US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits Hanoi to boost military relations

Washington is pushing to increase its military relationship with the Vietnamese more than five decades after the Nixon administration pulled U.S. troops out of Vietnam.

In a meeting just two weeks after the 50th anniversary of the American troop withdrawal from Vietnam that ended direct military involvement in the country, Blinken and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh pledged to boost relations to new levels.

It came as Blinken broke ground on a sprawling new USF 1.2 billion US embassy compound in the Vietnamese capital, a project the Biden administration hopes will demonstrate its commitment to further improving ties less than 30 years after diplomatic relations were restored in 1995.

The US sees Hanoi as an important component of its strategy for the region and is trying to leverage Vietnam's traditional rivalry with China to extend US influence there.

We now hope to be able to take (relations) to an even higher level, Blinken said. This has been a very comprehensive and effective relationship and going forward we will continue to deepen relations, Chinh said.

A large element of the Indo-Pacific is the role and responsibility of the US. He added that Vietnam’s communist government is keen to further elevate our bilateral ties to a new height. Along with a number of China’s smaller neighbors, Vietnam has maritime and territorial disputes with the Chinese in the South China Sea.