Regionalism In China Vietnam Relations

This book analyses collaboration in the Greater Mekong Subregion. It explores inter-state cooperation and the role of subnational units (provincial and local governments) and transnational actors (NGOs, firms) in building and maintaining the subregion. It also considers the relationships between actors on the three levels, their influences within the structures of decision-making in the GMS, their policy pronouncements and roles in the GMS. After exploring the historical background of cooperation in the GMS, the author discusses how far cooperation in the GMS has developed from the mere promotion of the national interest of individual states towards an institution as an independent actor able to influence relationships between its member states instead of only being influenced by them. Hensengerth scrutinises the nature of GMS cooperation and the character and capabilities of the institution of the GMS, exemplified by the bilateral relations between China and Vietnam. Here, the study will combine the analysis of subregionalism and institution-building in the GMS with an analysis of China-Vietnam relations by combining theoretical approaches to regional integration in the form of the regime approach with foreign policy analysis This book will appeal to academics within international relations, Southeast Asian regional and China or Vietnam country specialists.

"Vietnam's balancing of power act, namely the policy of seeking a counterweight to the China threat, and the politics of the U.S.-Vietnam-China triangle, may have taken shape in the early years of the twenty-first century, but it was deeply rooted in the changing relations between the big powers in the 1980s and Vietnam's need to adjust its policy to these changes. A combination of factors - geographical proximity, ideological affinity, and the need for regime survival tends to make Vietnamese leaders more comfortable with China than with the United States. Only the perception of China as a bullying neighbour would push Vietnam to opt for a different orientation and adopt an antagonistic policy towards China. Meanwhile, United States-Vietnam relations in turn are affected by two factors: Vietnam's sensitivity to China's concerns and its mistrust of U.S. intentions. Bilateral relations became warmer mainly after Vietnam took steps to overcome its mistrust of the United States. China's recent assertive behaviour in the South China Sea worries Vietnam and threatens the U.S. position in the Asia-Pacific, and this has led to a convergence of strategic interests between the United States and Vietnam. In brief, the U.S.-China-Vietnam triangular relations and the South China Sea disputes may be seen as manifestations of two sets of conflicting visions. At the local level, is the vision of China dominating the South China Sea, which clashes with Vietnam's perennial dream of being a balcony looking out to the Pacific Ocean. If this clash of visions cannot be reconciled, China will always have to face the discomfort of simmering resentment and opposition from a proud nation at its border. At the global and regional level is the vision of a rising China seeking a respected place in the world, and de facto control of the sea area within its nine-dash line. This clashes with U.S. determination to remain an uncontested naval power that is able to protect freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea. Unless one or both of these visions are modified, a new cold war, not a new type of big power relations, in the Asia-Pacific is inevitable. The smaller countries in Southeast Asia will be forced to take sides or be chosen in the bargaining process between the two major powers."--Provided by publisher

This book examines how the interaction between political and economic factors under Doi Moi has shaped Vietnam’s China policy and bilateral relations since the late 1980s. After providing a historical background, the book examines the conflicting effects that Doi Moi has generated on bilateral relations. It demonstrates that Vietnam’s economic considerations following the adoption of Doi Moi contributed decidedly to the Sino-Vietnamese normalization in 1991 as well as the continuous improvements in bilateral ties ever since. At the same time, Vietnam’s economic activities in the South China Sea and China’s responses have intensified bilateral rivalry and put their ties under considerable strains. The book goes on to argue that Doi Moi has indeed brought Vietnam newfound opportunities to develop a multi-level omni-directional hedging strategy against China. Finally, the book concludes by looking at the prospects of democratization in both countries and assessing the future trajectory of their relations under such circumstances. As the most comprehensive and up-to-date survey of Vietnam’s relations with China over the past thirty years, the book is a useful reference source for academics, policymakers, students, and anyone interested in contemporary Vietnam foreign policy in general and Vietnam–China relations in particular.

China has experienced the world's fastest economic growth for over a decade. It is likely that within a generation, China will have the world's largest economy. Yet, at the moment when China looks set to regain its former power, serious questions have to be asked about the continuing integrity of China. The challenges posed by economic reform, succession politics, and new forces of political liberalism are compounded by boundary uncertainties, as China adopts a strategy of greater interdependence with the regional and global economy.

Over three decades have passed since the first wave of Indochinese refugees left their homelands. These refugees, mainly the Vietnamese, fled from war and strife in search of a better life elsewhere. By investigating the Vietnamese diaspora in Asia, this book sheds new light on the Asian refugee era (1975-1991), refugee settlement and different patterns of host-guest interactions that will have implications for refugee studies elsewhere. The book provides: a clearer historical understanding of the group dynamics among refugees - the ethnic Chinese ‘Vietnamese refugees’ from both the North and South as well as the northern ‘Vietnamese refugees’ an examination of different aspects of migration including: planning for migration, choices of migration route, and reasons for migration an analysis of the ethnic and refugee politics during the refugee era, the settlement and subsequent resettlement. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of globalization, migration, ethnicities, refugee histories and politics.

Ever since China and Vietnam resumed diplomatic contacts and reopened the border in 1991, the borderland region has become part of the vibrant growing economies of both countries and drawn many from the interior provinces to the borderland for new economic adventures. This book examines Chinese-Vietnamese relationships at the borderland through every day cross-border interaction in trade and tourism activities. It looks into the historical underlining of bilateral relations of the two countries which often shape people’s perceptions of the ‘other’ and interpretation of intentions of acts in their daily interaction. Albeit Chinese and Vietnamese have lived side by side for centuries, their interaction in the space of trade and modern tourism in post-war and post-reform China and Vietnam is something novel to both people. The book provides a ‘bottom-up’ approach to examine the localized experiences of inter-state relations. It illustrates the changes the vibrant economic process has brought to the borderland communities, and how the revived contacts and interaction have generated a contested space for examining Vietnamese-Chinese relationships and demonstrating trans-border cultural politics. A novel study of the strategic development of the borderland within the new political economy at China-Southeast Asia border region, this book is of interest to academics in the field of Anthropology, Border Studies, Social and Cultural Studies and Asian Studies.

"The articles are timely, especially in view of the increasingly tense global/regional environment. The articles provide both a quantitative and qualitative angles to important questions facing our world; too many quantitative-oriented papers will not appeal to the broader audience while too many qualitative-oriented papers will not attract the attention of economists and data scientists. The articles are drawn from a diverse range of professions including academia, government, and the financial sector"--

"Connecting" and "distancing" have been two prominent themes permeating the writings on the historical and contemporary developments of the relationship between Southeast Asia and China. As neighbours, the nation-states in Southeast Asia and the giant political entity in the north communicated with each other through a variety of diplomatic overtures, political agitations, and cultural nuances. In the last two decades with the rise of China as an economic powerhouse in the region, Southeast Asia's need to connect with China has become more urgent and necessary as it attempts to reap the benefit from the successful economic modernization in China. At the same time, however, there were feelings of ambivalence, hesitation and even suspicions on the part of the Southeast Asian states vis-a-vis the rise of a political power which is so less understood or misunderstood. The contributors of this volume are authors of various disciplinary backgrounds: history, political science, economics and sociology. They provide a spectrum of perspectives by which the readers can view Sino-Southeast Asia relations.