The country’s longstanding ties with its neighbor Laos constitute an alliance in everything but name.
By
December 21, 2020
Advertisement
Does Vietnam have a military ally? The country’s famous “Three Nos” defense policy – no military alliances, no foreign military bases on Vietnamese territory, and no reliance on any country to combat others – says that it does not. Indeed, since the end of the Cold War, Vietnam has embraced a multi-vector diplomacy: trying to improve relations with the major powers and participating in multilateral institutions while shunning signing Cold War-style military alliances in a bid to avoid abandonment.
While scholars pay much attention to Vietnam’s eastern flank – the South China Sea – many forget that Vietnam’s western flank is also key to its national security. It is also home to Vietnam’s sole military ally in the post-Cold War era. Vietnam signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation with Laos in 1977, around the same time t