South China Sea crisis: How the US could help Vietnam stop Beijing

China recently brought to and end a months-long standoff between themselves and Vietnam in the Vanguard Bank region, where a Chinese oil vessel had entered Vietnam’s economic exclusion zone. The Haiyang Dizhi 8, was speeding away from Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone towards China last month under the escort of at least two Chinese ships, according to data from Marine Traffic, a website that tracks vessels. It appeared to represent a victory for Vietnam, but Derek Grossman highlights that this actually could indicate that China have freer rein to transgress in the region despite Hanoi’s defiant rhetoric.

He describes in his article for The Diplomat how Vietnam has adopted a “cooperation and struggle” policy which was seen during the recent oil vessel standoff.

This involved a mixture of defiant rhetoric calling out China as the aggressor in the dispute, but also calls for stability as General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong pledged to “never concede the issues of sovereignty, independence, unification and territorial integrity.”

The standoff will have reflected badly according to some in Hanoi, as Beijing’s vessel only departed once Vietnam’s Hakuryu-5 had left the region first, and at one point China’s Haiyang Dizhi 8 had even left the area only to return after refuelling.

As Mr Grossman highlights in his article, a similar standoff occurred in 2014 when another Chinese vessel occupied Vietnamese waters, only leaving after a heated exchange of threats with Beijing claiming their departure was due to the project surveying mission being completed early.

However, Mr Grossman also highlights that Vietnam can better combat China’s aggression by enlisting help in the US.

President Donald Trump has dedicated large military resources to the dispute in order to help smaller nations such as the Philippines defend their respective territories.

However, Vietnam currently abides by its ‘Three Noes’ policy: no alliances, no bases, and no working with a second country against a third.

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This has resulted in the US being limited in its capacity to help Hanoi deal with Chinese vessels encroaching on its economic exclusion zone.

While this policy has been an important part of Vietnam’s strategy, Mr Grossman also acknowledges that given Vietnam’s previous cooperation with India and military activities conducted alongside US forces show that it is willing to overlook the philosophy to boost its interests.

Professor Kerry Brown told Express.co.uk recently that the US have a much stronger military presence in the South China Sea than Beijing.

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He said: “China doesn’t want an escalation with the US, they do not want any military fight.

“The bottom line is that China has never actually had combat at sea. It may have this amazing Navy that has all this new kit, but it is like someone who has bought a massive Ferrari or something and doesn’t know how to drive it.”

Should Vietnam makes itself even more open to US assistance, Chinese President Xi Jinping could see himself become more frustrated in the region as his objectives are met with resistance.