Wary Vietnam plays balancing act with Xi's visit

Deals inked between nations this week high on symbolism, skirt around thorny issues

- Tan Hui Yee

Vietnam has long maintained an arm's length from China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), even as Chinese companies blazed a trail of new highways and railways in South-east Asia over the past decade.

Before this week, Hanoi had also been reluctant to get behind Chinese President Xi Jinping's vision of building a "community with a shared future".

It was wary of the kind of diplomatic space it would have to cede to a neighbour it is tussling with for control over parts of the South China Sea.

Thus, it came as no surprise during Mr Xi's visit to Hanoi on Dec 12 and 13 that the 36 agreements inked between the two communist countries were high on symbolism and skirted around the thornier parts of their relationship.

Vietnam's Ministry of Transport signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the China International Development Cooperation Agency to strengthen railway cooperation between the two countries.

There were also agreements to build a new cross-border bridge and promote investment in the green economy.

Vietnam's Ministry of National Defence, meanwhile, signed an MOU with its Chinese counterpart on joint patrols in the Gulf of Tonkin, while both sides agreed to establish a hotline to receive information on "unexpected incidents arising from fisheries activities at sea".

Even as Vietnam signed up to China's "shared future" vision, how it pans out would ultimately depend on Beijing's actions, said Dr Huong Le Thu, deputy director of the International Crisis Group's Asia programme.