History in shorter and longer terms

Comments on Jennifer Chen “Vietnam’s open port policy: strategy for keeping China at bay”, 1/03/2011, http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2011/03/01/vietnams-open-port-policy-strategy-for-keeping-china-at-bay/

Vietnam's strategy may or may not necessarily work.

Russia is in the picture as an important player in the background, though at the moment many people have not mentioned it.

Further, as the relative strategic strengths between the US and China shift, both will rethink their own strategies, or will have to do so in the mean time.

In such as big theatre with the US, China and Russia in play, any very short term strategies may not be consistent with longer term interests.

Although history has not always shown to be rational or planned in any rational manner, sometimes history has some inevitability.

There are many issues and areas that bilateral dealings have to be made.

PS: the best strategy for the future of Asia is to have an Asian organisation that can deal with Asian regional issues.