Fulcrum.sg PUBLISHED 28 AUG 2023 LE HONG HIEP

If Hanoi agrees to a comprehensive strategic partnership with the U.S., it would represent a remarkable breakthrough in bilateral ties. Still, such a partnership would not represent a significant shift in Hanoi’s foreign policy.

United States President Joe Biden recently announced that he would be visiting Vietnam “shortly”, likely on his return trip from the G20 Summit in India on 9-10 September. While the specifics of the trip have not been confirmed, international media have speculated that the visit may result in an upgrade of bilateral relations. Unofficial reports suggest that the two countries, which are currently in a “comprehensive partnership”, may skip the “strategic partnership” level to move directly to the “comprehensive strategic partnership” (CSP) level.

If true, this will represent a remarkable breakthrough in bilateral ties, as the CSP is the highest level of partnership in Vietnam’s diplomatic hierarchy. The country only forms such partnerships with those that it views as of great importance for its security, prosperity, and international standing. So far, Vietnam has only established CSPs with four countries: China, India, Russia and South Korea.

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Tuesday, June 06, 2023, 15:02 GMT+7 tuoitre

Vietnam always attaches significance to developing its comprehensive cooperation with the U.S., one of its most important partners in the world, State President Vo Van Thuong told Ambassador Marc Knapper.  

President Thuong was speaking at his meeting with the ambassador at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on Monday, during which he also brought forward some suggestions for further promoting the Vietnam – U.S. comprehensive partnership that was set up in 2013, the Vietnam News Agency reported. 

COMMENTARY

(Foreign Policy) RAND Corporation

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Vietnam’s Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 15, 2023

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Pool via REUTERS

by Derek Grossman

May 12, 2023

During a ceremony held in Washington to commemorate the Lunar New Year in 2011, then–Vietnamese Ambassador to the United States Le Cong Phung surprised the audience by announcing that the two countries would raise their ties to the level of “strategic partnership.” Phrases describing partnerships can be nebulous, of course. But from what we know about Vietnamese diplomacy, Hanoi’s definition of strategic partnership is not just boilerplate, but signifies concrete, mutual, long-term strategic interests.

Vietnamese officials, however, never followed up on Phung’s newsworthy announcement. Instead, Washington and Hanoi announced a comprehensive partnership in 2013—a relationship that implies a less-serious geopolitical alignment for Vietnam. The United States has been left wondering why.