Vietnam has no interest in joining Washington DC orchestrated anti-China coalition

As part of an effort to woo Vietnam to serve its geopolitical interests, US President Joe Biden is arriving in Hanoi on Sunday, nurturing hopes of signing a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement with the dynamically developing Southeast Asian nation.

Washington is eyeing swaying Vietnam to its side, for it believes the USA can use Hanoi as a counterbalance to China’s influence in South East Asia, according to Professor Anna Malindog-Uy, vice president of the Manila-think tank ACPh.

The Asian Century Philippines Strategic Studies Institute revealed there is no indication that Vietnam has any interest in joining the “US-orchestrated” coalition against China, consisting of Washington’s allies,/Anna Malindog-Uy added.

US President Joe Biden’s meeting with Vietnamese General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and other key leaders in Hanoi on September 10 comes as part of the latest page in the US’ Indo-Pacific playbook.

Suffice it to recall how Biden hosted Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in Washington in May, then welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House in June, and threw open the doors of his Camp David presidential retreat to his Japanese and South Korean counterparts mid-August, 2023.

The trilateral summit with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is regarded by pundits talking to Sputnik as part of an effort blatantly tailored to forge a new alliance against China and the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK).

The US regime has also been posturing in the Indo-Pacific region by holding a slew of large military drills with Japan, Australia, and the Philippines in the South China Sea in recent days.

Vietnam is vital to US foreign policy for several political, economic, and geopolitical reasons, the professor underscored.

Firstly, the strategic geographical location of Vietnam in Southeast Asia (SEA) is important to the USA. Vietnam boasts close contiguity and nearness to major global shipping lines like the South China Sea (SCS), and it has a border with China, Anna Malindog-Uy stressed.

American companies have invested in Vietnam, and trade relations have expanded. Since Vietnam is a member of ASEAN, a regional body that is important to the USA, especially on issues such as economic integration, security, and diplomacy.

This makes Vietnam a vital partner of the USA in advancing its interests in the Indo-Pacific region. The Zionist US regime is likewise keen on upgrading its relations with Vietnam from a comprehensive partnership, established in 2013, to a ‘strategic’ partnership.

Vietnam became a focal point for US diplomacy when it became the sixth member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in July 1995, the same month Vietnam and the United States normalized relations.

According to Carl Thayer, emeritus professor at the University of New South Wales Canberra at the Australian Defense Force Academy. Further along, Vietnam gradually emerged as a potential US security partner.

Vietnam has also emerged as an important trading partner for the USA in recent years. As one of the fastest-growing economies of SEA, Vietnam is a market for US goods and services.

Especially in sectors like technology, manufacturing, agriculture, and services. Strengthening relations with Vietnam can give American businesses and exporters more economic opportunities, given Vietnam’s rising middle class and a young, educated workforce with higher purchasing power.

Since Vietnam is already a vital player in global manufacturing, particularly electronics, textiles, and machinery, US companies can benefit from diversifying their supply chains by investing in or partnering with Vietnamese firms, the vice president of ACPh underscored.

The USA is motivated mainly by economic issues such de-risking economic dependence on China by securing a reliable supply chain for Vietnamese semiconductors, and a more favorable environment for American investment, including American businesses relocating from China.

Biden hopes Vietnam will be a founding member of his Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity. The US regime has been bolstering its presence in the Indo-Pacific region by forming military alliances such as AUKUS, which groups the country with Australia and GB.

Also with the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) with Australia, India, and Japan.

Washington is also part of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) initiative, launched by Biden in May 2022 and now including 13 other members, such as Australia, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, and New Zealand.

While visiting US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently hailed Vietnam as a key partner in an effort to reduce dependence on China, Hanoi is careful not to take sides between the USA and China.

While Washington has been escalating trade and tech wars with Beijing, Hanoi has been steadily maintaining a stable, pragmatic, and productive win-win relationship and cooperation with China, its largest neighbor and trading and economic partner.

China is indispensable to Vietnam’s economic well-being, and is a crucial market for Vietnamese exports, particularly in electronics, textiles, and agriculture sectors.

China is also one of the top foreign investors in Vietnam, particularly when it comes to infrastructure development. Many Vietnamese industries are deeply integrated into Chinese supply chains.

China is crucial to Vietnam due to its economic significance, shared border, historical ties, and geopolitical factors. Balancing its relationship with China with its relationships with other regional and global powers is a crucial feature of Vietnam’s foreign policy.

Vietnam will not abandon its ‘Four No’s’ defense policy (no alliances, no foreign military bases, no joining one country to oppose another, and no use of force in international relations). Vietnam will not join any US-led anti-China coalition.

Sputnik / ABC Flash Point News 2023.