| Summary/Abstract |
Vietnam’s perceptions of China are complex and have been shaped bycultural affinity, the memory of wars, and geopolitical considerationsthroughout history. The construction of their foreign discourse has led tothe empirical puzzle: what makes China and Vietnam, two of the emergingpowers in East Asia, stick together in the post-Cold War era? How to explaintheir diplomatic spats in maritime disputes? This article traces the development of the ‘16 Word Guideline,’ adopted by both communist parties in 1999 and highlighted the binding effect of assurance rhetoric. This discursive context presents great opportunities for them for regional integration. A framework of ‘coercive rhetoric’ captures China’s and Vietnam’s official statements to signal benign intentions toward their neighbors, and to constrain foreign behavior from both sides.
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