The talk will begin with a general discussion of trade relations between the two countries and of China’s geopolitical pressures on Vietnam from within (such as the construction of roads and other infrastructures as well as investment in real estate and extractive industries in various parts of the country), and from without (such as the building of dams on the Mekong River and the assertive activities in the South China Sea). The perceived effects of these activities have generated considerable concern from many circles in Vietnam, occasionally resulting in protests which were harshly repressed.
The hope is to invite discussion on the implications of Vietnam’s current situation.
Ngo Vinh Long is professor of Asian Studies in the History Department at the University of Maine. He has been teaching courses on China, Japan, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Vietnam at this university since 1985. His areas of interest include social and economic development in Asia and US relations with Asian countries. He is the author four books and over three hundred articles in various languages. He was a co-founder of the Committee of Asian Concerned Asian Scholars and its Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars in 1968, renamed Critical Asian Studies in 2000. He has travelled to Vietnam almost every year since 1986 to do research and to work with various academic institutions and non-governmental organizations there.