Changing tides for the United States and Vietnam

The Biden-Harris administration has recently been putting renewed emphasis on its diplomatic relationship with South East Asia, especially with Vietnam. Recently, Kamala Harris travelled to Vietnam following a prior visit from the Secretary of Defense, who also visited Singapore and the Philippines. While in Vietnam, Harris requested to “upgrade the strategic partnership” between the two countries and emphasized their growing relationship. In 2020, the economic connection between the two countries increased significantly with trade up 20%. Additionally, besides a $1 billion investment in Vietnam’s health infrastructure, the US has donated 7.5 million doses of vaccines, which notably is 10x higher than China’s donations as the US’s efforts are directed against China.

 

During Harris’s visit, she directly said that the US and China together need to “mount pressure” on China, to which China has been very vocal in its response. The country released a statement saying that “what the United States really wants is not regional peace and stability, nor ‘freedom of navigation’, but the freedom for US warships to run wild in the South China Sea,” additionally making a dig at the US by mentioning the Vietnam war.

 

Although both the US and China have been fighting over the country, Vietnam has tried to keep them at relative bay. A professor at the University of New South Wales said that Vietnam has “has consistently resisted China’s intimidation in the South China Sea and built up a credible military deterrence to China.” Furthermore, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson reaffirmed Vietnam’s policy against “joining forces with one country in the opposition of another” and stated that all diplomacy would be “based on the principles of respecting each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and political system.”

 

 

Sources