Vietnam relooks its foreign policy as China widens hegemonic sphere

THE leadership in Vietnam is worried as its diplomacy is facing two new challenges.

Former US president Barack Obama's pivot to Asia - which provided Hanoi with security against its powerful northern neighbour, China - has ended. And now the Philippines is performing its own pivot to Beijing, and away from its traditional ally, the US.

Both these shifts are forcing Hanoi to modify its foreign policy. The transformed regional order has upset Vietnam's calculations of its national defence and security. The new trend of Vietnamese diplomacy was evident in the visit of Vietnam's President Tran Dai Quang to China this month.