Vietnam

Fast Facts

Location: Southeast Asia

Capital: Hanoi

Population: 97.3 million (2020)

Government Type: Single Party Socialism

Language: Vietnamese (with French, English, and other local languages used)

Climate: Tropical, with seasonal monsoon rains

GDP: USD $362.64 billion (2021)

Human Development Index Ranking: 0.704 (Moderate-High)

Overview

Vietnam is densely forested, hilly nation of nearly 100 million people located in Southeast Asia, bordering Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand. Its growth out of its state of destructive warfare in the mid-20th century can be described as almost miraculous: the population growth rate is slowly stabilising, GDP has grown steadily each year since 1989, and the political situation remains secure. In other areas, however, new issues are appearing or remaining unsolved, such as environmental concerns, an estimated 2 million children classified as “extremely vulnerable”, and a worrying trend of government censorship and restriction of civil freedoms. Whether Vietnam can continue to capitalise on its success thus far, or face a never-ending struggle against issues that hold it back, certainly remains to be seen in the coming decades.

History

A traditional set of housing sits among rice fields. Credit: Peter Hammer

The history of Vietnam is marked by two key characteristics: its relationship with China, and ongoing struggle defending against foreign invaders. The first record of “Vietnamese” people as we know them come from the 3rd century BCE, when Chinese settlers moved southwards towards modern-day Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guangdong. In 111 BC, the Han Dynasty of China annexed Vietnam, retaining it for a full millennium, but being unable to eliminate the local peoples’ distinct identity. Independence was secured when, during a time of political instability in China, the Vietnamese military general Khuc Thua Du staged a revolt that the weakened Tang Chinese government was forced to accept the terms of. Later attempts to re-conquer Vietnam would be repelled by Ngo Quyen, whose tactics were so successful that they would be imitated by later generals fighting off the Chinese, and even the Mongols, in the centuries to come. The following period, when Vietnam was known as Dai Viet, would be characterised by a series of monarchies that heavily fostered a sense of identity and nationalism in local people. These kingdoms would expand through a series of invasions known as Nam Tien (or March to the South), attacking the Champa to the south in 1471 and bringing about the downfall of its kingdom - thus establishing the approximate borders of modern-day Vietnam.

French colonisation of Vietnam began in the mid-1850s, with attempts of establishing and imposing a European-style system of government on the local populations (as was the French method of colonisation). This system caused mass inequality, as only the French and a very small number of elite Vietnamese merchants received the benefits of resource extraction and exploitation (for example, rice production quadrupled, but the peasantry class actually had less to eat per capita). After the two World Wars, Vietnam (led by Ho Chi Minh, a communist) declared independence from France. France’s rejection of Vietnam’s independence led to the communist Viet Minh waging guerrilla warfare, supported by the Soviet Union and China. Unfortunately, a 1954 UN led peace conference in Geneva was unable to keep the country peacefully divided, and a devastating, 20-year war broke out between the communist north and democratic south, directly supported by the United States (who were actively engaged in open combat throughout the country).

Following the conclusion of the war in the mid-1970s, the president of the newly unified Vietnam, Nguyen Van Linh, served as “Vietnam’s Gorbachev”, passing reforms (known as the Doi Moi) that reduced restrictions and attracted foreign investment - worrying hardline communists, but creating a system in which Vietnam has been able to socio-economically grow while remaining politically stable. Vietnam remains as one of the few communist countries today, though (like most, if not all communist nations) it has significantly adapted away from hardline, traditional Marxism in order to survive.

Economy

Vietnam is a country that meets most - if not all - of the pre-conditions for economic success. The country boasts a young population, a strong manufacturing industry, political stability, reliable foreign investment, low inflation, and a favourable view of free trade agreements. The results are clear and as expected: the Doi Moi has taken Vietnam from one of the world’s poorest countries, to a middle-income economy in a single generation, and poverty rates (internationally defined at receiving USD $1.90 or less per day) have fallen from 32% in 2011 to less than 2% today. Vietnam also currently holds a trade surplus (exporting more goods than it is importing), with electronics (such as mobile phones and televisions) being the top export - a product of significance as price fluctuations on global markets are rare.

But the economy of Vietnam does not have any more of a guarantee for success than any other. The country’s population is aging, global trade is declining, and automation in the manufacturing industry is increasing - all trends accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Approximately 40% of Vietnam’s population also still works in agricultural production, an industry whose size has led to welfare decline for farmers, concerns about food safety, environmental degradation, and more. Vietnam is also especially vulnerable to climate change, with reports indicating it is one of the countries that will be most heavily impacted by rising sea levels and more powerful storms. Needless to say, the impact of these effects on the national economy could very well be severe.

Vietnam and China: Similar Systems, Opposing Agendas

The General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), Nguyen Phu Trong, pays an official visit to China in 2017. Credit: Xinhua News Agency, via the Institute for Security and Development Policy.

As discussed above, the relationship between China and Vietnam is ancient, and often hostile. Despite both countries sharing a border and comparable political systems, a state of wariness exists between China and Vietnam that remains very much in place today. It may trace its origins to the centuries of occupation under the Chinese, after which Vietnamese identity was more or less founded, or from the series of failed Chinese invasions that took place afterward. Or it may trace its origins to a more recent period, when China actually invaded Vietnam as recently as 1979 - less than a decade after the Vietnam War’s conclusion. This conflict erupted as a response to Vietnam’s alignment with the Soviet Union - as opposed to China - in diplomatic and economic affairs, and Vietnam’s elimination of the pro-Beijing (and extremely genocidal) Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.

Today, tensions remain due to ongoing disputes over maritime claims in the South China Sea. China claims a majority of these waters as its own - most likely due to the huge reserves of natural resources there - though their ownership is also disputed by not only Vietnam, but also Brunei, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Further, China is believed to have dredged sediment onto existing coral reefs, such as the Paracel and Spratly Islands, transforming them into islands upon which satellite imagery shows a growth in military infrastructure. Such actions place neighbouring countries such as Vietnam on alert, as the presence of Chinese forces in the area threatens both trade and national security. At this time, it is believed that while the threat of conflict in the South China Sea are low, it is slowly growing each year.

Trivia

-The largest cave in the world - known as Hang Son Doong - exists in Vietnam. It was discovered as recently as 2009, opened to the public in 2013, and even boasts underground rainforests. It is even believed to be wide enough to fly a Boeing 747 through.

-Despite being located in Southeast Asia, and entirely unlike its neighbours, Vietnam uses the Latin alphabet in common writing. This is due to a writing system being developed by Portuguese missionaries and French scholars in the 17th century.

-Although only 15% of Vietnam’s people followed its teachings in 2018, Buddhism is the most widely practiced religion in Vietnam. About 81% of Vietnamese people are either irreligious or follow traditional folk beliefs.

-Vietnam’s foreign affairs stance holds a strong position called the Four No’s, which consist of a commitment to: 1) No partaking in military alliances, 2) No aligning with one country to act against another, 3) No foreign military bases in Vietnamese territory or using Vietnam as leverage to act against other countries, and 4) No use of force to pursue a goal in international relations.