Mr. Biden traveled to Hanoi to seal the accord that will put the once-enemies even closer than they have ever been more than 50 years after the last American soldier left Vietnam.
The US has significantly improved relations with Vietnam through the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. It is the result of Washington’s tenacious efforts over the previous two years to deepen its connections with Vietnam, which it sees as essential to containing China’s power in Asia. It is a significant achievement. The highest degree of diplomatic ties Vietnam has established is with Washington.
China’s response to US-Vietnam ties:
When asked about Trong and Biden agreeing to a comprehensive strategic alliance comparable to Beijing’s relations with Vietnam, Mao Ning, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, urged Washington to abandon its “hegemonic and Cold War mentality.”
Mao said Washington to “abide by basic norms governing international relations” when dealing with Asian countries.
She stated, “We ask the US to respect regional countries’ shared aspiration for stability, cooperation, and development,” noting that Vietnam has “stressed on multiple occasions” that the top priority in the country’s foreign affairs” was its connection with Beijing.
US response to China’s allegation of cold war:
The relationship with Vietnam “epitomizes what modern partnership looks like from a United States perspective,” said Mira Rapp-Hooper, special assistant to the president and senior director for East Asia and Oceania at the National Security Council, in a statement to journalists on Wednesday. This relationship is not “any kind of Cold War move,” she added.
According to Rapp-Hooper, collaborating with the US did not force Vietnam to choose between Beijing and Washington.
It’s about what we all stand for together, not about Vietnam preferring the United States over anyone or anything, she said.
According to US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc E. Knapper, the new cooperation with Vietnam “isn’t about anyone else.” However, the ambassador’s remarks on the significance of US-Vietnam collaboration raised divisive topics like China and its escalating assertiveness in the Asia-Pacific region.
Vietnam is going to remain neutral:
Compared to his predecessor Donald Trump, Biden made a weak impact as president, according to My Linh, a 22-year-old Ho Chi Minh City-based law student who is presently taking a year off from her studies.
However, after Trump and Barack Obama, Biden was the third US president to visit Vietnam in a row, and the Vietnamese people were pleased with the attention from Washington and the “US relationship is quite good.”
Regardless of the current president’s party affiliation or who is in office, Linh added, “Joe Biden’s visit further demonstrates that Vietnam can maintain good diplomatic relations with the US.”
Linh told Al Jazeera that the US’s decision to join this collaboration despite the fact that Vietnam is still seen to be “a socialist country” was evidence of clever diplomacy on the part of Vietnam, and she expressed the hope that large US companies’ investments will result in more chances for the country’s economy and educational system.
Although China may claim that the US is luring Vietnam into its sphere of influence, Linh claimed that Vietnam was actually being drawn into both superpowers’ respective paths. But Vietnam would continue to be neutral.
