Almost five decades after the end of the Vietnam War, the USA and Vietnam have officially deepened their relations. During a visit by US President Joe Biden to the Southeast Asian country, both countries sealed a “comprehensive strategic partnership”, in the parlance of the Vietnamese leadership, this represents the highest level of cooperation with another country.
Biden meets head of the ruling Communist Party
Biden, who traveled to Vietnam from the G20 summit in India, highlighted the “important” partnership between the two countries. This could be the “beginning of an even greater era of cooperation,” Biden said during his meeting with the head of Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong.
Trong thanked Biden for his contribution to improving relations. To date, Vietnam only has “comprehensive strategic partnership” relationships with Russia, India, South Korea and China.
Nguyen Phu Trong is general secretary of Vietnam’s ruling Communist PartyImage: Evelyn Hockstein/REUTERS
The deepening of the relationship comes against the background of Washington’s efforts to create a stronger counterweight to China’s growing influence in Southeast Asia and to improve the supply of rare raw materials from friendly countries.
Vietnam is trying to maintain a neutral position compared to China, which rivals the USA for influence in the region, but is very concerned about Beijing’s increasingly aggressive actions in the South China Sea, where China, Vietnam and the Philippines, among others, have territorial claims.
Semiconductor Supply Chain Agreement
The US-Vietnamese agreement on semiconductor supply chains is intended to strengthen the position against China. The aim of the partnership is to expand the “capacity of the semiconductor industry in Vietnam to support the US industry,” said the White House. Vietnamese party leader Trong said his country would work hard to implement the new agreement.
US President Joe Biden came from the G20 summit in India to visit VietnamImage: Luong Thai Linh/AFP
The contract also contains a section on the supply of rare earths, which are important for the production of smartphones and electric car batteries. Vietnam has the second largest deposits of rare earths after China.
Human rights are a sensitive issue in Hanoi
Sensitive issues between Hanoi and Washington include the human rights situation in Vietnam and the country’s close relationship with Russia. Before Biden’s visit, the New York Times reported that Vietnam was conducting arms deals with Russia bypassing US sanctions.
Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer told reporters that Washington was aware of decades of military cooperation between Hanoi and Moscow. However, Vietnam views its relationship with Russia with “increasing unease”.
nob/uh (afp, dpa)