Following their recent meeting in Hanoi, US President Joe Biden and Vietnam’s top leader Nguyen Phu Trong jointly stated that they” understood[ our] unwavering support for the peaceful resolution of[ South China Sea ] disputes in accordance with international law, without the threat or use of force.” & nbsp,
In a new Cold War period, the two sides emphasized their shared commitment to” freedom of navigation, overflight, and unhindered valid business in the South China Sea.”
Biden improved bilateral ties to a” Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” ( CSP) during his historic visit, effectively putting Washington on par with Hanoi’s longtime allies in Russia and fellow communist China.
The two former adversaries, who engaged in a decades-long conflict across Indochina in the second half of the 20th century, referred to one another as” critical partners” in” a critical time ,” reflecting the sea change in US-Vietnam relations over the previous ten years.
Although both flanks insisted that their growing coalition has nothing to do with other nations, China is unquestionably the main factor.
The Biden presidency is counting on Vietnam to” de-risk” US supply ring rely on the Eastern power in addition to hemming in an interventionist China in the South China Sea.
Consequently, a significant meeting of the best American silicon companies took place in Hanoi during the US government’s visit.
The Biden administration, which has emphasized the importance of promoting democracy in its foreign policy agenda, appears to have overlooked intensifying South Asian animal rights crackdowns in a political exercise.
Biden’s trip to Hanoi came soon after he traveled to India, another important non-ally, for the G20 Summit in New Delhi.
Similar to Vietnam, the Biden presidency appeared to ignore India’s troubling political relapse in recent years while courting autocratic Arab allies.
Generally speaking, Washington’s extremely post-ideological foreign policy appears to be driven primarily by restraint on Chinese interests.
Skillful politics
The Biden administration recently alienated many allies by promoting a moralistic, intellectually tinged foreign policy that sought to set itself apart from its predecessor’s transactional approach through the advancement of democracy and privileges.
Nevertheless, the Democratic White House quickly alienated important allies in the Indo-Pacific. On the one hand, Singapore and Vietnam suffered because they were left out of the international” Summit for Democracy” in Washington.
In democratic countries like India, where leading officers lambasted any criticism of their nation’s deteriorating human right conditions, the Biden administration also raised eyebrows.
Vietnam and India both worried about American sanctions against Russia. For its piece, New Delhi increased energy exports from the European power in addition to refusing to join the international sanctions regime against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Nevertheless, a more logical approach has started to establish Washington’s proper stance in the past year as China has become the main focus of the Biden administration.
According to all indications, Washington has backed off on its threats to impose sanctions on any American purchases of expensive Russian weapons in favor of closer protection cooperation.
The goal is to lessen South Asian energy’s reliance on Russian systems while bolstering Indian capacity to counter a resurgent China and their contentious Himalayan border dispute.
Importantly, Washington even sees India as a crucial ally in improving allied countries’ maritime security capabilities, such as the Philippines, which has bought the Brahmos hypersonic missile system made in India.
At the G20 Summit, where Washington, along with important Muslim and European allies, agreed to co-fund a massive regional infrastructure project that connects India to Europe via the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf, the Biden administration’s proper embrace of India was on full display.
It appears that the program’s goal is to get around Iran and Pakistan, two important countries in the Belt and Road perspective of China.
It’s a big deal, really. It’s an enormous issue. Following the announcement of the mega-project during the G20 Summit in India, Biden said,” This task may contribute to making the Middle East a more productive, firm, and integrated place.”
Truth check
Biden traveled to Vietnam a few days afterward to improve yet another crucial regional partnership. Importantly, his journey happened to coincide with a meeting of directors from Amkor, Intel, Google, GlobalFoundries, Marvell, and nbsp, Boeing who are apparently looking into ways to diversify away from China.
While Amkor is building a semiconductor assembly and testing factory, Intel already owns an in & nbsp, Vietnam, factory worth US$ 1.5 billion.
While GlobalFoundries is looking into alternatives to support Vietnam’s ambitions to become a significant chip-making superstar outside of Taiwan, South Korea, and China, Marvell is even looking at establishing an engineering organization for semiconductors.
Despite all the friendliness and grandiose declarations, neither Vietnam nor India are in the mood or position to meet an open anti-China campaign.
India, on the other hand, is fiercely protecting its proper independence by forging strong ties with numerous superpowers. Additionally, it appears that the South Asian country is not in the mood to confront China immediately anytime soon and is instead concentrating on domestic economic growth and military development.
Vietnam, on the other hand, also tries to avoid joining forces with any significant strength. In order to improve diplomatic ties, paramount chief Trong actually met Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time last year.
Importantly, Vietnam is going through a significant democratic transition that has given more conservative, Western-skeptic factions and politicians more power.
Unfortunately, the expansion of US-Vietnam relations over the past ten years has coincided with the steady exclusion of more reform-focused and liberal-minded individuals from the Vietnamese Communist Party.
People of the security establishment, who are deeply concerned about the possibility of” color upheavals” and Western-backed democratic rebellion amid rapid economic growth, which has created an progressively large and powerful middle school, have been largely empowered by recent massacres.
According to reports, the Taiwanese siloviki may be quietly pursuing a multi-billion money security agreement with Russia that could go against US sanctions and be worthwhile$ 8 billion over 20 years.
The Asian security institution, which is mostly Soviet-trained and dependent on Russian-built arms, made it clear in a leaked report that they” also identify Russia as the most significant strategic partner in defense and security.”
The Biden presidency earlier gently cautioned Vietnam against pursuing mega-defense agreements with Russia, its main vendor over the previous 50 years. However, Hanoi has correctly identified the Biden administration’s reluctance, if not incapacity, to take firm action against like-minded nations on Russia-related issues lest it jeopardize its overall China plan.
Daniel Kritenbrink, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs for Vietnam’s relations with Russia, said,” We’ve made very clear what our place is on that subject. I’ll leave it to Vietnam and my companions in Hanoi to post on their own views and place.”
The top-ranking US diplomat, however, coyly responded,” Vietnam is one of our most important companions in the region, and I’m very enthusiastic about our future ,” when asked if Vietnam was encounter sanctions for its relations with Russia.
Richard Javad Heydarian can be followed on Twitter at @ RicheyDarian.