2023-09-10 04:42:00
US President Joe Biden will arrive in Vietnam on Sunday to take a new step in the bilateral relationship, against a backdrop of rivalry with China.
The American president, who took part in the G20 summit in New Delhi this weekend, will land in Hanoi on Sunday to meet the leader of the ruling Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong.
He should sign a “comprehensive strategic partnership”. So far, Vietnam has only entered into such a partnership, which reflects the highest degree of diplomatic closeness, with Russia, India, South Korea and China.
While careful not to be seen as siding with Washington or Beijing, Hanoi shares US concerns over Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea – where Hanoi has rival claims.
The United States and Vietnam – a manufacturing hub – also enjoy increasingly close trade relations. Washington sees Hanoi as an important partner as the Americans seek to establish global industrial circuits to reduce their dependence on China.
On Sunday, a welcome ceremony, speeches and a press conference by the American president, who on Tuesday awarded the highest American military honor to a helicopter pilot who saved four soldiers during the Vietnam war, are on the program.
The next day, Joe Biden will meet with President Vo Van Thuong and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. On the eve of the arrival of the 80-year-old US president, Hanoi’s central Hoan Kiem Lake district, popular with families, was adorned with American and Vietnamese flags.
Not far away, in a historic district, a souvenir shop sold T-shirts bearing the face of Joe Biden.
“I think the United States is a good friend of Vietnam,” said Truong Thanh Duc, 61, owner of the shop.
juggling interests
“This visit by President Joe Biden is expected to bring more business deals and jobs to the Vietnamese people.”
The American leader will, however, have to juggle strategic interests and the defense of human rights. Vietnam displays a disastrous record in this last area.
Opponents face intimidation, harassment and imprisonment after unfair trials, and cases of torture to extract confessions have been reported, according to Human Rights Watch.
Joe Biden, who has often criticized China’s human rights record, has remained silent on Vietnam. Activists fear that he will not expand on the subject.
His top diplomatic adviser, Jake Sullivan, said ahead of the trip that the White House host would raise issues related to free speech, freedom of religion and other fundamental rights.
This visit comes shortly after the publication of a harsh report by the US government’s Commission on Religious Freedom (USCIRF). She denounces “persistent and seemingly worsening” violations of religious freedom in Vietnam.
On Saturday, Nguyen Bac Truyen, a legal expert and religious freedom advocate who was sentenced in 2018 to 11 years in prison for subversion, announced on Facebook that he had been released and allowed to travel to Germany with his wife.
Vietnam often releases political prisoners before U.S. presidential visits.
For his visit to Hanoi, Joe Biden left the G20 summit prematurely, where the leaders failed to agree to denounce Russian aggression in Ukraine or to call for an exit from fossil fuels.
Since 1995, all American presidents have passed through this Southeast Asian country.
This legacy will be present on Monday, the American president having planned to gather in Hanoi in front of the monument dedicated to John McCain, a former hero of this conflict who became a figure of the Republican Party and who helped rebuild ties between the two countries.
10/09/2023 04:41:10 – Hanoi (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
#Biden #Vietnam #strengthen #bilateral #relationship #China