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Opinion | How will Vietnam’s upgraded US partnership affect its China, Russia ties?
- Many believe ‘comprehensive partnership’ will mean enhanced military ties but given Hanoi’s links to Moscow’s weapons, this is flawed thinking
- Hanoi’s communist leaders also would not have agreed to meeting Joe Biden if not confident that Beijing would not punish Vietnam for doing so
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US President Joe Biden on Tuesday completed a successful visit to Hanoi, where he and General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, leader of Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party, upgraded ties to a “strategic comprehensive partnership”.
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Much has been made of the impact of the countries’ deeper relationship amid the US-China rivalry, and some takes were wide of the mark. Here are my main takeaways.
An independent policy
Many observers were keen to bill the upgrade in relations as an alignment against China. This is silly.
Yes, China has angered many in the region, including Vietnam, with its aggression in the South China Sea and confrontational “wolf warrior” diplomacy.
However, Vietnam’s leaders share a world view far more in line with Beijing than Washington. China may pose a territorial challenge, but maintaining the Communist Party of Vietnam’s (CPV) monopoly of power is in Beijing’s interests.
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Joe Biden says US and Vietnam ‘deepening cooperation’
Joe Biden says US and Vietnam ‘deepening cooperation’
Vietnamese foreign policy is studiously about not taking sides. Their “four noes and a maybe” (no alliances, no foreign bases, no siding with one country against another, no use or threat of force to resolve differences) is focused on maintaining an independent and omnidirectional foreign policy.
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