China may have felt like it had tamped down one maritime diplomatic spat with the meeting this week between Premier Wen Jiabao and Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan.
Speaking before leaving the Asia-Europe meeting in Brussels, Kan said that the two leaders had talked for almost half an hour (in a corridor after dinner) on Monday, and that they’d agreed that it was ‘not desirable’ for them to allow ties to deteriorate.
Of course the fundamental reason the row arose in the first place—disputed ownership of islands known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China—has been left unresolved, with both leaders reportedly reiterating that they view the islands as part of their respective territories. And, Kan appears to have used his speech at the meeting to send a message to China, warning that nations must 'mutually abide by common rules'. Still, it’s better for all concerned that they’re actually talking.
Yet China could well be reaping what it has sown this summer for a while yet, with Vietnam announcing today that it had demanded the unconditional release of nine fishermen who were detained by China last month near the disputed Paracel Islands, which Vietnam claims.
According to Reuters, officials at the Chinese embassy in Hanoi said the sailors had been illegally fishing with explosives and that they would be released only if the captain pays a fine. Vietnamese officials responded by dismissing the claims as ‘absurd’.
The timing is awkward for China as it will next week be attending a defence minister meeting at the Association of South East Asian Nations plus eight meeting in Hanoi (a meeting that also includes the United States).
Beijing confirmed today that Defense Minister Liang Guanglie will be attending the event to outline China’s defence plans and proposals for regional co-operation (presumably Liang is having to practice his straight face), and will also meet US Defence Secretary Robert Gates for a ‘short but significant’ face to face.
It will be interesting to see if the atmosphere between the two sides is any less frosty than it was at the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore in June, when Gates laid the blame for the lack of progress on improving relations firmly at the door of China.
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bert
Will the irony sink into Chinese skulls? I doubt it.
Has CCTV covered it?
John Chan
If using explosive for fishing is prohibited, then detaining the Vietnamese fishermen to enforce the laws is acceptable by the current international framework. China should show evidence to prove the detention of Vietnamese fishermen is lawful. Suggesting that illegal fishing with explosives by the Vietnamese fishermen will affect the meeting that concerns the peace and security of ASEAN attended by the Defense Ministers is absurd and naive. The harder the US stirs up the bickering among the nations in Asia, the bigger the benefits the US can get and more losses the Asian nations will suffer. Solving fishing disputes is Foreign Affair Offices’ headache, it has nothing to do with defense ministers. If Japan did not provoked and escalated at every stage that China tried to resolve that Daioyu islands incident, Japan would not have to put foot in it mouth and caused such damages to the relationship between Japan and China.
nguyen Dragon
In 1979, Deng came to US to get Us government tactical approval for China to attack Vietnam to “teach Vietnam a lesson”. The world know well who learned the lesson.
Let see who China go to ask for approval to attack Vietnam this time and what lesson they try to teach Vietnam (again :-) ).
John Chan
Yes, China learned a lesson that its armed forced was way out of date; it needs to modernize its armed forces in order to earn respects from its neighbors and the rest of the world. The current military buildup in China is a direct result of that war “teach Vietnam a lesson”. All anti-China people are yelling China’s military modernization a danger; I think they are barking at the wrong tree, they should point the fingers at Vietnam, which started all these troubles. Anyhow if I were Vietnamese I would not brag so loudly about teaching China a lesson in the war “teach Vietnam a lesson”. It is not very nice to keep on reminding everybody that the citizens in its capital, Hanoi, has to be evacuated for the advent of attack by the Chinese army. Also please stop being a warmonger. Vietnam does not have the strategy depth to survive as a nation from another attack by China from sea, a capability China does not have in 1979. Vietnam survived in the Vietnam war against the US because of the protection provided by China and USSR. The US and Russia will not risk their necks for Vietnam to confront China militarily. The US just wants to get most out of China by stirring up the acrimonies among the Asian nations. The current Vietnam leaders know it very well, that’s why the hardliners are gone, and the current Vietnam leaders would rather talk about business instead of struggles.
babybv
viet nam had fought china for thousands years.compare to the wars with china, the several years war with the u.s (1965-1973)was just like a temporary war,so the u.s is like a temporary enemy, but the China is the permanent enemy who always and in many ways wants to swallow viet nam into its vast territory.chang should read more about history not only the modern one .the war with us was just a very small part of viet nam history .
ca
Your thinking is just a reflection of chinese proganda. Use your brain yourself and look on the map! Spratley islands are thousand miles far from chinese land, but very close to the vn seashore.
China is not such a good commerade in vn war. If it does, then vn can reunifine after Dien Bien Phu victory. There will not be such called vn war but china did not support for such a solution. China does not supply weapon well as it should be; so North vn can finish this war earlier; china just wanted this war last as long as possible. Shame on you! and it should never brag about its huge contribute in this war! China is a sort of all troubles in the world last century and it always convince its victims having a negative view on themselves?
SE962582C
Should it instead be “TACIT” instead of quote “Tactical” (Sic.) and unquote?!
I do not personally think that the one behind the aforementioned was even born back then in the year 1979 in the first or 1st place.
This is a SERIOUS Site and Platform, not, NOT, a TEEN-AGE Chat-Room and not a SCHOOL Toilet, Wash-Room or Lavatory, and the so-called “Remark” at the Very End of last Sentence, which are un-called for, are quite frankly nothing more than a PERSONAL INSULT, a not a mere Insult of Intelligence, not only to one and oneself, me and myself, but to all of both its Authors and of its Readers, and etc..
Every-One, even of neither sides, learns from a War and from any War.
Still, nothing exactly happened, and NOTHING HAPPENED; and were there?! It was not as if the Chinese Nán-Guan the Yôu-Yî-Guan ( The Nam-Quan ), Píng-Xiáng ( Bằng-Tường ) and Nán-Níng ( Nam-Ninh ) were all destroyed; was it and were they?!
ngoa long
China will never be a ‘mutual responsible stakeholder’!That’s a truism. Expansionism, self-interest and bullying are their characteristics. The US and all the Pacific Asian nations had better re-think about the communist China before it’s to late!!
NL
SE962582C
You would have to concede that at least the Comrade-General LIÁNG also the Civilian Comrade-Minister, actually belongs, and does actually belong, TO THE SAME PARTY as of his Government, unlike his Counter-Part, if not also Foe and Adversary, the General GATES also the Civilian Secretary, and thus that therefore the former one COULD and CAN have MUCH LESS of a Straight face than the latter, especially when facing each other in the Flash (but perhaps not, or not yet, in the Flesh).
Still, be that as it may, one would HAVE to say that one largely agrees with both what Mr Miks had written and with the, his, Article of “Hanoi Headache for China” of his.
Le Bach Thien
The main reason behind China’s detention of Vietnamese fishermen is the dispute of sovereignty over Paracel Islands. In 1974 China used forces to seize these islands from the Republic of Vietnam. China also used force to illegally occupied other Spratly islands in 1988 from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Philipines. China’s continuation of detaining Vietnamese fishermen fishing in these islands and asking for payment of fines is simply an act of telling the Vietnamese and other countries in the region that China is not interested in peaceful negotiation and in the case of Vietnam it does not care whether they are comrades or not!
China’s recent reaction to the detaining of the fishermen by Japan in itself is an evidence of Chinese aggressiveness towards other nations. This behavior also sharply contradicts to its propaganda that China wants to develop in peace! In my view Japan has restrained in its reaction against this aggressiveness.
What China has been doing in recent years around the world is a manifestation of a new form of imperialism. From acquiring resources in Australia, South America, Africa and Asia with foreign reserves accumulated from its exports to other nations to building up its military muscle; from using funds to bribe corrupt and authoritarian governments to claiming its sovereignty over the East Sea they all are integral parts of the Chinese Communist Party’s strategy to achieve its goal: dominating the world!
John Chan
Vietnam national father Ho Chi-Minh started his anti-colonization campaign with Chinese together in China, both of them want to free Vietnam and China from century of western and Japan imperial suppression and exploitation. China supported Vietnam against French and the US aggression with materials while its own people was staving, as well as blood and flesh of Chinese killed by the US bombs while doing supporting works in Vietnam. Chinese solders were heart broken when they discovered that the weapons and food used to kill them left behind by the Vietnamese soldier after they retreated were all from China who supplied them to Vietnam for the war against the US aggression. French and the US must be thinking how stupid they were, they could keep Vietnam happily under colonization without the costly wars, all they have to do is to stir up the acrimony between Vietnam and China, then the Vietnamese will forget the US and French who killed, maimed and turned in prostitutes millions of their compatriots. It’s really sad to see two people, Vietnamese and Chinese, who fought common goals for independence and freedom together, and ended up in the discontent expressed by the Vietnamese readers expressed in this forum because of the trickery of the international neo-cons in the US and the French.
Randy
Imperialist or Colonist came….and left, no occupation lasts fore ever. But to Chingchong expansionism, one yard of lost territory is….PERMANENT. The world must learn from facts, history and also BE AWARE of Chinkmen behaviours…
John Chan
All the bickering about Paracel Islands and Spratly islands in the South China Sea is not good at all for the people of Vietnam and China. To resolve the problems for good, it is necessary to have a fresh approach. One of the daring approaches is as following. China adopts a one country two systems policy to solve difficult relationship between Taiwan, HK and Macau. If Vietnam rejoins China using one country two system approach, then Paracel Islands and Spratly islands belong to both Vietnam and China. Vietnamese not only have rights to fish in Paracel Islands and Spratly islands, they also can formulate the way to manage Paracel Islands and Spratly islands in Beijing too. Obama is the president of the USA, after rejoining China, one day one of the Vietnamese can be the president of China too.
samtran
To John Chan
It’s idiotic to say something about Vietnam, in the last 4000 years how may times China tried to invade Vietnam but end up Vietnam is still independent, do you think America should invade Mexico and call it “rejoin to US”. If China try to invade Vietnam again they will fail again because 84 millions Vietnamese willing to die for their country to against China. Samtran
ngoa long
Sound just like ‘Alice-in-Wonderland’! Thanks and no thanks! Viet Nam has been a sovereignly independent country for thousands of years and never been a China’s lot of land except for the darkest 1000-year period having been occupied and dominated by force by China! So, Viet Nam has nothing to do with ‘rejoining China’ at all!! Please forget about this kind of illusory fantasy!The point here is China should behave like a ‘great power’ not as a rogue state! Respecting and honoring all international laws and norms as well as the current world order in which China is a member. At least, Japan and Viet Nam as well had some LEGAL ground for their laying claim to the islets of Sensaku or the Paracel Islands and Spratly islands respectively (some documents!). On the contrary, China just based on ‘ some quite unfounded historic traits’ in order to justify their ‘ownership claims’of these islets!Please wake-up and behave yourself, China! You’re not the only nation in this world!
NL
Sidney
How about Tibet, one country, and 2 systems?
John Chan
The warmongers are scared, they are all out to denounce a peaceful solution for the peace and prosperity of Vietnam and China. Spill blood and more blood as long as it is not their own. The warmongers take a solution used by Canada to forge its nation as brutal wars carried by the Japanese, the French and the US on Vietnam. Yes, the US used wars to seize the New Mexico(such as Taxes, California, etc.) from Mexico more than a hundred years ago, and Hawaii Kingdom in the last century. Invasion and war are the prohibited words in the peaceful solution.
@Sidney, if you do not know anything about Tibet, its past and present, please do not use neo-cons tune to smear a peaceful solution.
Thanh
Actually, Southern China – Quảng Đông/Guangdong and Quảng Tây/Guangxi were inhabited by the Viet peoples until the Northern Han Chinese took over the area and assimilated our distant brothers. Thanks to the present mountainous border, it allowed the rest of Northern Vietnam to resist assimilation into the “Middle Kingdom”. China’s claim to the South China Sea and the island chains are based off the historical occupation of traditional Viet lands.
Thus, Quảng Đông and Quảng Tây should rejoin Viet Nam as it was before. Even looking at the Hong Kong-Southern Chinese people, they share some common features with the Vietnamese people. Without those 2 provinces, China has no right to claim sovereignty of the Spratly Sea and the archipelagos.
Kum Lung
Too bad. Southern Chinese do not think much of the Vietnamese. They are richer and more advanced. And there are MORE of them. They would want to be your lord instead.
Randy
…If that is the case, why would be there Chink immigrants sweating on Canadian railways and be subjects to “Head Taxes”??? If China is so great, why would chingchongs trying to get out of their homeland and scattered around ALL OVER THE WORLD? Was there any migration like that from the West into China?
Thanh
Research the Keywords: Nam Việt/Nanyue, Triệu Dynasty
Imperial China kept on pushing south, so to survive the Viet kingdom around Hanoi had to push southwards into what is now present-day Vietnam. Maybe one day when China is defeated in war and divided up into many smaller countries, Vietnam then will reclaim our lost ancestral lands.
John Chan
I wondered whether the native tribes in Vietnam should take a similar line to view the Viet people in Vietnam as you view the Chinese from different parts of China, who are living in Guangdong and Guangxi? There are more than 150 different people in China, not only they are all proud Chinese, they also maintain their own culture. Thanh, you are barking at the wrong tree regarding culture genocide, French is one who destroyed Vietnamese culture, and French replaced Vietnamese own writing with French type of writing so that they could colonize Vietnam forever. Vietnam should bring the French to the World Criminal Court for trial of culture genocide. There are ups and downs in China history; China broke apart then pulled together time and again. Even the US will break into 6 separated nations in Russian’s eyes. So waiting China to break apart in order to fulfill your dream is not practical this time. Under the peace solution for Vietnam rejoining China as an equal partner is to let Vietnam to have those islands, as well as a chance to run China, when one of the Vietnamese becomes president of China, just like Obama became the president of the US. Please do not let the anti-China propaganda from the US cloud your thoughts. Live long and prosper.
fairandsquare
the nowadays Vietnamese is only one tribe among the so called “hundred Viet tribes” in ancient time. Also, the current Vietnamese is the last one those tribes, all others were annexed and assimilated to Han Chinese for the last 2000 years.
Sonchai
I thought you just said that territorial claims based on history are invalid? I bet you have too much Chinese culture inside you that you are thinking and behaving like them.
Thai
China is a big Bully. China is behind the North Korea. Telling the North Korean to do the dirty work. For several years the Bush Administration training the Vietnamese military how to deal with bully. Soon the US and Russia will give Vietnam nuke. What do you think the nuke for? I’m a Vietnamese American. I don’t like the Hanoi Government much. But if China attacks Vietnam I will be first Vietnam American join Vietnam to defend my country. Very soon the US will find a way to deal with China. The Vietnamese people will not worry. You have a lot of oversea friends. Most of the Vietnamese oversea don’t like the Hanoi Government. But they will not let any nation attacks Vietnam. I think the Hanoi Government should change the potical system and give freedom the people. That way the US will be 100% behind Vietnam.
fairandsquare
there are many Chinese investors in VN (small capital though, way smaller then KOREA AND JAPAN, Taiwanese doesn’t count as mainland Chinese), just snatch and defame a few of them for trespassing military zones. At the same time, considering lend out Cam Ranh to either US, India, or Russia. It’ll scare the heck out of China and you are sure to have the fisherman returned without any payment demand. At the current time, VN doesn’t need to worry about trade embargo from China as all it gets from China are light industry supplies which can be bought from Thailand and India. It’s higher in cost now but when the ASEAN FREE TRADE start, the costs will be comparably low to Chinese goods. In the future, maybe 10 more years if VN support industry still haven’t improved much, then the dependency on China will be greater as the country will produce more sophisticated products, then bargaining power will be lower. Thus, for now, VN needs to stand firm and have a strong policy toward the basic of self sufficient in the next 10 years.
John Chan
Another full of cold war rhetoric advice for Vietnam to take, embargo, containment, encirclement, military bases for ex-invaders and ex-colonial masters. The US, Japan and France must miss their fun in the butchering fields in Vietnam, it seems if an idea that might bring peace and prosperity to Vietnam and China, they will lose the chance to slaughter, maim and rape millions of Vietnamese again. Is it the war merchants ready to create another source of income in Vietnam after they left Iraqi? Where is the post cold war dividend promised by the US and the West?
Randy
..Was there any mass rape event in Vietnam which was notorious and large scale like the one named “…THE RAPE OF NANKING..”???
ngoa long
Don’t be so arrogant too soon, China! Under the heavy international pressure on the issue of currency manipulation, China shall have to revalue its renminbi yuan and accept more imports! Then guess what?! Collapse, China! No more absurd hubris! No more economic miracle! No more bullying and no more expansionism/hegemony! Count your days, China!
NL
Sonchai
Whoa! Look who’s talking! Vietnam has been a menace to the region too. Destroying, robbing and raping its Khmer neighbours. Remember the Chams? How about the Hmongs too? I would say that Vietnam has no true friends in Southeast Asia.
Randy
…Do you think Polpot was a Vietnamese? People heard that Polpot ordered the mass execution of Khmer people at the rate of almost 1/3 of total Khmer polulation at that time: Closely 2 millions…
ngoa long
Atually, every country has its own national interests! We are not so naive to assume that the US or any country in this world will treat other countries honestly and fairly ( International relations or relations between nations in the world basically based on their own national interests)! But, at least the US has not had the kind of intolerable territorial ambitions that China had! How dare China claim its ‘ownership’(sovereignty-national core interests)over almost the whole South Sea,East Sea etc., and the islets in these areas ( just based on some far too unfounded remote ‘historical traits’ to support its claims!)!! Where are the international laws? Where are the international accords/conventions? This is a world of civilized peoples not an uninhabited jungle! Use threats of force to bully other neighbors to serve its own interests is not the wise diplomacy. It just alienated them!Not to mention the dangerous possibility of world war if these ambitions go unchecked! If China can claim its sovereignty over the strategic areas around it only based on its ‘ historic evidences’, then the Mongolians, the Iranians (Pursians), the Italians (Romans), the Turks (Ottaman) can lay claim to this whole world for their having been her ‘Ex-owners’ based on the so-called ‘historical evidences’ in the ‘pre-historical-times(!!)’!!!!
In the Cold War, North VN was just a ’southern-flank protector’ for China & USSR (the Communist bloc). Thanks to millions of the Vietnamese’s blood and tears, China could cut a ‘fat deal’ with the US to be safe to develop itself into a ‘great power’ today!
And great powes should behave themselves in accordance with the laws of the world and of humanity as well! That’s the point!
NL
Hidden name
In my point of view, Vietnam rejoining China is a stupid and unrealistic ideal. Frankly speaking, the best Vietnam can do is following China as a small country follow a great power.
Well, I study both countries’ claims and culture. I must say, in a general view, yes, the Vietnamese and Chinese is pretty much the same. However, the Vietnamese tribe is the first race to worship the Godness of Rice/farming, and they discovered the so called rice-noodle first. Thus, it gives us, westerner study a view about their culture which did extend from Guangdong to the North Vietnam. However, 1000 years of occupation did take effect on this event, many vietnamese people have chinese origin. But if we are speaking in term of land, then I would say it is a double standard case in Asean. Chinese took Guangdong from Vietnamese, Vietnamese took the south from the Cham which is part of State of Khermer Empire( however I don’t think it would extends to Saigon as some cambodia claims).
Well, let us return the main topic then. I would like to state my personal thinking. The Chinese is in fact “too rough” as a “power” country. This point of view is greatly shared by many Asean country, it is one of a fact we study in Singapore ( I am now in Australia, my position isn’t allowed me to tell more).
I have been reading both news and information flow from both side. And yet, I find that China is treating other countries like nothing, they use a little bit of underhand means to scare away other countries fisherman. In the recent case, the Vietnamese fishing boat is not meant for normal fishing, thus it doesn’t equip any fishing equipment. The fishers dive and look for sea-bug, abalone. However, the Chinese diplomat replies his vietnamese counter part that this ship carry explosive. Of course their instant answer is “absurd”. Chinese force even call in families of fishers and require them to pay money. In my study point of view, this is not the first time this happens. In fact, we see many reports of its which counted hundreds of Vietnamese fisherman arrested. But we never saw any report arrested Chinese fisherman in Vietnam, don’t we? Well, from Chinese report, it is more on how Asean fisher boats band together to fish and “destroy” the environment?
In term of conflict history, the main reason Chinese v Vietnam 1979: 1. Dao wanted to prove the needs of modernisation. 2. Teach Vietnam a lesion in two points: 1. USSR can not protect you 2. This is what you get for not following me. Well, I guess China did convey the meaning to her Vietnamese friends. This is one of the main reason for Vietnamese to be “neutral” as she states that she will not allow any country to open an army base on her soil ever again( it even applies for Russia). China made a wrong move in 1979 by invade Vietnam in my opinion. If they did not do it, by now, I think the gate to Asean is opened for China as well as the resolve for South China/East sea. Vietnam can support China’s claim as long as it is fair to vietnam’interest. The reason i said this, because up until now, the main enemy in Vietnam policy book is still one country which is U.S.
About the Khmer, I think we can read about some common fact anywhere on internet, how many times combodian khmer rough masscare the vietnamese first.
Lastly, let is talk about Asean. Asean countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand are aware of Chinese growth. Of course, in one face, they don’t offence China, but in another face they try to look for a powerfull alliance, in this case U.S. Asean countries are not as united as it looks as some countries are greatly affected by Chinese influence. However, it did has a same point of view of Vietnam being a gate. As long as Vietnam dare to stand up against China so are other countries. China is a growing power nation, but it must learns from history of German, it should try to earn trust and respect, not the fear among other country. China new army is better yet, their navy has many more new ships (60% still old ship I must remind) but they can not fight a three front at a same time, can they?
Vietnam and China is a very complicated relationship, they are brother yet hate each other. They need each other yet fought many conflict. If China want to open the door to Asean and really become the great power nation, I think it should try to win over its vietnam smaller brother slowly from now.
Thanh
Well stated Hidden Name. Thank you for your contribution John Chan.
It’s really not realistic that after over 1000 years for Vietnam to be reincorporated into the new Chinese Empire. EMPIRE. That fact had recently was brought to my attention: that China is not a Nation, but an Empire. An empire that swallowed the Manchus of Manchuria, the Tibetans of Tibet, the Uigurs of East Turkestan, the Mongols of Mongolia, the Taiwanese, and the Nan Yue southern tribes of present-day Southern China.
Yes, Vietnam and China are brothers in many ways. But the fiercely independent spirit of the Vietnamese will never submit to the bullying of its older brother – just like a rebellious and defiant younger sibling. “So what if we’re family? I want my own house, my own car, my own spouse AND I want my own space. You cannot push me around!”
As the 1,000 years+ have demonstrated though VN is comparatively small, EVERY SINGLE NATION IN THE WORLD respects and some admire the spirit and tenacity of the Vietnamese people. Freedom, Independence, and Prosperity are deeply valued by the Viets. We are a determined people that endures more pain and suffering that many others have not and will not know – but that makes us strong. Blood Sacrifice – BETTER TO DIE ON YOUR FEET THAN TO LIVE ON YOUR KNEES.
John Chan
I am surprised that somebody is still commenting after that many days. One speculation about the 1979 war was that Deng used the war to overcome the old guys in the PLA, so the modernization of the PLA could get started. Unfortunately ordinary people and soldiers had to pay the bill. China cannot afford to fight a multi front war, and it is still better not to have war at all. For China to protect itself against the overwhelming fire powers processed by the US, Japan and India, its military needs to grow a lot more stronger. By the time China has sufficient military strength to fence off any attempt of a multi front war from the US, Japan and India, its strength will be very uncomfortable for the smaller neighboring nations. But it is unavoidable, as the threatening posture that has been showing by the US, Japan and India is enough for China not to let its guard down. Suggesting Vietnam to rejoin China is just a daring idea to provide benefits without fighting. If Vietnam is as practical as Hidden Name suggested, then Vietnam has to fight its fair share through negotiations and accept the results like all international deals. Once the disputed areas are settled, I believe those roughness should not happen in the Vietnam side. As shown in the Daioyu islet incident, all nations use roughness to assert their sovereignty over an area they claimed.
ngoa long
For strategic interests as well as her own survival, Viet Nam should maintain and improve her close ties with Japan, India, Australia, Asean, Korea etc., especally with the US. The US is the only country in the world still having the ability to ‘manage’ a rogue rising China at least for the present!To get the full support from the Americans, especially the US Administration and Congress, Viet Nam should expedite her reforming/democratizing the political system in addition to the currently performed economic reform, a transition to the free market mechanism. A democratic Viet Nam with the support of the Vietnamese people and allies could easily and quickly transform into a regional power being able to defend herself against any external threats. Viet Nam should not follow China’s path. That’s the totally self-destruct way! A China with expansionist and hegemonic ambition will never leave VN alone, and will do their best, by all means, to “control” Viet Nam politically and economically, because southward through VN is the only way to guarantee China a ticket to the regional hegemon, as controlling Taiwan will grant China the other one to the global superpower status!
For the sake of survival and existense of the Vietnamese motherland , VN’s current ruling class must sacrifice their own interests and privileges as well,though this may not be much less painful for them! As for the US, in my opinion, the best and shortest way to get back to the Pacific Asia is via an economically and militarily strong democratic Viet Nam and a remilitarized Japan!
NL