That said, both sides have taken recent steps to address this that could pave the way for future deals – including the holding of a defense industry symposium earlier this month to facilitate interactions between Vietnamese officials and USA defense firms.
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The US leader was at pains to insist that the lifting of the embargo was not linked to Beijing’s belligerence, although few security analysts shared that interpretation.
He was first jailed in 1977, two years after Vietnam fell to communist rule.
The President, it is important to note, is not allowed to receive personal gifts from foreign officials or governments without the consent of Congress – who at this point wouldn’t agree to let Obama do anything – but he is typically allowed to accept unsolicited gifts from the American public if they are under $20.
Obama also said the United States and Vietnam continue to have differences over human rights. Writing in the “Straits Times”, he described the U.S. as “dictatorial and overbearing” and dismissed tensions over the disputed seas as “intentionally churned and hyped”. The decision to lift the arms trade ban, which followed intense debate within the Obama administration, suggested such concerns outweighed arguments that Vietnam had not done enough to improve its human rights record and Washington would lose leverage for reforms.
“In one fell swoop, President Obama has jettisoned what remained of USA leverage to improve human rights in Vietnam – and (has) basically gotten nothing for it”, Phil Robertson, with Human Rights Watch, said.
But the US also can’t ignore the Chinese challenge, or a growing shared interest with Vietnam.
Obama’s soon-to-be televised appearance alongside an occasionally gory gourmand will not be a first – the President in 2015 was a guest of Bear Grylls on “Running Wild”. Activists said the president was being too quick to gloss over serious human rights abuses in his push to establish warmer ties.
Obama said the decision was part of the ongoing “normalisation” of ties between two countries that have seen a remarkable transition from wartime foes to allies.
Barack Obama waves to the press on Saturday before leaving for his week-long trip to Japan and Vietnam.
“The decision to lift the ban was not based on China or any other considerations”, Obama said in Hanoi Monday.
President Obama and Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang shake hands at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Monday. That’s when President Lyndon B. Johnson misled the American people and Congress about a naval skirmish to justify a mammoth deployment of USA troops into what became the Vietnam War, which eventually killed 58,220 US troops.
“The U.S. should also reiterate the message that closer security cooperation is to bolster Vietnam’s external security and that the proper role of the Vietnamese military is to protect the nation, not the current political regime”, Hoang said by e-mail.
Both countries are warily eyeing China’s military build-up in the disputed South China Sea.
The move, Obama added, was not prompted by China’s regional manoeuvres but came as the countries entered a “new moment” taking them towards a “normalisation” of ties.
The White House also announced an agreement between GE Wind and the Vietnamese government to develop 1,000 megawatts of wind-generated electricity. “Instead, he says it’s a nod towards the deepening and broadening ties between the US and Hanoi, 20 years after the resumption of normal diplomatic relations”.
While China’s position and its actions have angered Vietnam, the Philippines and other nations that also have claims in the area, the USA has remained neutral about the territorial claims, saying Washington wants to ensure freedom of navigation in those areas. -Vietnamese relationship and creates “strong momentum” for a more comprehensive partnership in the future, according to Quang.
But the analysts added that Vietnam will remain cautious and reserved toward the U.S.
Amid all the happy talk and smiling photos, let’s not be deceived about who’s really in charge in Vietnam – and what they did.
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Vietnam is still very much a one-party state.
