnam? I DO NOT want to see any Chinese fight in a war with Vietnam. What did 1979 border war teach us?
Thanks.
John Chan
@Kangmin Zheng,
You are doing exactly what those anti-China bigots do, extrapolating small samples to smear the whole China.
If every Chinese has your selfish and greedy mentality, China would be still in the dark age of unequal treaties, Chinese would still be slaves of the Westpac and its compradors. A lot Chinese had given up their lives and bloodlines to break lose the yoke of imperialism and fight for the independence of China.
You better ask the question to the USA and its lackeys, why are they carrying out aggressions on the backs of poor while the middle class and the rich live in luxurious life styles and talk bellicose against harmless nations non-stop. Those are the real hypocrites.
Are you sure you are not a Vietnamese? I have never heard a Chinese bad mouthing the nine-dotted line like you, the way you talk only can come from Vietnamese. Vietnam and Philippines are the lackeys of the predatory imperialist Westpac. They will be evicted from China’s land inside the nine-dotted line.
1979 war taught Vietnamese a lesson; nobody can protect them, they cannot be the hegemony of SEA, and they must cooperate with China if they want prosperity.
a_canadian_observer
@John Chan: Mr. assimilated and subjugated,
“You are doing exactly what those anti-China bigots do, extrapolating small samples to smear the whole China.”
– Nobody needs to do much to smear china. The CCP and people like you have done a great job on that front already.
“If every Chinese has your selfish and greedy mentality, China would be still in the dark age of unequal treaties, Chinese would still be slaves of the Westpac and its compradors. A lot Chinese had given up their lives and bloodlines to break lose the yoke of imperialism and fight for the independence of China. ”
– You’re sitting in a comfortable room somewhere in the West, with all the human rights provided to you, calling others to sacrifice? LOL.
“You better ask the question to the USA and its lackeys, why are they carrying out aggressions on the backs of poor while the middle class and the rich live in luxurious life styles and talk bellicose against harmless nations non-stop. Those are the real hypocrites.”
– Because china is behaving badly. A tiny portion of china’s elites live in luxury while most people live in sub-standard condition, especially the minorities.
“Are you sure you are not a Vietnamese? I have never heard a Chinese bad mouthing the nine-dotted line like you, the way you talk only can come from Vietnamese. Vietnam and Philippines are the lackeys of the predatory imperialist Westpac. They will be evicted from China’s land inside the nine-dotted line. ”
– This is one of the bad action of china that challenges all righteous people. It should be limited to the Vietnamese or th Philipinos.
“1979 war taught Vietnamese a lesson; nobody can protect them, they cannot be the hegemony of SEA, and they must cooperate with China if they want prosperity.”
– Did china really teach Vietnam a lession? I’ll leave it up to the community to find out. One thing is true: nobody can protect Vietnam. This has been true for over a thousand years, it doesn’t need the 1979 attrocity to prove. Vietnam has never been a hegemony of SEA, on the other hand, china is the hegemony of Asia and the world. Cooperate with china? That is up to Vietnam, but based on what I’ve learnt from my trip there, I doubt it. Are you giving them an ultimatum? Based on what authority? Because china is a “big” country, like what your ambassador had said? What an attitude!
John Chan
@a_cdn_observer,
Mr. assimilated and subjugated, can’t hide behind the surrogated name anymore? Vietnam has no way to go but to cooperate with China.
AllOrNothing
Cooperation is indeed a good choice for everyone. But the cooperation must be base on term of equal to be benefited for both side. If it come under the threat of other side then it should be called surrender, and it can not be benefit.
An independence Vietnam should be more benefit for everyone since it act as tandom zone to prevent any direct conflict between China and other ASEAN’s nation.
Because of China pushing to hard this time, Vietnames must choice one way or another. If it’s choice to align with the US, it shouldn’e be a good new for China.
And the China know about it. Beware of you grasp all and you lose all.
John Chan
@a_cdn_observer,
Here is a piece of history about your beloved civilization, you will be proud of it.
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/stealing-a-nation/
John Chan’s ancestor
John, you need to stop working with the CCP against your own kind, the Baiyuehs. We’re hurting in our graves rigght now.
John Chan
@French/American Wannabe,
You need to get rid of that ugly European script, go back to use what your ancestors write, so you can communicate with them again.
Goploi Songnui
The author seems failed to mention that there are millions of successfully Vietnamese living oversea. Those oversea forces have been a great helping hand to Vietnam in many way, in term of financially, economics and techonologically advancements. It has always been a question of, if the Vietnamese regime would know how to optimise these forces to their great advantages.
nirvana
@Goploi Songnui
>> “It has always been a question of, if the Vietnamese regime would know how to optimise these forces to their great advantages.”
—
The above sentence would be more correct if re-phrased as “…the regime would know how to leverage these forces to the great advantage of the Vietnam nation”.
Indeed, the Vietnamese diaspora have always played a crucial role in the first and second Indochina wars. They have forged precious links between the Vietnamese people and other people over the world. They have been and still are truly the “ambassadors” of Vietnam. Their patriotism (and surely not nationalism) must be recognised.
Let’s not forget that Ho Chi Minh himself traveled to and lived in Europe and the US (before moving to China). He even sollicited a meeting with Woodrow Wilson in Versailles (yes! during the famous Treaty of Versailles). It is poignant to imagine how history could have taken another course, for Vietnam, for other nations in Indochina and possibly the whole region, if Wilson had not decline Ho’s request to present Vietnam’s case to him…in 1919!
JohnX
If Vietnam moves away from a solely communist style of economy and Government, then some must truly question whose ideology actually won the Vietnam war. It may be interesting to see how capitalistic Saigon ‘HMC’ becomes in the future. The country may be usinted as one region but its interesting to note how China has become capitalistic, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos are moving in that direction.
Kind of makes you think that it was a waste all those years of disagreements. But I guess Maoism and Communism had to be seen as a fraud by the people before they could decide to make changes. Yes, yes, I know China has communism with Chinese characteristics, in my part of the world we just call that capitalism with social elements.
Though regardless, its interesting to see that Vietnam is becoming more integrated into the Region.
John Chan
@JohnX,
The Chinese revolution was an intense nationalistic upheaval – a desperate effort to build a new society from the devastation of a collapsing civilization, some of the leaders drawn to communist ideology largely as a means of asserting their independence and finding ways to rebuild their society. The Vietnamese struggle walked the same route.
To maintain its imperialist world order, the Westpac found it convenient to suppress that nationalism under the banner of ideological struggle.
Unless you understand the above, your whole view about Asia as well as the world is wrong, and you will be an accomplice of the imperialist suppressor.
If you can understand the above, then there is no surprise the capitalistic path China has been taking, and you should not surprise Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos would follow China’s path. The only thing has not changed is the Imperialist powers that are suppressing other nationalism to maintain their world order.
Continuing to live in the cold war era and viewing the world as ideology struggle is out of date and danger to the mankind.
Kangmin Zheng
Dear John Chan,
I found what you said troublesomes: “The Chinese revolution was an intense nationalistic upheaval – a desperate effort to build a new society from the devastation of a collapsing civilization, some of the leaders drawn to communist ideology largely as a means of asserting their independence and finding ways to rebuild their society.”
Elite CCP members protect their powers without any cost. They did killed 70 millions Chinese people, and crushed pecceful protesters by tanks. CCP creates sociaty with heartless people – just look at the case the 2 years old got ignored by 18 passers… CCP must go for the good of Chinese people.
Thanks.
John Chan
@Kangmin Zeng,
Not that what I said is true, it was also the conclusion of quite few American scholars too.
What you said “killed 70 millions Chinese people, and crushed pecceful protesters by tanks. CCP creates sociaty with heartless people – just look at the case the 2 years old got ignored by 18 passers” are not true, they are the fabrications based on the distorted facts spread by the neocon black information network to demonize China in order to carry out their cold war to crash China.
You are reciting the troll of a Vietnamese surrogating as a Canadian; he is a disturbed man, he is a racist with blinding hate toward China. It is his typical trait, using incidents that happen all over the world daily to stereotyping China with insidious intent. It is unfortunate you cannot view China in a more objective light, you have taken the Westpac’s propaganda to cripple China for their greedy interest as give truth.
Kangmin Zheng
Dear John Chan,
About the 2 years old toddler. This is article from People Daily “Girl dies after being hit by 2 vans and ignored by 18 people” http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90882/7624068.html.
My father described to me horrors of growing up in China during the Cultural Revolution. He told a national ping pong champion when from national hero to accusations of being a spy. He was tortured so horribly he committed suicide. Mao killed anyone he thought maybe a threat to his regime. Deaths people were everywhere. My father said he was forced to believe one day Communism would free two thirds of the world we were told was suffering.
My best friend’s brother was crushed by a tank at 1989 Tiananmen Square incident. What else do I need to tell you?
CCP is evil for Chinese and for peace loving people around the world.
John Chan
@Kangmin Zeng,
About the 2 year old toddler incident, it is bad, but same thing happens all over the world, it is called bystander effect; a Samaritan in NYC was stabbed and left to bleed to death on the pavement by everyone who passed by (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGaJrgi_SpE&feature=related); are you equating USA to the image as bad as you have on China? Stereotyping is bigotry, the worst enemy of peace and equality. Besides in China the driver was punished, but no one in the USA was punished.
Mao did make a lot of mistakes and caused a lot of harms, even the CCP admitted that. No one denies the atrocity happened in the Culture Revolution, but it was 40 years ago. China has changed, why are you still holding on the grudges and living in the past? The Westpac wants to freeze China in that horrible timeframe so they can undermine China with moral high ground for their imperialist greed; why are you willingly to take Westpac’s words without questioning, but you are refusing to look at China more objectively?
The casualties in 1989 was horrible; if you are fair, are you going to give the same sympathy to the tens of hundreds young soldiers burnt to death and killed while they were unarmed? Besides the involvement of the CIA and other foreign agencies in 1989 movement, are you prepared to see China falls in chaos like in the warlord era again? If you are, are you prepared to be accountable for the killing, poverty, atrocity and exploitation by the Westpac that will come with the chaos?
CCP is not perfect; it has a lot of problems, autocratic, corrupted, nepotism, etc., but it is not worse than KMT, DPP, GOP, Democrat, etc. But CCP is the best choice China has at the moment to lead China into independent, strong, prosper and a respected nation; that’s what the Westpac does not want to see, they want to put China back into era of unequal treaties and enslave Chinese just like the old days.
Perhaps you should go back China and have a look, before you insisting CCP is evil.
a_canadian_observer
@John Chan: Mr. assimilated and subjugated:
“About the 2 year old toddler incident, it is bad, but same thing happens all over the world, it is called bystander effect; a Samaritan in NYC was stabbed and left to bleed to death on the pavement by everyone who passed by (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGaJrgi_SpE&feature=related); are you equating USA to the image as bad as you have on China?”
– If nobody did anything in the US, how did the ambulance know and showed up?
“Stereotyping is bigotry, the worst enemy of peace and equality. Besides in China the driver was punished, but no one in the USA was punished.”
– How did you know nobody was punished? You know, “Stereotyping is bigotry, the worst enemy of peace and equality.”
“Mao did make a lot of mistakes and caused a lot of harms, even the CCP admitted that. No one denies the atrocity happened in the Culture Revolution, but it was 40 years ago. China has changed, why are you still holding on the grudges and living in the past? The Westpac wants to freeze China in that horrible timeframe so they can undermine China with moral high ground for their imperialist greed; why are you willingly to take Westpac’s words without questioning, but you are refusing to look at China more objectively?”
– You know, blaming the west doesn’t help you cause. You must understand that this is just a propaganda created by the CCP to divert people attention from CCP’s misdeeds.
“The casualties in 1989 was horrible; if you are fair, are you going to give the same sympathy to the tens of hundreds young soldiers burnt to death and killed while they were unarmed? Besides the involvement of the CIA and other foreign agencies in 1989 movement, are you prepared to see China falls in chaos like in the warlord era again? If you are, are you prepared to be accountable for the killing, poverty, atrocity and exploitation by the Westpac that will come with the chaos? ”
– What does CIA have to do with this? This is again, the CCP propaganda to shift the blame to someone else and to divert people anger from the CCP itself. This is low-class, dirty trick that only sub-standard characters in the CCP would do.
“CCP is not perfect; it has a lot of problems, autocratic, corrupted, nepotism, etc., but it is not worse than KMT, DPP, GOP, Democrat, etc. But CCP is the best choice China has at the moment to lead China into independent, strong, prosper and a respected nation; that’s what the Westpac does not want to see, they want to put China back into era of unequal treaties and enslave Chinese just like the old days.”
– Who else among your list, other that the CCP, is responsible for the 60+ millions death in china?
“Perhaps you should go back China and have a look, before you insisting CCP is evil.”
– Material is easily achieved. Quality of the people (honesty, integrity, compassion…) will be hard to build – china still has an extremely long way to go.
John Chan
@a_canadian_observer,
Mr. assimilated and subjugated, can’t hide behind the surrogated name anymore? Vietnam has no way to go but to cooperate with China.
Kangmin Zheng
Dear John Chan,
You are untrustworthy and a liar. You denied the facts at your first response.
How good is it for China and for the world with untrustworthy people like you?
I am an American Chinese. Based on my research, I have to admit 9 dotted line is very weak under international laws. I believe blindly believing 9 dotted line are very bad for Chinese people. Do you want your ONLY SON get killed to defend this imaginary territory? The results could very devastate. Or you are the kind of people just doesn’t care about Chinese’s lives.
John Chan
@Kangmin Zheng,
You cannot debate with reason and logic, so you resort to calling names and smear blogger in person? You sure have learnt American Exceptionalism well.
National boundary has nothing to do what you believe, it was hard won by Chinese. If words from people like you, Gorden Chang and Liu Xiabo can be counted, China would have been long returned to the era of Unequal Treaties, and been enslaved by the imperialist American and its associates.
Tens of millions of Chinese died to fight for China’s independence since Opium War, millions were forced to disperse around world and be treated despicably by the Whiteman (you are one of them); are you prepared to see China falls into chaos like that dark period, and repeats that process again? If you are, are you prepared to be accountable for the killing, poverty, atrocity, misery and exploitation by the Westpac that will come with the chaos?
BTW you better change your name to a Japanese name, so people like Mike From Tampa won’t send you to Guantanamo Bay.
a_canadian_observer
@Kangmin Zheng: You’re correct that china’s case re. the dotted line is weak. It’s no accident that china has refused to present its case at the UN court.
JohnX
John Chan wrote:”Mao did make a lot of mistakes and caused a lot of harms, even the CCP admitted that. No one denies the atrocity happened in the Culture Revolution, but it was 40 years ago. China has changed, why are you still holding on the grudges and living in the past?”
The same argument could be made to you regarding your points about the European Nations and the US.
They have changed, why are you still holding onto grudges and living in the past?
When was the last time a ‘Westpac’ military vessel attacked a Chinese one?
When was the last time a ‘Westpac’ Business refused to do business with a Chinese company simply because it was ethnic Chinese?
John Chan
@JohnX,
The Westpac has not changed at all; they are the same predatory imperialists but just with different packages. In the old day they covered their brutal aggressions with free access to markets and resources, nowadays they cover their brutal aggressions with installing democracy and R2P. In the old days the bombing and killing they used gunboats, nowadays the bombing and killing they use hi-tech shock and awe, more lethal and more horrifying.
If you don’t call the containment with 6 carriers battle groups and other lethal killing machines, occupation of China’s land in South China Sea and West Pacific, and on going sabotages in Tibet, XinJiang and the unification of Taiwan as Westpac’s aggression on China, what else do you want to call it? Do you mean you will only call attack on China when the era of Unequal Treaties is returned to China?
When China wants to invest in Australia, USA, Canada and Europe, all hell breaks loose, Red Commie is coming, and all barriers are up; as well as hi-tech and arms embargo against China have been in place for decades. Meanwhile China restricts its rare earth export because it wants to stop the destruction of its environment due to the exploitation of rare earth mining; the Westpac sues China for not exporting the rare earth in the WTO (it is same as robbing at gun point). If you don’t call it discrimination against China, what else do you want to call it? Do you mean China should allow the Westpac to rob China just like in the era of Unequal Treaties then you would call it fair trade?
If the Westpac stops its bellicose tune and posture, the world would be a lot more peaceful and prosper.