Richard Javad Heydarian is a Manila-based academic, columnist and author
May 03, 2023
“[We should pursue] long-term stability, future orientation, good-neighbourly friendship and comprehensive co-operation", declared Chinese leader Xi Jinping during his meeting with visiting Vietnamese dignitary Truong Thi Mai in Beijing in late April. China and Vietnam, Mr Xi added, should remain "good neighbours, good friends, good comrades and good partners” in a new brave world.
Truong Thi Mai was no ordinary guest. She is Vietnam’s first woman to become a permanent member of the all-powerful Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) in almost half a century. What’s even more poignant, however, was the timing of her visit to Beijing.
It came barely a week after the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Hanoi to mark the 10th anniversary of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries as part of broader efforts to seal a de facto alliance with Vietnam. Back in 2021, Vietnam also made a similar manoeuvre, when Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held a high-profile meeting with a special Chinese envoy, Xiong Bo, barely a day before hosting the US Vice President Kamala Harris in Hanoi. The message was unmistakable.
Time and again, the Southeast Asian nation has signalled its unwillingness to side with either of the two superpowers in the Indo-Pacific. To enhance its room for manoeuvre, Vietnam has actively pursued strategic co-operation with “middle powers” from Japan and South Korea to India, Russia and Europe in recent years. The upshot is the emergence of Vietnam as a global economic dynamo and a full-fledged regional power in Southeast Asia. Vietnam’s successful “multi-alignment” strategy holds valuable lessons for nations around the world, including in the Middle East, where regional powers are deftly navigating relations with multiple superpowers.
Chinese communism has deep roots in Vietnam, despite the two countries' complicated relations. AFP
The Southeast Asian nation has signalled its unwillingness to side with either of the two superpowers in the Indo-Pacific
The emergence of contemporary Vietnam, built on the ruins of multiple ancient kingdoms, has few parallels anywhere in the world. From its millennia-old struggle with imperial China, to its defeat of Mongol forces in the Middle Ages, a relentless struggle for autonomy has defined Vietnam’s strategic history. If anything, the 20th century proved even more traumatic, as the Southeast Asian nation had to fend off not one, but multiple empires, beginning with colonial France and, shortly after, the Americans.
Just as important to understanding Vietnam’s national psyche, however, is its rollercoaster relations with neighbouring China. Chinese revolutionary communist leader Mao Zedong not only dispatched his finest generals, but also personally oversaw China’s assistance to Vietnamese communist forces’ successful campaigns against colonial France. By 1951, the Vietnamese communists adopted Maoism as a pillar of “the basic theory” of their party.
It didn’t take long, however, before bilateral relations soured, especially as Beijing began to explore a detente with the West in order to confront the Soviet Union, a key patron of Vietnam at the time. The upshot was the 1979 Sino-Vietnamese war, as both Hanoi and Beijing backed competing forces in the broader Indo-China conflict in the twilight decades of the 20th century.
Just as relevant is also Hanoi’s fear of abandonment, which reached its apogee in the late-1970s and throughout the 1980s, when an increasingly enfeebled Soviet Union, then fully embroiled in the Afghan War, struggled to aid its Vietnamese allies. Embittered by such traumatic history, post-Cold War Vietnam embraced a self-consciously “non-aligned” foreign policy posture.
Under the so-called “Four No’s” doctrine, Hanoi shunned, first, siding with any superpower against the other; second, hosting any foreign troops; third, negotiating a mutual defence pact with any foreign power; and fourth, deploying force to achieve foreign policy goals. Meanwhile, Vietnam adopted post-war reforms to rebuild the country through expanded trade and investment with the world.
Over the past two decades, Vietnam has carefully sought to leverage relations with multiple powers to maintain its autonomy. Two of its modern challenges include growing trade dependence on China and festering maritime disputes in the South China Sea.
In response, Vietnam reached out to its former nemesis, the US. First came Hanoi’s decision to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) in late 2000s to diversify its trading partnerships. Then came the signing of a comprehensive strategic co-operation agreement with the Obama administration, followed by the Trump administration’s designation of Vietnam as a “co-operative maritime partner” in the Indo-Pacific.
Economically, Vietnam’s gambit paid off big time. Bilateral trade ballooned to $139 billion last year, making America the largest export destination for Vietnamese manufacturers. In 2022, Vietnam surpassed even the United Kingdom to become one of the US’s top seven trading partners in merchandise. Bilateral defence ties, however, have been hobbled by ideological differences, most notably disagreements with the Biden administration and the US Congress over human rights and democracy issues. The two sides are yet to secure a single major defence deal a decade after signing a comprehensive partnership pact.
Crucially, Vietnam’s communist leadership has also refused to overtly align with the US. If anything, Vietnam’s party chief, Nguyen Phu Trong, was the first foreign leader to visit Mr Xi following the latter’s successful bid for a third term in office. The high-profile visit culminated in 13 major agreements, which aim to enhance bilateral trade and more effectively manage maritime disputes.
Moreover, Vietnam has also refused to side with the West against Russia. By adopting a consciously neutral position on the conflict in Ukraine, it has sought to maintain robust defence ties with Moscow, though western sanctions have complicated this.
Thanks to its “multi-alignment” strategy, Vietnam also enjoys deep strategic and economic ties with a whole host of middle powers, including India (a potential source anti-ship cruise missiles as well as warships), Japan (a major source of maritime security aid), as well as the EU (which has a defence partnership pact with the Hanoi).
The lesson for mid-sized nations and regional powers in other parts of the world, especially in the Middle East, is unmistakable. Vietnam has proven the wisdom of seeking and preserving fruitful ties with multiple superpowers simultaneously. By all indications, Middle Eastern powers seem to be following a similar path, as they deftly cultivate and balance relations with the US, China, India and Russia in an increasingly uncertain geopolitical environment. In many ways, multi-alignment seems to be the name of the game.
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood. Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues. Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity. Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
The Sackler family is a transatlantic dynasty that owns Purdue Pharma, which manufactures and markets OxyContin, one of the drugs at the centre of America's opioids crisis. The family is well known for their generous philanthropy towards the world's top cultural institutions, including Guggenheim Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, Tate in Britain, Yale University and the Serpentine Gallery, to name a few. Two branches of the family control Purdue Pharma.
Isaac Sackler and Sophie Greenberg were Jewish immigrants who arrived in New York before the First World War. They had three sons. The first, Arthur, died before OxyContin was invented. The second, Mortimer, who died aged 93 in 2010, was a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma. The third, Raymond, died aged 97 in 2017 and was also a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma.
It was Arthur, a psychiatrist and pharmaceutical marketeer, who started the family business dynasty. He and his brothers bought a small company called Purdue Frederick; among their first products were laxatives and prescription earwax remover.
Arthur's branch of the family has not been involved in Purdue for many years and his daughter, Elizabeth, has spoken out against it, saying the company's role in America's drugs crisis is "morally abhorrent".
The lawsuits that were brought by the attorneys general of New York and Massachussetts named eight Sacklers. This includes Kathe, Mortimer, Richard, Jonathan and Ilene Sackler Lefcourt, who are all the children of either Mortimer or Raymond. Then there's Theresa Sackler, who is Mortimer senior's widow; Beverly, Raymond's widow; and David Sackler, Raymond's grandson.
Members of the Sackler family are rarely seen in public.
ESSENTIALS
The flights Emirates, Etihad and Swiss fly direct from the UAE to Zurich from Dh2,855 return, including taxes.
The chalet Chalet N is currently open in winter only, between now and April 21. During the ski season, starting on December 11, a week’s rental costs from €210,000 (Dh898,431) per week for the whole property, which has 22 beds in total, across six suites, three double rooms and a children’s suite. The price includes all scheduled meals, a week’s ski pass, Wi-Fi, parking, transfers between Munich, Innsbruck or Zurich airports and one 50-minute massage per person. Private ski lessons cost from €360 (Dh1,541) per day. Halal food is available on request.
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
GroupA: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
