- President Biden has developed a new strategic relationship with Vietnam.
- He has stepped up collaboration with Australia, India, and the Philippines in recent months.
- Biden intends to make a point of conducting separate visits to a number of other important individuals.
President Biden has forged a new strategic alliance with Vietnam out of a shared worry about China‘s enlarging regional ambitions. This alliance has brought the two formerly hostile nations closer than ever and helped them put their differences in the past.
Vietnam’s Communist Party leadership made a historic trip to Hanoi, where they formally elevated relations with the United States to the pinnacle of the diplomatic food chain, on par with those with China and Russia. Half a century after the withdrawal of American soldiers, Biden declared the breakthrough to be “the beginning of even a greater era of cooperation.”
Relations with Vietnam
The achievement served as a key subtext for the action as Biden attempted to build a network of relationships in the area to oppose Beijing’s aggressive actions. He has stepped up collaboration with Australia, India, and the Philippines in recent months. He also convened the leaders of Japan and South Korea at Camp David to forge a three-way alliance that has eluded Washington in the past.
Beijing, however, was not convinced by the breakthrough, as Mao Ning, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, urged Washington to abandon Cold War mindsets and zero-sum game mindsets in its interactions with Asia, as well as abide by international norms.
China continues to be Vietnam’s primary foreign partner due to its long-standing economic relations, despite its new pact with Biden. Following Mr. Biden’s visit, the American government might sell Hanoi’s desired F-16 fighter jets and military radar batteries.
In contrast to China or Russia, the leadership in Vietnam is more complex and collective than it is centered on a single man.
Biden intends to make a point of conducting separate visits to a number of other important individuals, including Mr. Chinh, President Vo Van Thuong, and Speaker of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue.
