Vietnam’s future strategy

By |2024-02-21T14:24:11-10:00February 22nd, 2024|Categories: Vuving, External Publications, news|Tags: , |

Dr. Alexander Vuving has a new article on “Vietnam headed to the future with a defective compass” published by the East Asia Forum. According to the article synopsis, last year, “Vietnam adopted a strategy that maintains an outlook of peace, cooperation, and development. It has formed comprehensive strategic partnerships with the United States and Japan while also joining China’s 'community with a shared future,’ ceasing years of resistance to Chinese pressure. Despite its external diplomatic moves, Vietnam’s domestic policy has focused on preserving Communist Party rule through continued anti-corruption campaigns and repression of civil society — including arrests of activists [...]

Dr. Alexander Vuving on rapid changes in Vietnam

By |2024-02-22T16:39:44-10:00February 21st, 2024|Categories: Vuving, External Publications, news|Tags: , |

Dr. Alexander Vuving has contributed a chapter to the new book “Vietnam: Navigating a Rapidly Changing Economy, Society, and Political Order” by Börje Ljunggren and Dwight Perkins, eds. His chapter is “The Evolution of Vietnamese Foreign Policy in the Doi Moi Era.”According to the book’s abstract, this chapter traces the evolution of Vietnamese foreign policy since the 1980s. “This chapter identifies four major turning points in its trajectory. Each turning point was triggered by an event or a series of events that profoundly altered the international environment of Vietnam’s quest for identity, resources, and security. These events exerted an enormous impact [...]

Dr. Alex Vuving’s interview on High-Tech Supply Chains and the US-Vietnam Upgrade

By |2023-09-28T09:52:57-10:00September 28th, 2023|Categories: College, Faculty Articles, Vuving, news|Tags: , , |

In a recent interview with The Diplomat, Dr. Alexander Vuving, a professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies, discussed the unexpected upgrade in U.S.-Vietnam relations. Contrary to expectations, the partnership skipped the “strategic partnership” level and was elevated to a “comprehensive strategic partnership.” Driven by the U.S.’s offer to transform Vietnam into a high-tech and semiconductor hub within U.S.-supported supply chains, this move is seen as a response to China’s growing power. The comprehensive strategic partnership benefits both nations. It signals equal footing for the U.S. with Vietnam’s long-time friends, China and Russia, and signifies Vietnam’s [...]

New Vuving OpEd on Vietnam’s strategic partnerships

By |2023-09-26T09:50:02-10:00September 26th, 2023|Categories: College, Faculty Articles, Vuving, news|Tags: , , |

“Vietnam needs more than an upgraded U.S. partnership” is a new OpEd written by Dr. Alexander Vuving for Nikkei Asia. In this opinion piece, Vuving looks at the history of Vietnam’s role in strategic partnerships. “Hanoi's web of strategic partnerships worked well in the post-Cold War era because of the geopolitical distance then between major powers. This no longer applies in the current situation of heightened strategic rivalries,” according to Vuving. “Hanoi needs a new safety net that suits the changed conditions of the present time.” Read the full article Alexander L. Vuving is a professor at the Daniel [...]

Philippines must stand up for its rights at South China Sea shoal

By |2023-08-23T14:37:08-10:00August 23rd, 2023|Categories: College, Faculty Articles, Vuving, news|Tags: , |

Dr. Alex Vuving’s most recent article for Nikkei Asia comments on the latest activity in the South China Sea. China has been involved in various incidents claiming territory in the South China Sea that falls within the exclusive economic zones of neighboring countries like the Philippines and Vietnam. In August, China called for the Philippines to remove the BRP Sierra Madre, a grounded naval vessel, from Second Thomas Shoal, a submerged reef located within the Philippine exclusive economic zone. The China Coast Guard ship fired water cannons to turn away Philippine boats on a resupply mission. These actions have sparked [...]

New Vuving OpEd on China’s role as a peacemaker 

By |2023-04-04T14:54:52-10:00April 4th, 2023|Categories: College, Faculty Articles, Vuving, news|Tags: , |

“Ukraine shows how China will not get far posing as a peacemaker” is a new OpEd by Alexander Vuving for Nikkei Asia. According to Vuving: “In offering its Ukraine peace initiative, China is capitalizing on the world's hopes for bringing the conflict to an end and restoring stability to global food and energy markets. On the surface at least, Chinese President Xi Jinping has more leverage than virtually anyone to bring to bear on Russian President Vladimir Putin to change course. “Thus, when Xi traveled to Moscow to meet with the Russian leader last week, there were high hopes that [...]

Is Vietnam Torn Between Land and Sea in Its Defense?

By |2023-01-06T13:05:19-10:00January 6th, 2023|Categories: College, Faculty Articles, Vuving, news|Tags: , |

“Is Vietnam Torn Between Land and Sea in Its Defense?” is a new OpEd written by Dr. Alex Vuving for The Diplomat. According to Vuving, “The choice between maritime and continental orientations is a key question for Vietnam’s grand strategy, but it is misleading when the question is about Vietnam’s defense strategy.” In the article, he elaborates on these two orientations and states that: “Land and sea define the geography and history of Vietnam, but the land-sea binary does not define real strategic choices in Vietnam’s national defense, nor does it pose a genuine dilemma for Vietnam’s strategists. There is [...]

Vietnam’s Approach to China: Bamboo Diplomacy with Neo-tributary Characteristics

By |2023-08-08T13:32:59-10:00December 3rd, 2022|Categories: Vuving, news|Tags: , , |

This article discusses China’s efforts in strengthening China-Vietnam relations and Vietnam’s use of bamboo diplomacy to keep China at arm’s length without coming across as an adversary. According to Vuving, Vietnam’s Communist Party chief, Nguyen Phu Trong, used bamboo as a metaphor to advocate for a foreign policy “that combines flexibility in tactics and firmness in principles, thus resulting in resilience.”

Pacific Summit Is Biden’s Chance to Demonstrate U.S. Soft Power

By |2022-10-24T09:09:48-10:00September 30th, 2022|Categories: Faculty Articles, Vuving, news|Tags: , |

“Pacific Summit Is Biden's Chance to Demonstrate U.S. Soft Power” is an opinion article written by DKI APCSS faculty member Alexander Vuving and published in September 2022 on Nikkei Asia. This article introduces how the US is beginning to work in the Indo-Pacific region again and reach out to Pacific Island nations to strengthen diplomatic relations. Vuving also offers suggestions on how the U.S. and its allies should seek sustainable influence in the Pacific region. In addition, this paper provides a brief explanation of China’s approach to forming relations with other countries in the region as well as some of [...]

AUKUS Is a Short-Term Mess but a Long-Term Win for Australia

By |2021-10-12T21:38:32-10:00October 12th, 2021|Categories: Faculty Articles, Vuving, External Publications, news|Tags: , |

Dr. Alexander Vuving has a new article in Foreign Policy magazine entitled “AUKUS Is a Short-Term Mess but a Long-Term Win for Australia.” The article discusses the impact of the Australian-UK-US pact on Australia. According to Vuving, although the immediate impact may have been controversial, he states that this puts Australia on the right side of history. “The great-power rivalry between the United States and China is the more fundamental struggle between a rules-based and a hierarchy-based international order,” said Vuving. He concluded that “Australia is fortunate not to have a dilemma between the best choice based on the values [...]

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