From the Punic Wars (264–146 b.c.) and the Hundred Years War (1337–1453) to the Arab–Israeli wars (1947–) and the so-called War on Terror (2001–), some wars never seem to end. The dilemma is raised frequently given America’s long wars (Vietnam 1955–75) that either ended badly (Iraq 2003–11) or in some ways never quite ended at all (Korea 1950–53 and 2017–?; Afghanistan 2001–). So what prevents strategic resolution?
Donald Trump’s national security adviser issued a stark warning the day before the President left Washington for a critical swing through Asia: “We’re running out of time.” …That sobering backdrop makes Trump’s 13-day trip through the region — where he will meet with key players and get a firsthand view of the North Korean nuclear threat — the United States’ best chance to stave off a crisis that is threatening to embroil the US in its first major war in Asia since the Vietnam War.
Also Read: Five Things To Watch For On Donald Trump’s First Asia Trip
The 18-hour Vietnam retrospective unspooling on PBS is filled with powerful words and images…Curiously, it is a piece of the past that is not in the documentary that is, for me, both a chilling forewarning of what is to come and a significant lesson for leaders who are today faced with a dilemma out of which there is no clear path. I doubt Donald Trump has any profound thoughts on the Vietnam War or any interest in its teachings, but his advisers would do well to read it, Jeff Greenfield writes in Politico.
As Singapore is the chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations next year, how Beijing manages its ties with the city state will be crucial to the relationship between China and the Southeast Asian nations – some of which have their own claims to the South China Sea.
Coming full circle on its 50th anniversary, ASEAN is now caught in a regional strategic environment similar to one that existed at its founding, defined by volatility, hostility, and superpower rivalry that pose a serious existential threat to the organization. Can ASEAN maintain its autonomy and reputation as a credible and cohesive unit capable of regional resilience in the 21st century?
July 12 marked the one-year anniversary of a United Nations tribunal ruling in a case brought by the Philippines against China over the latter’s claims and activities in the South China Sea. The ruling was a major victory for the Philippines, particularly the tribunal’s decision on China’s “nine-dash line,” through which Beijing attempts to lay claim to vast areas of the South China Sea. A year to the day after the award, the Philippines issued a conciliatory statement even as an energy official announced that Manila would soon offer investors new oil and gas blocks at Reed Bank, off the Philippine coast but within the nine-dash line.
ASEAN is ever beset by existential angst. The ‘A’ in ASEAN stands for Angst as well as Association. Regard this as more description than criticism. The Angst-Association of South East Asian Nations always has lots to worry about. Angst and anxiety are rational responses. The questions are constant: can the association hold together? Can it actually do anything? Will ASEAN be crushed as it’s courted by the bigger beasts of Asia? Celebrating its 50th birthday in August, ASEAN pumps out celebration.
Almost 40 years after a short yet devastating war launched by China in 1979, there has been not any official commemoration of the war in Vietnam. The fierce fight from February 17 to March 16, 1979, claimed tens of thousands of lives, soldiers and civilians alike, in Vietnam’s border provinces, but the conflict hasn’t received the same level of attention as wars against the French and Americans.
On the whole, rapid economic expansion in India is a good thing for China as China’s consumer market matures, but Chinese manufacturers will inevitably face increased competition from Indian firms at the same time. As labor costs climb in China, Vietnam has become an emerging manufacturing nation, but China doesn’t need to panic. However, manufacturing development in a large country like India means more pressure on China. The increasing competitiveness from India’s manufacturing sector is a issue of strategic importance and deserves more attention.
Several of Vietnam’s state-controlled news outlets have in recent days recalled the country’s 1979 border war with China, until now a strictly taboo topic. Such a recollection may signal that the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam has finally eased censorship of the short-lived but bloody military conflict.
