Asia Sentinel

Asia Sentinel

Politics

Beyond the Bipolar Binary: The New Art of Sovereign Resilience

Hanoi and Ottawa are examples of independent partnership without dependence

Oct 14, 2026
∙ Paid
By: Khanh Vu Duc
Vietnam President To Lam with Governor General of Canada Louise Arbour. Photo from VNA

For years, Washington and Beijing have pushed the international system toward a binary logic: choose sides and accept the consequences. As the US-China rivalry intensifies, middle powers are increasingly portrayed as countries that must either align wit…

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