The Flexibility of Vietnam’s Tactics in Relation with the QUAD at the End of the Term of U.S. President D.Trump

Abstract

The restoration of the Quad Allies (Quad) in 2020 shows the changes in the size and quality of the Quad in the last period of the US President Donald Trump's term. In particular, the possibility of expanding membership of this bloc (under the Quad + structure) is increasingly concerned when Vietnam is being encouraged by all four Quad member countries to enhance bilateral and multilateral interactions. side. Therefore, Vietnam that is in a dilemma requires a flexible foreign policy both not to offend important partners in the Quad, and at the same time to keep a good relation with China. To achieve this, Vietnam's flexible behavior requires a full analysis of the trends within the Quad's structure as well as the key areas in which it will develop in the near future... This paper is to analyze the main moves in the interaction between Vietnam and the Quad in particular and within the Quad in general, initially evaluating: (i) the need for a flexible response of Vietnam in its interaction with the Quad, as well as (ii) whether the specific development trends of the Quad make Vietnam's tactic of reducing constraints cause any disadvantages. Two methodologies mainly used in the article are the retracing approach (in part 1) and research of motivation (in part 1 and 2).
 The article will be structured in 3 parts: Part 1 focuses on analyzing Vietnam's tactic to reduce constraints through dynamic interactions with the Expanded Quad (Quad +), part 2 focuses on clarifying the the major trends of the Quad through the main move is intra-regional interactions through the Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting (October 4-6, 2020) and part 3 gives recommendations for Vietnam's foreign policy towards the Quad in the near future.