Vietnam’s renovated foreign policy

Abstract

During the French and American military interventions in Indochina, Vietnamese revolutionary leaders waged a three-pronged resistance involving military struggle (<dau tranh quan su) political struggle (idau tranh chinh tri), and diplomatic struggle (idau tranh ngoai giao). Of the three modes of struggle, the diplomatic one was ultimately most consequential in cementing the victory of the Revolution.(1) The m ilitary and political struggles were certainly significant as they helped revolutionary forces secure a variety of gains on and off the battlefield. Ultimately, however, the fate of the French and the Americans in Vietnam, the outcome of the First and Second Indochina wars, and, most importantly, the achievement of national liberation and reunification (that is, the triumph of the Vietnamese Revolution)