Renovation And Vietnam Foreign Policy Transition

This article attempts to outline the history of Vietnamese foreign policy through the analysis of inner reasons, out impact, characteristics, especially difficulties and challenge. Through this analysis we can make sound predictions and judgments concerning the future of Vietnam's foreign policy.The foundation of Democratic Republic of Vietnam faced problems of domestic division as well the invasion of French colonialism. National security was the first priority of the DRV at the time of its founding. When the DRV joined with socialist forces in order to get protection from the Soviet Union and China, it also became the front and major fighting field during the Cold War. The drastic changes in Eastern Europe and the disintegration of the Soviet Union shocked Vietnamese leaders. The international system experienced great change after the Cold War and the"renovation and opening"policy caused a new stage to come about. Vietnam's foreign policy underwent a transition under pressure from both domestic and international factors. The main objectives of the transition were national security and development. There was a fundamental change in the Vietnamese national security concept in the new international system; war and conflict no longer were prioritities of the government. Vietnam was integrated into the international community and engaged in the international system after the normalization of its relationships with China and U.S. as well as its after its joining ASEAN. In the age of globalization, ideology is not the major element in national security and national interest. The influence of realism has dropped and liberal institutionalism has become the dominant theory in foreign policy. The objective of foreign policy has turned into economic development and national prosperity.This paper attempts to analyze Vietnam's foreign policy transition through the effects of mainstream international political theories on the different periods of the DRV's diplomatic history. Realism formerly was the dominant theory of Vietnamese foreign policy because during its foundation Vietnam faced the threat of wars. The regional hegemonism supported by the Soviet Union has a major influence on realism in Vietnam. However, the failure of regional hegemonism led the Vietnamese to think about the guidelines and conceptions of its foreign policy. Hence, liberal institutionalism attracted Vietnam because of its emphasis on cooperation and inter-dependency under the international institutions. The DRV faced the blockade of the U.S from the very beginning and the invasion of Cambodia gave rise to more countries in the world boycotting Vietnam, including China. Meanwhile, globalization was growing very fast all over the world. The four Asian tigers along with China all benefitted from fast economic development which came from an engagement in globalization. Therefore, Vietnam ensured its direction of foreign policy transition.Vietnam is a regional power because of its specific geopolitics and history in Southeast Asia. Its foreign policy transition not only impacted the security and stability of Southeast Asia but also had a great influence on China, the U.S. and Japan. After the Asian financial crisis, Vietnam accelerated its procedures on foreign policy transition; meanwhile, the economic factor became most important. Vietnam also started to actively engage in international organizations. This paper analyzes the impact of the Vietnamese foreign policy transition toward China, the U.S. the ASEAN. In addition, this paper bases its outlook based on these analyses. Vietnam has been both friend and enemy to China. A Thousand-year history between the two countries made the relationship between two countries complex and intricate; especially complicated were the territory disputes in the South China Sea which prevented the establishment of deep mutual trust. Although the Vietnam War has been over for decades and the two countries have already normalized their relationship, there are still some difficulties. The two countries need to cooperate in order to balance the China's rise. However, the disputes on human rights, democracy and religion obstruct further development of relationship. Vietnam views ASEAN as being pivotal for its foreign policy, as a reliable political and economic resource. On the other hand, Vietnam and its influence on the Indochina Peninsula is indispensable to ASEAN.