Long before China towed a huge oil platform into disputed waters east of Vietnam this week, the Vietnamese government started making preparations for just this situation.
Its response to the increased assertiveness of its powerful neighbor to the north, leaders decided, should be to invest heavily in advanced military capabilities—especially naval systems—that would make Beijing think twice before threatening Vietnamese interests.
Not all of Hanoi’s new military hardware had had time to arrive when over the past week tensions escalated over China’s plans to start drilling for oil in disputed waters off Vietnam. It isn’t clear whether more military might would have given China pause. Nor is it clear what the implications of a Chinese neighbor more aggressively arming itself may be for an already fragile regional-security landscape.
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bljworldwide via CHINA US Focus http://ift.tt/1fUPrJH
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