Existing literature on Vietnam's ASEAN membership causes not few puzzles. This book endeavors to throw new light on the problem, investigating the dynamics of Vietnam's ASEAN-based integration policy since the late 1980s to pursue the three mutually reinforcing strategic goals: economic development and industrialization (development goal); addressing China's assertiveness in the South China Sea and the US-led "peaceful evolution" threat to Vietnam's communist regime (security goal); and building "national standing," defined in terms of enhancement of Vietnam's diplomatic standing and political influence, in the regional and global communities. This book also provides an in-depth examination in the major and great powers' foreign policies as well as the changing Asia-Pacific regional architecture as a ground for Vietnamese leaders' policy making and implementation in each historical period. Thus, the book is useful for students, scholars, policy-makers, and researchers of international relations, especially in the East Asian region.
