Last week, Chinese leader Xi Jinping visited China’s naval force in the South China Sea while the US and the Philippines held their largest-ever joint military drills. Xi’s visit to the navy of the Southern Theater Command came after China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command concluded its military exercises around Taiwan. Despite Xi’s ambition to dominate the South China Sea, Vietnam could pose the greatest strategic uncertainty for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), according to military analyst Qi Leyi. Vietnam’s vast north-to-south range in the oil-rich South China Sea and possession of Russian-built Kilo-class submarines would make it difficult for China to turn against Vietnam.