Fifty years after the last US combat troops left South Vietnam, Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday sought to strengthen US ties with its old enemies in Hanoi as it seeks to counter China’s growing assertiveness in the Indus -Peaceful.
Blinken and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh vowed to push relations to new levels when they met just two weeks after the 50th anniversary of the US troop withdrawal that marked the end of direct US military involvement in Vietnam.
And it came as Blinken broke ground on a new $1.2 billion US embassy complex in the Vietnamese capital, a project the Biden administration hopes will demonstrate its commitment to further improve ties less than 30 years after Diplomatic relations were restored in 1995.
Despite concerns about Vietnam’s human rights record, Washington sees Hanoi as a key component of its strategy for the region and has tried to take advantage of Vietnam’s traditional rivalry with its much larger neighbor, China, to expand the American influence in the region.
“We believe that this is an auspicious time to elevate our existing partnership,” Blinken told reporters after meeting with Chinh, Vietnam’s foreign minister and head of the Communist Party.
“This has been a very comprehensive and effective relationship, and in the future, we will continue to deepen relationships,” Chinh said. “We highly appreciate the role and responsibility of the US towards the Asia Pacific region in a larger scheme, the Indo-Pacific.” He added that the communist government of Vietnam wants to “further elevate our bilateral ties to a new level.”
Along with several smaller neighbors of China, Vietnam has maritime and territorial disputes with Beijing in the South China Sea. The United States has responded by offering diplomatic support and stepping up military cooperation with the Philippines and the autonomous island of Taiwan, which China claims as a renegade province.
Blinken noted that the US is currently finalizing the transfer to Vietnam of a third coast guard, which will complement existing maritime security cooperation that has seen Washington award Hanoi 24 patrol boats since 2016 along with other equipment and training.
“All these elements strengthen the Vietnamese ability to contribute to maritime peace and stability in the South China Sea,” he said. China last month threatened “serious consequences” after the US Navy sailed a destroyer around the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea for a second day in a row, in a move Beijing claimed was a violation of its sovereignty and security. The Paracels are occupied by China, but are also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam.
US officials are reluctant to describe any visit to Asia in terms of China, preferring to discuss the importance of improving bilateral ties. But they frequently speak to broader concerns in the region that are clearly directed at China.
“We focus on how our countries can promote a free and open Indo-Pacific; one that is at peace and based on respect for the rules-based international order,” Blinken said. And five decades after the Nixon administration withdrew US fighting forces from Vietnam on March 29, 1973, Blinken said the United States Unidos is looking for a more strategic orientation with the country.
Blinken’s visit comes as the administration grapples with its own record of troop withdrawals and faces congressional criticism and lawsuits to explain the chaotic US exit from Afghanistan two years ago.
Some have compared that to the Vietnam experience, especially as it relates to the fate of Afghans who supported the 20-year military mission but were left behind when the Biden administration withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021.
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