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Vietnam

Law of the Sea
commentary
Why Vanguard Bank and Why Now? Explaining Chinese Behavior in the South China Sea
Derek Grossman @DerekJGrossman
Aug 19, 2019
Maritime Issues
What can Vietnam do now to make Chinese assertiveness against it less likely going forward? Although deepening the U.S.-Vietnam defense partnership in the short-term may be contributing to trouble with China, closer cooperation in the long-run could serve to deter China. Enhancing cooperation with Vietnam's other defense partners—namely Australia, Japan, and India—could help to deter Beijing as well.
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North Korea
commentary
Searching for Signs of Doi Moi in North Korea
Derek Grossman @DerekJGrossman, Christian Curriden, Dung Huynh
Aug 12, 2019
38 North
President Trump's second summit with Kim Jong Un prompted voluminous commentary about whether Pyongyang might adopt the “Vietnam model” of economic reform and opening up, known as doi moi. Some version of doi moi is not impossible in North Korea, but it will likely be more difficult than it was in Vietnam and made all the more so by Kim's reluctance to risk losing absolute control.
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China
commentary
Vietnam Is the Chinese Military's Preferred Warm-Up Fight
Derek Grossman @DerekJGrossman
May 15, 2019
The Diplomat
China's last major war experience gave it virtually zero lessons to apply to future armed conflict. At some point the People's Liberation Army (PLA) will need to test its new capabilities and the training it has honed over time. There are at least three reasons why Vietnam is likely in the PLA's crosshairs.
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Vietnam
commentary
Vietnam's Defense Policy of 'No' Quietly Saves Room for 'Yes'
Derek Grossman @DerekJGrossman, Dung Huynh
Jan 21, 2019
The Diplomat
U.S.-China tensions are rising in the South China Sea. Washington should take solace in the fact that Vietnam's “Three Nos” policy actually offers significant breathing room for defense cooperation.
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Vietnam
commentary
Deciphering Vietnam's Evolving Military Doctrine in the South China Sea
Derek Grossman @DerekJGrossman, Nguyen Nhat Anh
May 11, 2018
Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative
Vietnam has sought to balance China's expanding presence in the South China Sea through diplomacy and military modernization. The Vietnam People's Army has acquired many useful weapons, but unfamiliarity with combat in the sea and air will test its evolving military doctrine.
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Vietnam
commentary
Vietnam's Remarkable Month of Balancing Against China in the South China Sea
Derek Grossman @DerekJGrossman
Mar 26, 2018
The Diplomat
Vietnam in March very publicly engaged in a string of activities to strengthen deterrence against China in the South China Sea. But Hanoi's push to deepen external defense ties with states that can help its cause will not necessarily translate into greater risk-taking in the region.
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United States Marine Corps
commentary
Book Review: 'Eye Corps: Coming of Age at the DMZ'
Dan Grunfeld
Jan 5, 2018
Daily Journal
In reviewing Jack Walker's book about his coming of age in Vietnam, Dan Grunfeld says the story is “powerful, thoughtful and engaging. ... The hard and expensive lessons of Walker's youth led to a big-hearted life, full of wisdom and generosity that touched so many.”
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Vietnam
commentary
U.S. Striking Just the Right Balance with Vietnam in South China Sea
Derek Grossman @DerekJGrossman
Nov 23, 2017
The Diplomat
The Trump administration has seized upon positive momentum from the Obama administration to elevate U.S.-Vietnam defense cooperation to new heights.
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Vietnam
commentary
How One French Director Brought the Vietnam War Home for Americans
James T. Quinlivan
Oct 23, 2017
The National Interest
In 1967, the first major documentary about the Vietnam war appeared as a CBS News Special Report featuring a film by French director Pierre Schoendoerffer. It introduced key features of the war told through the filming of an American platoon, and provided texture and background so a viewer could gain a sense of what was happening there.
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International Diplomacy
commentary
China Tolerating Vietnam's South China Sea Activities, for Now
Derek Grossman @DerekJGrossman
Mar 3, 2017
Jamestown Foundation's China Brief
China has probably tolerated Vietnam's South China Sea construction activities because it feels confident in its military position in the region. Chinese leaders might change their stance if they believe Vietnam is trying to enlist the support of the U.S. or other partners to settle bilateral disputes.
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International Diplomacy
commentary
Why Has Obama Lifted the Arms Sales Ban on Vietnam?
Scott W. Harold @ScottWHarold
May 25, 2016
Newsweek
The lifting of the arms embargo needs to be understood as part of the long process of normalizing relations with a former U.S. enemy and building toward a more cooperative, economically dynamic, and strategic future-oriented relationship.
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Security Cooperation
commentary
Improving the U.S. Security Assistance Model
Michael Shurkin @MichaelShurkin
Nov 18, 2015
The Cipher Brief
The United States often approaches security assistance the same way it did in Vietnam, with the same results. A better way would be to focus on politics and shaping the political context.
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Vietnam
commentary
Book Review: 'Uphill Battle' by Frank Scotton
James T. Quinlivan
Jun 5, 2015
American Diplomacy
This book provides a more sympathetic understanding of the Vietnam War at the working level when everything now known about it was still in the future.
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International Diplomacy
blog
China Unlikely to Blink in Maritime Dispute with Vietnam over Oil Rig
Jun 12, 2014
Tensions are rising in the South China Sea, where China moved a state-owned oil rig, reportedly accompanied by six warships, into disputed waters last month, triggering anti-Chinese demonstrations in Vietnam that resulted in four deaths. Beijing has denied reports indicating the presence of Chinese warships in the region, while Hanoi has threatened legal action.
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United States Army
commentary
Failure to Learn: Reflections on a Career in the Post-Vietnam Army
David E. Johnson @DaveJohnsonDC
Jan 27, 2014
War on the Rocks
In the aftermath of a decade of war, the Army must have an objective, serious debate — one that it never engaged in after Vietnam — to understand its experiences, both good and bad.
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Communism
commentary
The Passing of Vietnam Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap
Jonah Blank
Oct 8, 2013
The RAND Blog
The passing of Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap marks the end of an era for Vietnam — and for giants of the twentieth-century anti-colonial movement throughout the world. As commander of the Viet Minh and the Vietnam People's Army, his strategies led to successes against France and the U.S. that were regarded as among communism's finest military moments.
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Peacekeeping and Stability Operations
commentary
Negotiating Peace in Afghanistan Without Repeating Vietnam
James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins
Jan 13, 2012
The Washington Post
The Vietnam negotiations arose from a U.S. initiative, in response to domestic political imperatives and over repeated objections from the Saigon regime. By contrast, the incipient Afghan process has its roots in that society, not ours, writes James Dobbins.
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Afghanistan
commentary
Afghanistan: Echoes of Vietnam
James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins
Oct 8, 2009
The Huffington Post
Now that U.S. involvement in Iraq has begun to require fewer resources, Afghanistan is the new focus of American and European anti-war sentiment, and increasingly Obama's critics are drawing on the analogy of Vietnam, writes James Dobbins.
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