China, the Underdog Now, Will Work with Vietnam on Sea Dispute

Sep 14, 2016 | Ralph Jennings
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Senior officials from China and Vietnam, never friends and even less so over the past two years, vowed this week to work more together – substantially – on a deep maritime dispute. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc pledged Tuesday they would “properly manage maritime differences and further enhance bilateral substantial cooperation” in the South China Sea, according to Beijing’s government-run Xinhua News Agency.

But the PM from Hanoi is just doing due diligence to preserve ties with a huge business partner, especially as a U.S.-led trade pact including Vietnam shows signs of falling through, analysts say. “Vietnam doesn’t want to antagonize China unnecessarily, but also won’t compromise on sovereignty in the face of Chinese bullying,” says Greg Poling, director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative with American think tank CSIS. “So the pattern is for Vietnamese leaders to seek positive ties in other areas of the relationship and make vague statements about cooperation in the South China Sea.”