General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong holds talks with US President Joe Biden. Photo: Tri Dung/VNA
The White House announced on September 10 that the United States and Vietnam have upgraded their relationship, stating that during the historic state visit of the US leader to Hanoi, Vietnam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong and US President Joe Biden upgraded the relationship between the two countries to enhance the strength and dynamism of the bilateral relationship in the context of both countries working together to achieve the common goal of peace, prosperity and sustainable development. The White House emphasized that the unprecedented and important upgrade of the relationship between the two countries, from the Comprehensive Partnership established in 2013 to the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, is the result of the strong and continued efforts of both governments to establish and build mutual understanding as well as chart a path forward, taking advantage of opportunities and addressing challenges in a rapidly changing world.
According to a VNA correspondent in Washington, the offices of Senator Jeff Merkley (Democrat, Oregon) and Senator Van Hollen (Democrat, Maryland) issued a joint statement welcoming the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and the United States.
The statement reiterated that the foundation of the Vietnam-US relationship is the efforts to heal the wounds of war and promote reconciliation between the two countries. The statement said that upgrading bilateral relations is an opportunity to deepen understanding and the United States’ commitment to overcoming the consequences of war, including programs to clear unexploded ordnance and dioxin. The statement also highlighted opportunities to expand investment, including in the fields of modern technology and green energy, for the benefit of both countries.
In an interview with a VNA correspondent in Washington, Dr. Andrew Wells-Dang, senior expert on Vietnam at the Southeast Asia Center of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), said that President Joe Biden's visit to Vietnam demonstrates the development of trust, cooperation and effective diplomacy between Hanoi and Washington. Moreover, according to Dr. Andrew Wells-Dang, President Biden's visit to Vietnam and the new partnership demonstrate the potential of a unique form of multilateral diplomacy to maintain peace.
Speaking to VNA reporters in Jakarta, Mr. Calvin Khoe, Director of Research and Analysis at the Indonesian Foreign Policy Community (FPCI), assessed that upgrading Vietnam-US relations to the level of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership will have positive and widespread impacts and contribute to promoting ASEAN-US relations, ASEAN's comprehensive development, as well as contributing to peace, stability and prosperity in the region.
“When the Vietnam-US relationship is upgraded, I hope that the cooperation contents, as well as the new frameworks, projects and programs between the two countries will have a spillover effect from Laos to Cambodia or even to Thailand and the whole of Southeast Asia,” said Mr. Calvin. According to him, Vietnam is increasingly improving its economic efficiency, investment and industrial production, shifting strongly to high technology with new industrial zones. The “S”-shaped country is becoming a “new trade power” and making great contributions to ASEAN. With a high and stable growth rate, Vietnam is also expected to contribute to promoting economic development and connecting the mainland ASEAN sub-region as well as the whole Southeast Asia region.
Ms. Dewi Fortuna Anwar, President of the Habibie Research Center and co-founder of the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI) – a large and prestigious research institute in the region, welcomed the upgrading of relations between Vietnam and the United States, saying that this is for the common benefit and will promote cooperation between the two countries. Ms. Dewi shared her views on Vietnam's role in ASEAN, affirming that Vietnam is a "very important" member, Vietnam's accession to ASEAN in 1995 contributed to strengthening ASEAN and gradually bringing ASEAN to a complete state with 10 member states, connecting mainland and archipelagic countries in the region.
International media also devoted a lot of time to reporting on the upgrading of relations between Vietnam and the United States, considering this a milestone in the relationship between the two countries, while affirming Vietnam's role in the region.
According to a VNA correspondent in Tokyo, Nikkei Asia quoted President Biden as saying that upgrading relations with Vietnam aims to boost trade while addressing a range of challenges such as geo-economic competition and climate change. Asahi and Mainchi newspapers commented that by upgrading relations this time, the two countries aim to further strengthen cooperation in areas such as economics, semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI) development and security. Meanwhile, Nikkei commented that the visit also shows that the two sides agree to respect each other's political institutions and independence.
According to a VNA correspondent in Seoul, articles by Yonhap, Newsis, and Asiatoday news agencies all emphasized that Vietnam and the United States have upgraded their bilateral relations to the highest level: “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.” Yonhap news agency quoted General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong as declaring that Vietnam has upgraded relations between the two countries for peace, cooperation, and sustainable development. Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden stated that the relationship between the two countries has gone from conflict to normalization and “is now raised to a new level.”
SBS quoted expert Nguyen Khac Giang of the ISEAS Institute in Singapore, saying that upgrading diplomatic relations with the United States shows that Vietnam's position has been raised.
International media reported extensively on the talks between General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and US President Joe Biden, the content of the two leaders' speeches to the press after the talks, and published many comments by US politicians on the significance of strengthening bilateral relations with Vietnam. Reuters quoted White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan as saying that President Biden's visit reflects Vietnam's leading role among US partners in the region. According to CNN, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby assessed the US-Vietnam relationship as "an important relationship in an important region of the world".
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