ABSTRACT
As the Cold War was coming to an end in the late 1980s, Vietnam had to change its foreign policy in order to adapt to the fast-changing international environment. At the Sixth National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam in 1986, Vietnam officially announced the doi moi policy, which gave priority to a comprehensive economic reform, gradual opening and integration into the outside world. Hanoi adopted a strategy of ‘diversification and multilateralization of foreign relations’ and proclaimed ‘Vietnam wishes to befriend all countries in the world community, striving for peace, national independence and development’ (Communist Party of Vietnam 1991: 43). Vietnam survived as one of the few remaining communist countries since the communist regimes collapsed in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. What has drawn attention is the fact that Vietnam did not fall, but it has quickly undergone substantial changes to overcome the tide of history and surge ahead with rather successful economic transformation. As a result, its international standing has been heightened in recent years.
