The Vietnamese anti-China protests that last week morphed into attacks on foreign companies have revealed how a reactive nationalism in government and wider society risks undermining Vietnam’s attempts to face up to its giant neighbour.
While analysts say Vietnam has a good case to make to the world against China’s behaviour in the dispute over the Paracel Islands, its lack of international alliances leaves it poorly placed to take on a vast country on whom it relies economically.
“For Vietnam, it amounts to a full-blown crisis,” said Jonathan London, a professor in the Department of Asian and International studies at the City University of Hong Kong. “Hanoi is in a position that calls into question its whole strategic outlook.”
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