Secretary of State Antony Blinken, official visit to Vietnam
US Secretary of Sate, Mr. Antony Blinken
The head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, arrived in Vietnam on Friday to emphasize the increasingly close relations with the communist country, which is in full tension with China because of Taiwan, reports France Presse. Blinken, who is stopping in Hanoi before attending the next meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Japan, is due to hold talks with Vietnamese leaders on Saturday to pave the way for a possible upgrade of diplomatic ties with the country. Relations between the United States and Vietnam have strengthened in recent years, including in the military and economic fields, after the two countries largely reconciled despite the scars of war.
Blinken will discuss in the Vietnamese capital “our shared vision of an Indo-Pacific region that is prosperous, peaceful, and resilient,” the State Department said. The head of American diplomacy hopes to build on a phone call last month between US President Joe Biden and the leader of the Vietnamese Communist Party in power, Nguyen Phu Trong, in an attempt to raise relations to a “strategic” partnership, AFP notes. According to analysts, Hanoi may be reluctant, fearing to antagonize Beijing, its northern neighbor and another key economic partner, despite rival claims in the South China Sea. “The United States simply sees that it needs Vietnam to counterbalance China in the South China Sea,” Khang Vu, a doctoral student in international security at Boston College, told AFP. “But it is better if Vietnam stays on good terms with China. The Vietnamese government understands that there is no way to win a military battle,” he added. The visit of the head of American diplomacy to Asia takes place in full tension with China because of Taiwan. China’s military said on Monday it had “successfully completed” its three-day military maneuvers aimed at encircling the autonomous island of Taiwan, claimed by Beijing as one of its provinces, in retaliation for Taiwan’s president’s stopover in the United States last week. This is the US Secretary of State’s first visit to Vietnam since taking office two years ago, but Vice President Kamala Harris has already been there. Blinken will also kick off construction on a new US embassy in Hanoi.
By Roberto Caseli
