Vietnam PM’s US visit reiterates Hanoi’s role in stabilizing SE Asia

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chin has made a successful and groundbreaking visit to the United States (May 11-17) aimed at tackling bilateral differences and advancing the partnership, including US-ASEAN relations, which will play a major role in peace and stability in South Asia.

The visit showed that Vietnam has an important role to play in shaping US-ASEAN relations. At the same time, the Indo-Vietnamese partnership also helps strengthen India’s role in ASEAN and therefore reaffirms Vietnam’s role as a multilateral player enhancing China’s role in shaping foreign policy. The two countries celebrate 20 years of diplomatic relations in 2022. The visit also shows that Vietnam can handle human rights issues in a mature way. Vietnam is seen as a promising economy in Southeast Asia where GDP growth is expected to be between 6 and 8 percent.

During the visit, Vietnam was seen maintaining its balanced position on the Ukraine crisis, and the Prime Minister reiterated Vietnam’s position on territorial integrity and state sovereignty. “… Everyone must honor their own commitments and abide by international law and the UN Charter. They must respect each other’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and they must respect the chosen political system of another country, supported by the people of that country. They must contribute to the general work of the international community to the best of their ability. We need to maintain dialogue to better understand each other to resolve differences and disputes between states, “said Prime Minister Chin in his speech at the prestigious CSIS.

Referring to ASEAN’s centrality, the Vietnamese Prime Minister said, “Located between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, ASEAN continues to make every effort to play a central role in shaping regional architecture. Underlying the common ground, ASEAN is playing its part and making every effort, along with its partners, to create a global and regional landscape for peace, stability, cooperation and development based on international law and the UN Charter. Openness, based on dialogue, emphasizes inclusion. ”

There are two main problems in the East Sea. The first is the opposition to water and territories over the island. And the second is freedom of movement, navigation and overflight.

Addressing CSIS, Prime Minister Chin outlined Vietnam’s position on the issue. “Vietnam is ready to engage in dialogue and cooperation in resolving differences and disputes. So it is contributing towards peace, stability and development. At the same time, we want to ensure the balance of interests and the satisfactory handling of the concerns of various partners, countries and the international community, “he said. And an important sea for the countries outside of it – we always want to maintain peace, stability, security, safety, freedom of navigation and overflight. Resolve disputes peacefully through negotiations on the basis of legitimate rights and interests of the parties, respecting international law, in particular UNCLOS 1982. We stand for the effective and full observance of the Declaration on the Conduct of the Parties in the South China Sea – DOC – and are working to develop a Code of Conduct for the Parties in the South China Sea – COC – which is consistent, effective and compliant with international law including the 1982 UNCLOS. ”

The Vietnamese Prime Minister further said that he hoped that the major powers participating in ASEAN would work for a stable relationship and responsible, healthy competition in the interests of regional and global peace and security. He made the remarks while addressing the ASEAN-US Special Summit on May 13. The summit included a meeting between ASEAN leaders and US President Joe Biden and a session between ASEAN leaders and the US cabinet on climate, clean energy and infrastructure.

During his visit to the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he gave a presentation on building an independent, self-reliant economy in Vietnam, with comprehensive, effective, and real international integration. Vietnam and the United States have overcome their differences and reached the basic principles for their relationship, as confirmed in the Vietnam-US Joint Vision Statement when Nguyen Fu Trump, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, paid an official visit to the United States in 2015. “We emphasize respect for each other’s political institutions, independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity,” PM Chin noted.

At the summit, US leaders announced various proposals and initiatives for cooperation with ASEAN. The United States will invest 40 40 million to finance clean energy infrastructure development, another মিল 40 million to strengthen maritime cooperation, 150 150 million to implement ASEAN-US Health Future initiatives, increase ASEAN’s climate change response capacity and support infrastructure development. Will. , And 70 million USD for educational programs and people-to-people exchanges.

ASEAN leaders called on the United States to respond to COVID-19, to help improve disease response, to provide vaccines, and recently to establish the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Southeast Asia Regional Office in Hanoi, Vietnam. Thanks for the active support. . ASEAN member states hope that the United States will continue to support ASEAN’s epidemic prevention efforts.

Recent milestones in US-Vietnam bilateral relations include the complete lifting of the deadly arms embargo on Vietnam during President Barack Obama’s visit to the United States in May 2016; And the sending of the USS Carl Vinson to Da Nang in March 2018, marking the largest U.S. military presence in Vietnam since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. Bilateral trade increased from $ 450 million in 1994 to $ 111.56 billion in 2021. The visit of the Prime Minister has further opened up the possibility of US-Vietnam relations.

Vietnam stands firm on its foreign policy line of independence, peace, friendship, cooperation and development. It seeks to diversify and diversify relationships. It is a responsible member of the international community. Vietnam, like other developing countries, seeks to build an independent, self-reliant economic base, to advance the industrialization and international integration to overcome the middle-income trap to become a developed state.