two countries ended their 20 year war in 1975. Formal relations have been reinstated, trade

agreements signed, and in May 2016, the US even agreed to lift a decades old embargo

on arms trade. So as the two countries shift from enemies to allies, we wanted to know,

Just how powerful is Vietnam?

Well, geographically, Vietnam is fairly small. At 130 thousand square miles, the country

is just larger than the US state of New Mexico. But despite its size, it boasts a population

of more than 90 million, making it the 14th most populous country in the world. As a long-time

Communist state, Vietnam has been traditionally closed off to the West. But over the last

several decades, it has introduced a number of modern economic and social reforms.

Since the mid-1980’s, the country has steadily moved away from a centrally-planned system

by encouraging private business and free trade. In the 1990’s, it halted requests for compensation

for war crimes from the US, and in turn, the US partially lifted its trade embargo, which

had decimated Vietnam’s economy. This, coupled with aid from the World Bank and the International

Monetary Fund, boosted the country’s economy by roughly eight percent a year, and made

it one of the world’s biggest exporters of rice. Today, Vietnam’s GDP is more than

$180 billion dollars, compared with just $6 billion dollars in 1990. The country also

benefits from its membership to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations which fosters economic

growth in the region.

Vietnam also is a key player in the Trans Pacific Partnership, or TPP, which is a proposed

free trade deal between the US and 11 other countries. Vietnam is far from the largest

market in the deal, and yet the country is slated to benefit the most, with its GDP expected

to surge by 10 percent before 2030. What’s more, the deal may be an antidote for Vietnam’s

weakening ties with its biggest trade partner: China. The US hopes that the TPP will eventually

end Vietnam’s dependency on China for trade, leaving them to revert to their second largest

trade partner: the US.

And the US isn’t the only country with an interest in Vietnam. Japan, Australia, Singapore

and the Philippines have all recently strengthened defense ties, with the goal of creating a

counterweight to the growing threat of China. The alliance is crucial to Vietnam, as the

country has a limited defense budget and dated, soviet-era equipment. Vietnam does boast an

army of roughly five-and-a-half-million, trumping many of its powerful neighbors, like Japan

and South Korea

In the US and abroad, it seems that all eyes are on Vietnam. This newfound attention not

only reflects the country’s undeniable potential, but its transformation over the last few decades.

Although there is still room for improvement, particularly in human rights and the environment,

there’s no question that Vietnam is well on its way to becoming very, very powerful.

China and Vietnam has serious territorial disputes, but what would happen if tensions

led to an all out war? Who would win between China and Vietnam? Watch this video to learn

more! Thanks for watching