Is Vietnam more similar to Ukraine than Taiwan? We can have both yes and no.
During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we have heard how the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, bemoaned: “We have been left alone to defend our state. Who is ready to fight alongside us? I don’t see anyone. Who is ready to give Ukraine a guarantee of Nato membership? Everyone is afraid.” His cry during the early days of the brutal, barbaric Russian invasion of Ukraine underscored that fear. Even though Russia has been repelled from much of Ukraine's north, the Russian troops had not been completely chased out of east and south. This has led to widespread public speculation, and the most popular has always been Taiwan to Ukraine. This comparison has only come greater and greater by size, and this is fuelled by many similarities, from political system to border. Yet, a much less popular comparison draws Vietnam, instead of Taiwan, as facing a dangerous dilemma more than Ukraine, first stressed by Derek Grossman before echoed by Filipino-Iranian columnist Richard Heydarian ....