Vietnam’s strategic position – as a neighbor of China, situated parallel to the great sea trade routes of Asia – always made the country tremendously important, which may be one reason why its anti-colonial wars lasted so long. In recent years, however, Vietnam’s strategic significance has increased dramatically, owing to huge – and not always widely recognized – transformations in its economic performance and foreign-policy orientation.
毗邻中国，扼守亚洲海上贸易咽喉，越南凭借着优越的地理位置一直是全球战略的重要据点，而这或许也是该国反殖民斗争何以持续如此长时间的理由。近年来，由于国内经济状况的改善和外交立场的转变（世人对此依然所知甚少），越南在战略重要性也再度凸显出来。