| Summary/Abstract |
The paper explores the development of Vietnam’s bilateral defense diplomacy with
world and regional powers including the United States, India, and Japan, with a
particular focus on the period from 2009 to 2018. The paper finds that Vietnam’s
multidirectional defense diplomacy is fundamentally shaped by its historical
experience, the contemporary shift in the balance of power and the strategic
challenges caused by China’s emerging power. By pursuing a multi–polar balance
among major partners, Vietnam avoids being pulled into their rivalry, and keeps its
non-alignment as well as strategic autonomy. The international defense cooperation
has become further deepened and more substantive to satisfy Vietnam’s strategic
interests including national security, territorial integrity, economic development
and regime legitimacy. However, domestic and geo–strategic constraints, and
asymmetrical economic interdependence with China lead this paper to suppose
further challenges in the future of Vietnam’s defense diplomacy.
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