US expert: Mr. Biden visits Vietnam at the perfect time

(Dan Tri) - Speaking with Dan Tri, experts assessed that US President Joe Biden's upcoming visit to Vietnam is an opportunity for the two countries to review their relationship and seek new, deeper cooperation opportunities.

In the 28 years of Vietnam-US relations, one thing has become a tradition: Every US president since Bill Clinton has visited Vietnam. Perhaps that is why the White House's announcement that Joe Biden will visit Hanoi on September 10-11 is not too surprising.

"If Mr. Biden did not visit, it would be a story that attracted attention," Mr. Gregory Poling, Director of the Southeast Asia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) based in Washington DC, shared with Dan Tri .

Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said President Joe Biden visited Vietnam at the invitation of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. The purpose of the visit is to discuss ways to deepen Vietnam-US cooperation, according to an announcement from the White House.

"The visit shows that even with a busy travel schedule and the upcoming election next year, Mr. Biden still sees the importance of continuing the tradition of visiting Vietnam from President Clinton's time," said Mr. Poling.

Murray Hiebert, senior adviser to the Southeast Asia program at CSIS, said the timing of the visit was appropriate.

“In 2025, Biden or another US president will be busy with a new term or administration, and at the same time, Vietnam will be preparing for the Party Congress in 2026,” Hiebert said. “So now is really the perfect time.”

Mr. Biden - then Vice President under Mr. Obama - will visit Vietnam at the invitation of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. In this photo, the two leaders pose for a photo at the White House during General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's visit to the US in 2015 (Photo: US Department of State ).

New momentum

The Vietnam-US relationship over the past 10 years has been marked by strong growth, demonstrated through figures on two-way trade turnover, the number of Vietnamese students studying in the US, or the number of American tourists visiting Vietnam...

Although there are still some differences, Vietnam and the US can talk and not let those differences become the center of the entire relationship, according to Mr. Hiebert. However, the domestic and international context has changed a lot after a decade and it is time for the two countries to work together to find a new direction for cooperation.

"This visit is important because it contributes to deepening the relationship between Vietnam and the US, when we are in a very different phase," said Mr. Hiebert. "It has been 10 years since the two countries established a Comprehensive Partnership, so this is a good opportunity to consider adding new elements to that relationship."

According to the White House announcement, the visit is an opportunity for the two countries to discuss opportunities to "promote Vietnam's economic growth with a focus on technology, driven by innovation, and expand people-to-people ties through educational exchange programs, human resource development, and climate change response."

Mr. Poling said that most of the results achieved by both sides after the visit will likely be a continuation of previously initiated programs, such as the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).

"We can see new details about funding sources in JETP. Cooperation on essential metals resources is also an area of ​​mutual interest for both countries," said the expert from CSIS, adding that in the future, Vietnam and the US are expected to increase cooperation on maritime security, new technologies, e-commerce and people-to-people exchanges.

This visit also has personal significance for President Joe Biden and General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong because the two leaders will have the opportunity to meet again.

In 2015, when he was Vice President, Joe Biden hosted a reception during General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's visit to the US. Joe Biden made an impression by citing two verses from the Tale of Kieu to talk about Vietnam-US relations.

"It's a way to show respect for culture and history, which is very meaningful," Mr. Scot Marciel, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific at the US State Department, commented to Dan Tri .

“Such small personal gestures of respect are a very important part of building relationships,” said Marciel. “That is how the Vietnam-US relationship began to blossom after many years of war.”

The first official visit to Vietnam by a US president was in 2000, under President Bill Clinton. In this photo, Mr. Clinton shakes hands with Vietnamese people from the balcony of a building opposite while visiting the Temple of Literature (Photo: AP).

Unprecedented

An unprecedented aspect of Mr. Joe Biden’s upcoming visit is that he is the first US president to visit Vietnam after accepting an invitation from the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam – General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. This is not the first time in the history of Vietnam-US relations that he has broken the rules.

In 2015, US President Barack Obama respectfully received General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in the Oval Office of the White House. This was unprecedented and initially there were different opinions within the White House.

According to Mr. Poling from CSIS, the General Secretary's 2015 visit demonstrated that both the US and Vietnam recognized and respected the fact that the two countries' systems were different.

"So the fact that both governments are willing to put convention aside to make sensible decisions shows that both sides see it as important and that it needs to be done," Poling said. "It is a testament to the great commitment that both Hanoi and Washington have to this relationship."

After arriving in Vietnam in August 1993 to establish the first US State Department office, Mr. Scot Marciel was impressed that a General Secretary like Mr. Do Muoi personally met and welcomed delegations of American citizens visiting Vietnam at that time.

"I clearly remember that General Secretary Do Muoi was very friendly and warm, sometimes even emotional when meeting groups of American veterans. That really has an impact on others, even more important than the words you say," Mr. Marciel recalled.

“There was a break in protocol on both sides,” said Marciel, who spent three years in Vietnam. “I found that both Americans and Vietnamese are quite pragmatic and results-oriented, so they were a little more willing to not worry too much about specific protocol and focus on getting the job done.”

Vietnamese diplomats in the US are highly appreciated by experts for their proactiveness, demonstrated by the fact that Vietnam is often among the first Southeast Asian countries to arrange visits or phone calls whenever the US has a new administration.

"They will try to contact the new cabinet to discuss Vietnam, what the two countries want to do together...", Mr. Murray said. "Sometimes I hear other ambassadors joke that Vietnam is so active, it makes them look like they are sitting still doing nothing."

US Ambassadors to Vietnam have also been proactive in contributing to important moments in the relationship. For example, according to former Ambassador Ted Osius’ memoir, in order to overcome the White House’s initial hesitation about inviting General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to visit the US, he had to “ask acquaintances” to convince President Obama of the importance of the visit. The result was a historic visit.

Future-oriented relationship

Over the years, cooperation in overcoming the consequences of war has been the foundation for promoting Vietnam-US relations and building bilateral trust.

To date, Vietnam has repatriated the remains of more than 700 American soldiers. At the same time, the US is assisting Vietnam in searching for missing soldiers and conducting the decontamination of Bien Hoa airport, after completing the decontamination of Da Nang airport and other projects to clear remaining bombs and mines.

"When I was in Hanoi, the issue of Americans missing in action during the war caused a lot of suspicion, leading many to believe that Vietnam was hiding information," said Mr. Marciel. "But over time, Vietnam has shown good cooperation and significantly reduced that concern."

On the other hand, cooperation in overcoming the consequences of war also shows the Vietnamese people and government that the US is a trustworthy partner because it demonstrates goodwill and does not require barter.

Mr. Joe Biden's upcoming visit and the cooperation opportunities that the two sides will discuss on this occasion show the change and expansion in the Vietnam - US relationship.

“This relationship is no longer about fixing the past, it’s about looking to the future,” Poling said. “If you told John McCain 30 years ago that a Vietnamese company would be making electric cars in North Carolina, he would have said you were crazy. But the nature of the relationship has changed and is more forward-looking.”

“There needs to be a change like that because we don’t want the relationship to always be oriented towards the past,” said Mr. Poling.

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