International Conference “The Little Mediterranean: The Gulf of Tonkin through historical periods”

On March 14 and 15, 2008, more than 30 scientists from eight countries (China, Vietnam, Australia, Taiwan, Thailand, Germany, France, and the United States) participated in the International Conference “The Little Mediterranean: The Gulf of Tonkin through historical periods” at the Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences, Nanning City, Guangxi Province, China. Among the foreign scientists participating in the conference were a number of experts on Vietnam such as Prof. John Withmore (University of Michigan, USA), Prof. Brantly Womack (University of Virginia), Prof. Claudine Salmon (University of Paris, France), Prof. Li Tana (Australian National University)... The 22 papers of the conference were presented in 10 sub-committees: Opening session; Overview of the project “Two corridors, one belt”; The Little Mediterranean?; New discoveries in archaeology; Regional political context (10th-13th centuries); Ports, trade networks and commercial systems; Commerce and merchants in the Gulf of Tonkin; Piracy in the Gulf of Tonkin (17th-19th centuries); Cultural exchanges; Closing session.

Since the last decades of the 20th century, Denys Lombard has published his comparative studies on the history of two regions that are relatively far apart geographically but have similarities in their historical development: the Mediterranean in Western Europe and the South China Sea (focusing on the Gulf of Tonkin) in East Asia. In particular, Lombard's treatise "Another 'Mediterranean' in South East Asia" has truly inspired many researchers to participate in extremely heated debates on this issue. Therefore, the 22 reports of the Conference on the Gulf of Tonkin this time are not outside the above spirit.

The reports focus on various areas of the Gulf of Tonkin throughout historical periods, especially aiming to clarify the similarities and differences between the two seas mentioned above. Besides some similarities, the differences are very clear, especially in terms of natural geography: monsoons, ocean currents, tidal regimes, etc. The Mediterranean Sea is sheltered from many directions, and is located in a temperate climate zone, so the sea is relatively calm, almost unaffected by monsoons and strong ocean currents. Meanwhile, the Gulf of Tonkin in particular and the East Sea in general are strongly influenced by the monsoon regime and many strong ocean currents; traffic is therefore greatly affected, especially during the period when ships still used sails. While in the Mediterranean, merchants could basically travel down to North Africa and back to Southern Europe relatively proactively, in the East Sea, merchants could only travel according to the monsoon regime. Therefore, each two-way trading trip requires at least two wind seasons (one year), not to mention that in case of missed wind, the merchant ship must stay and wait for at least a year before being able to depart again... The difference in natural conditions leads to differences in a series of other aspects between the development history of the two regions, including issues of technology, culture, ethnicity...

Vietnam is the country that owns the majority of the Gulf of Tonkin, so all the reports in the Conference are directly or indirectly related to Vietnam. In the presentation "Vietnam in the Commercial Networks of East Asia" at the Opening Session, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Khanh - Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi - affirmed that "As a country with a history of development closely linked to the Gulf of Tonkin region, and at the same time owning a coastline of more than 3,000 km connecting southern China with the Malay Peninsula and the Polynesian world, Vietnam's history has developed in close association with the history of the region in general and the history of trade of the region in particular". After reviewing the main development periods of Vietnam's history in relation to the Gulf of Tonkin and the East Sea, the report affirmed: "Today, with the principle of sustainable cooperation, compliance with common principles, mutual respect and mutual benefit, Vietnam is striving to implement multilateral and multi-sectoral cooperation strategies with many countries in the region. This will contribute to the peaceful and prosperous development of the Gulf of Tonkin in particular and the East Asia region in general in the coming time...".

After two days of lively discussions, the Workshop ended with a tour of some locations in the Gulf of Tonkin: Mong Cai border gate (Vietnam), Dongxing city, Fangcheng port... (China). The main organizers (Prof. Li Tana from the Australian National University and Prof. Gu Xiaotong from the Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences) hope to have another Workshop on the above topic to continue discussing some aspects that have not been thoroughly discussed in the Workshop, such as cultural exchange, trade, maritime routes and trade... in the Gulf of Tonkin in particular and the East Sea in general through historical periods.

•Hoang Le Phong
(Faculty of History, University of Social Sciences and Humanities)