China incompetent? The tale of the oil rig
What has China achieved by sending its oil rig to drill off the Paracel Islands? It has managed to rupture relations with its brother communists in Vietnam, incensed Vietnamese popular opinion, generated gigabytes of critical international media coverage, revived the “China Threat” discourse in Southeast Asia and unified ASEAN […]
Vietnam’s protests aren’t just about China
Dramatic images of Vietnamese workers vandalising Chinese-owned factories appear to be yet more proof that an angry nationalism is taking hold in East and South East Asia. The reality is a little more complex. Although passions are certainly rising over the fate of a few specks of rock in the […]
Vietnam: where saying ‘I love you’ is impossible
A lighter piece for the BBC’s VietnamDirect season. Some oddities from Vietnamese history and culture.
Talk at the East West Center, Washington DC
The video of a talk I gave at the East West Center in Washington DC in October 2010. The main focus was how the interests of the Vietnamese government and the interests of its citizens affect the country’s foreign policy and its relations with other regional powers, such as China and the United States. Watch […]
BBC interview on Vietnam
An interview with BBC World News about the nuclear agreement between the US and Vietnam, which moved onto other topics too. Click to see the interview on YouTube.