The 1st South China Sea Workshop

The Sino-Vietnamese Approach to Managing Border Disputes - Lessons, Relevance and Implications for The South China Sea

The paper has two main aims. First, to outline and examine the Sino-Vietnamese approach to managing border disputes. Second, to assess the lessons, relevance and implications of the Sino-Vietnamese approach on the South China Sea situation. The paper provides an overview of the Sino-Vietnam approach to managing border disputes in the period since full normalization between China and Vietnam in late 1991. This overview includes both progress made in terms of conflict management and challenges faced in terms of tension. The lessons drawn from the Sino-Vietnamese approach and experience are derived from the overview. This is followed by a discussion relating to both the relevance and the possible implications of the Sino-Vietnamese experience and the lessons drawn from it on the situation in the South China Sea. The paper is concluded by a summary of the main findings and some concluding remarks.