https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20231213_38/
According to this article, the countries of China and Vietnam have signed into a range of agreements to help strengthen ties despite there being territorial disputes. Chinese President Xi Jinping has made his first visit to Vietnam after six years, where he has met with the country’s leaders in order to secure dozens of deals. On the second day of his trip, Xi Jinping met with Pham Minh Chinh, who is the prime minister of Vietnam, and Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong to come to 36 agreements, according to Vietnam’s state run media. The agreements have included measures to strengthen cooperation between their military patrols and to develop cross-border railways. Hanoi and Beijing have been at odds with each other over territorial disputes in the South China Sea, but have strong economic and historical ties.
I find this article to be very interesting as it is discussing two countries who are coming into agreement and are about to form a much stronger alliance with their militaries and since they do share the border with each other. I also find the cooperation between China and Vietnam to be very concerning as this might have a serious impact on the national security of the United States and Japan since they have visited Vietnam in the past to work on improving relations with this state. This might bring some competition between the alliance of China and Vietnam and the alliance between the United States and Japan considering how similar how China and Vietnam are and how similar the United States and Japan are with each other.
In International Relations, we have talked about international environments. The cooperation between China and Vietnam supports the Kantian Triad as they are supporting each other’s collective security. The Lockean Theory is also supported as this cooperation would counter the partnership between the United States and Japan. We have also discussed conflict theories. Countries like China and Vietnam have been known for spreading communism while the United States and Japan believe more in democracy. We have also talked about the Constructivist Perspective, where state behavior is determined through a social and historically constructed identity. The United States and Japan used to be enemies, but now their identities converge with each other.