Tan, Hans Markson C.

172157 CHN 2 Reflection Paper

In the last few decades, China has asserted its power and dominance in many aspects
globally, and its rise appears to be unhampered, with China constantly looking for ways to obtain
more resources. Vietnam is one of the countries affected by China’s dominance. Vietnam heavily
relies on oil and natural gas, as well as fishing for its economy. Oil and gas alone make up 20% of
the country’s GDP in 2016, while revenue from fishing tripled from 1990 to 2016. This can be
affected when China steps into Vietnam’s territory and leech resources from disputed areas.

On the other hand, Vietnam cannot use military force to coerce China to leave, since
China’s army is far more powerful than that of Vietnam. Also, China is Vietnam’s largest single
trade partner, making up 18% of Vietnam’s foreign trade. In 2014, China built an oil rig in
Vietnamese Exclusive Economic Zone. When the Vietnamese coast guard tried to make Chinese
boats leave the area, they were attacked by water cannons. Ms. Nguyen said in her talk that because
Vietnam can never overpower China in terms of military forces, Vietnam has resorted to another
way to regain control of disputed areas. Vietnam has decided to strengthen efforts to
internationalize the situation, and frame it not as a territorial issue, but also one of a regional
superiority. Vietnam aims to obtain the support of the international community to defend their own
rights against China, have strategic and comprehensive partnerships with foreign countries in an
effort to lessen dependence on China.

In my opinion, it would still be difficult for Vietnam to regain dominance or just undisputed
ownership of its rightful territories, much like what happened to the Philippines. After the
Philippines won in a ruling at The Hague against China for the Spratly islands in 2016, China has
decided to simply reject the ruling and continued to claim the area. China is simply too powerful,
and many foreign countries rely on China as a large trade partner, making it difficult to obtain
corporeal foreign support for the Philippines and Vietnam. In order to regain control of our
territories, I believe it is best to still continue building foreign relationships with countries other
than China, lessen our dependence on China, and support our local economy. In addition, Vietnam
and the Philippines may invest on building oil rigs or fisheries on their own territories to strengthen
their presence and prevent China from stepping in and getting more of our own resources.