Just as American entry into the Vietnam war delayed but did not fundamentally affect its outcome, American withdrawal from Vietnam changed the tactical but not the fundamental environment in which Vietnam's role in Southeast Asia must be seen. Toward its three immediate neighbors, Vietnam remains a rival, distrusted and disliked. Its position of power in the peninsula, which has been growing over the last four hundred years, continues to grow at the expense of neighbors who resist as best they can.

Vietnam's actions have always been constrained by the overall domination of the area by China. Vietnam's desire has been and remains primarily to protect its own independence vis-a-vis China while maintaining the necessary friendly relations, given the reality of China's dominant power in the region. This explains Vietnam's counterbalance of Chinese influence by drawing on Soviet support and, now that the French and American wars are over, attempting to draw on support from any Western nations willing to respond.