ABSTRACT

Introduction Vietnam’s South China Sea problem is essentially part of a larger problem about its relations with China, a much more powerful neighbour. The 1988 skirmish in the Spratlys signalled a shifting balance of power against Vietnam in the maritime domain, exposing its vulnerabilities to China’s superior naval power as well as the limits of the alliance between Hanoi and Moscow. Without the Soviet Union’s direct interventions, Vietnam was incapable of defending its offshore territories. Also, its military adventurism in Cambodia deprived Hanoi of necessary international support in the struggle against irredentist China. In the changing strategic environment, by the end of the 1980s leaders in Hanoi realised that confrontation with China did not best serve their national interest.