A Coercive Brotherhood: Sino-Vietnam Relations from the 1990s to 2018

• In Event: Dimensions of Chinese Foreign Policy

Abstract

Vietnam’s perceptions of China are complex and shaped by cultural affinity, the memory of wars, and geopolitical considerations throughout the history. The construction of their foreign discourse has led to the empirical puzzle: what makes China and Vietnam, two of the emerging powers in East Asia, hang together in the post-Cold War era? The study seeks to understand how this rhetorical framework on their bilateral relations emerges and persists in East Asia.
This article traces the development of Sino-Vietnamese relations from the normalization to their participation in Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN), to China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea, and to the re-adjustment of their bilateral ties recently. Specifically, the “16 Words Guideline” adopted by both communist parties in 1999 highlighted the binding effect of assurance rhetoric. From 1999 to 2010, the guideline represented an outward-looking perspective to engage and deepen interactions with ASEAN. In 2010-2018, this rhetorical framework has developed into an inward-looking one, and it was faced with the challenges of maritime disputes that heightened the tensions between China and Vietnam.
This study proposes a framework of “coercive rhetoric” in capturing their official statements to signal benign intentions toward Asian neighbors, and to constrain foreign behavior from both sides. More importantly, Sino-Vietnam relations also affect the structure of Southeast Asian politics, because this discursive context presented great opportunities for China and Vietnam to participate in regional integration and economic development.

Author

• Christina Jun-Yao Lai, Johns Hopkins University