Murray Hiebert

The United States and Vietnam are rapidly building a partnership based on trade and security agreements. President Obama visited Vietnam on his way to the G7 meeting in Japan. During the visit, Obama lifted a ban on the sale of weapons to the country of 90 million and Vietnam will welcome US Peace Corps volunteers who teach English. Vietnam values the relationship more for trade than security purposes, and China should not worry much about the closer ties. “Vietnam is sensitive to how China might react to Hanoi moving too quickly to deepen security ties with Washington,” concludes Murray Hiebert, a senior fellow and deputy director of the Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asian Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “Vietnam does not see itself as becoming an ally of the United States, but rather as executing a fine-tuned balancing act between Washington and its giant northern neighbor... Obama’s visit marks yet another delicate dance performed by Vietnam with an eye to its 2,000 years of often-troubled history with China.”

China is convinced that it holds a huge edge over the United States in economic ties with neighbors.