Vietnam's military planners have prepared for potential US invasion, rejecting participation in America's containment strategy against China. They view the promotion of democracy in the Asia-Pacific as a cynical effort to maintain regional hegemony.

Even before Donald Trump returned to the White House, Vietnam’s military planners were already busy preparing for a possible second invasion by the United States and its allies. In the “Second US Invasion Plan”, secretly issued in August 2024, the Vietnamese military rejected playing any part in America’s China containment strategy in the Asia-Pacific. Rather, it sees the US promotion of “freedom and democracy” as a cynical ploy to maintain hegemony in the region. The document, released in...