ON LESSONS FROM VIETNAM

ECHOES OF HISTORY

Came across this fascinating piece by Evan Osnos in the Economist this weekend, titled "Long After We Left"*:

"I didn’t expect to find much visible trace of the American war in Vietnam. The Vietnamese are too hard-bitten to dwell on it, and they’ve sanded away all but the outcroppings of history—the museums, the memorials. As one Vietnamese acquaintance pointed out, “The Americans weren’t here all that long.” Indeed,

as many will tell you, their history is marked far more deeply by struggles with that other large country—China. This month marks an anniversary that most Americans have no reason to remember: On February 17, 1979, Vietnam had barely settled its war with America when China invaded, sparking a border war that claimed at least sixty thousand lives.

But China and Vietnam are pragmatic, and, since then, cross-border trade has boomed."

All this is of course very impressive, having occurred in "just" thirty years. 
But more interesting is the broader historical context of the Chinese-Vietnamese relationship, as Osnos continues to explain:

"The Vietnamese have lived with them as the dominant power in Southeast Asia for thousands of years, and, eventually, I expect, we must, too. This is not about ceding ground or values; it is about recognizing what Asian government officials usually describe to me as “natural spheres of influence.”
A generation ago, American war planners made the mistake of believing that short-term Communist sympathies would unite China and Vietnam. We were wrong, and it tragically misshaped our policy in Vietnam. Today, we stand a better chance of promoting a peaceful balance of power in East Asia by acknowledging China’s natural advantages—and limitations."

One can't but help think about what lessons this holds for us with the current foreign policy relationships that vex us the most. 
* Image source