A view from the sea: perspectives on the northern and central Vietnamese coast. From: Journal of Southeast Asian Studies | Date: February 1, 2006| Author: Tana, Li | COPYRIGHT 2006 Cambridge University Press. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

An interesting observation about Vietnamese historiography is that although the coast comprises roughly one-third of Vietnam's territory, historians have consistently regarded it as second only to landlocked Laos as a solidly land-based polity amongst the mainland Southeast Asian countries. (1) This article challenges the land-based gaze of looking to the north, instead viewing Vietnam from the sea. As will be shown below, the Gulf of Tonkin region was an extension and an integral ...