Vietnam affirms strategic partnership with U.S., casting doubt on Putin's recent diplomatic gains
Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son has described the United States as a strategic partner for his country. The key diplomat made this declaration during the visit of U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink to Hanoi. This visit came shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin's trip to Vietnam.
According to the newspaper VietnamPlus, Bui Thanh Son emphasized that Vietnam continues to regard the United States as a strategically important partner, expressing readiness to work together for peace, stability, cooperation, and development both regionally and globally.
"Vietnam always considers the United States to be a strategic partner and is prepared to cooperate with the United States to promote a comprehensive strategic partnership. This cooperation aims at effective, stable, and substantive development based on respect for each other's independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political institutions, which serves the interests of both nations' peoples for peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region," said Bui Thanh Son.
Kritenbrink, in turn, stated that the United States is "interested in supporting an independent, self-sufficient, prosperous, and strong Vietnam" and is open to cooperation in areas ranging from trade and investment to security.
"During the meeting, Bui Thanh Son and Kritenbrink discussed specific measures for the effective realization of bilateral development goals in the near future. This includes enhancing contacts and high-level delegation exchanges, promoting the momentum of trade, economic, and investment cooperation, and addressing war aftereffects. They also explored climate change response and transitioning to clean energy," reports VietnamPlus.
Putin visited Vietnam on June 20, right after his trip to North Korea. His reception in Hanoi was notably more subdued compared to that in North Korea.
As reported on the Kremlin website, Putin met with Vietnamese President To Lam and several senior officials to discuss further cooperation.
The visit concluded with the signing of over a dozen agreements on bilateral cooperation in education, healthcare, and energy. Additionally, the two nations agreed to establish a nuclear science and technology center in Vietnam, which will be built by Rosatom. None of the disclosed documents pertained to defense; however, President To Lam indicated that other confidential agreements were also reached. Vietnamese officials similarly referred to Vietnam's partnership with Russia as strategic.