By now, it has been widely accepted that Vietnam has mastered the art of not choosing its foreign relations. Geopolitically speaking, Vietnam has refused to side with either China or the United States in their growing great-power competition. It is also the only country that hosted visits from both Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President … Read more
Recent tensions between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea, especially the Chinese blockade of the Philippines-controlled Second Thomas Shoal, have alerted all countries with a stake in the regional disputes to the risk of a possible crisis involving China and its maritime neighbors. To counteract its weakening position at sea vis-à-vis China … Read more
January 19 marks the 50th anniversary of the Battle of the Paracel Islands, the first naval battle between China and Vietnam in the 20th century and a key conflict in the quest to control the South China Sea. This is also an occasion of reckoning on how the current Vietnamese government treats the history, legacy, … Read more
Last month, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh announced plans to upgrade the railway line connecting Kunming, the capital of China’s Yunnan province to Vietnam’s port at Haiphong on the Gulf of Tonkin, as a part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The statement followed the elevation of the U.S.-Vietnam relationship to a comprehensive … Read more
After much speculation and delay, Chinese President Xi Jinping finally visited Vietnam this week, to mark the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Vietnam-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) in 2008. Vietnam’s state media called the visit a “historic milestone” that would elevate China-Vietname inter-party and inter-state relations to a higher level. Likewise, Xi penned … Read more
Yesterday, China’s Foreign Ministry confirmed earlier reports that President Xi Jinping will visit Vietnam to meet top state officials and discuss upgrading the two countries’ relations. As Reuters reported, paraphrasing ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin, the Chinese leader will visit the country on December 12-13, for talks that “will focus on areas of political security, multilateral … Read more
The Russia-Ukraine War is heading towards a stalemate, with the recent Ukrainian counteroffensive failing to achieve a breakthrough. For Ukraine and the West, war fatigue is setting in, but Russian President Vladimir Putin is determined to keep his territorial gains. Putin has adopted a strategy of bleeding Ukraine white via the continued stationing of Russian … Read more
Advertisement Vietnam and China are reportedly preparing for a possible visit by China’s President Xi Jinping to Vietnam at the end of this month or early next. The visit, if it happens, will come around two months after U.S. President Joe Biden’s visit to Hanoi, during which he announced the elevation of U.S.-Vietnam ties to … Read more
ASEAN Beat | Diplomacy | Southeast Asia The visit, which could take place later this month or early next, would come after U.S. President Joe Biden’s visit to Hanoi last month. Advertisement Late last week, Reuters published a report claiming that officials in Vietnam and China are preparing for a possible visit from President Xi Jinping to Hanoi at … Read more
U.S. President Joe Biden addresses a press conference, in Hanoi, Vietnam, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Evan Vucci Advertisement This weekend, for the first time, a U.S. president paid a state visit to Vietnam on the invitation of a general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV). On the occasion, President Joe Biden … Read more