Since China’s July 16 withdrawal of its HYSY-981 oil exploration rig from waters claimed by Vietnam, tensions in the South China Sea have momentarily defused. But Beijing’s months-long placement of the rig roughly 130 nautical miles from Vietnam’s coast presented the most divisive threat in years to Hanoi’s Communist Party leadership

Hanoi showed itself to be all but powerless to counter Beijing’s maritime provocation. Diplomatically, China’s actions fell just short enough to avoid any potential Association of Southeast Asian

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