Vietnam has had even more difficulty confronting China’s claims. Two out of three sets of territorial issues – the
land border and delineation of the Gulf of Tonkin – have been largely resolved. The outstanding South China
Sea overlapping sovereignty claims, particularly the Paracels and the Spratlys, put Vietnam in an unenviable
position vis-à-vis China. Hanoi sees its new naval association with the US as a help, but keeps this arrangement
limited, reluctant put all its eggs in one basket.
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Vietnam also looks to Japan, South Korea and Australia for
‘support’, as well as to India and Russia. In September last year Hanoi signed an agreement with New Delhi
to jointly explore in disputed waters, and the following month entered into a memorandum of understanding
on defence cooperation enhancement, and has also been trying to entice Russia into oil and gas exploration.
Clearly, the idea is to increase the number of nations with a stake in a peaceful Southeast Asia