Just wonder how Vietnam is also in the list but not Cambodia. What did Vietnam purchase from China? I thought both nations do not have good military relationship. China don't wish someday Vietnam will use those weapon to fight against them in South China Sea?
It appears china has relatively good relationships with vietnamese communist party and it's military, but is unpopular amongst younger Vietnamese nationalists outside the party and military.
Vietnamese nationalists and students often attempt to stage protests against perceived Chinese encroachments on Vietnamese territory, but most of the time these protests are quickly suppressed by Vietnamese government and police.
I think Vietnamese communist party looks to chinese communist party as the model of how to survive and flourish in a world that has overwhelmingly turned against communism, without digging itself deeper into holes like the communist parties in north Korea and Cuba. At the same time, china sees good relationships with the Vietnamese communist party and military as insurance against being encircled by the US on its southern border.