The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is located in central Southeast Asia. It is bordered on the west by Cambodia and Laos and on the north by China. On the east, it is bordered by the South China Sea (which the Vietnamese, sensitive to Chinese maritime claims, refer to as the East Sea), together with the Gulf of Tonkin in the north and the Gulf of Thailand in the south. Vietnam has a total land area of only 329,560 square kilometers (127,210 square miles), but due to its elongated shape, its land boundaries total 4,639 kilometers (2,283 miles) and its coastline (excluding islands), 3,444 kilometers (2,140 miles). The topography of Vietnam is widely varied with the Red and Mekong Rivers forming low, flat deltas in the north and south of the country. The central highlands, together with the far north and northwest of Vietnam, are high, mountainous regions.

With a population exceeding 80 million people, Vietnam...