One chapter ends...

America and Vietnam

Jun 23rd 2005
From The Economist print edition

The next is not so clear

DEALING with Vietnam has always caused Americans problems. The war that left about 60,000 American troops and up to 5m Vietnamese dead still haunts a generation of politicians, from John McCain, who famously fought, to Bill Clinton and George Bush, who famously didn't. When Mr Clinton normalised relations with Vietnam in 1995, American conservatives howled about him consorting with the communists. This week, when Phan Van Khai became the first Vietnamese prime minister to visit America in three decades, liberal protesters claimed Mr Bush was ignoring human rights.

America has two reasons for cosying up to Mr Phan. The first is economic. Trade rose from $451m in 1995 to $6.4 billion in 2004, boosted by a bilateral trade agreement signed in 2001. This week, Mr Bush pleased his guest by supporting Vietnam's bid to join the World Trade Organisation. Mr Phan also signed agreements on computer technology with Bill Gates and toured Harvard.

The other reason is military. A new deal hammered out with Donald Rumsfeld, the secretary of defence, goes well beyond the search for American soldiers still missing in Vietnam. Some Vietnamese officers will now attend senior defence colleges in America for training. Defence officials from each side will meet more often and will work to see where they can co-operate on security.

The two countries have a common concern: China. The Vietnamese have not forgotten that, after the American withdrawal, it was the Chinese who invaded their homeland. America, for its part, is increasingly suspicious of China's growing military budget. Having more cordial relations with what one Pentagon official described as a “significant and capable” armed force on China's border could be useful.

Congress seems more uneasy about Vietnam's human-rights record than the administration is. Religious persecution remains a problem in Vietnam and freedom of expression and use of the internet are strictly curtailed. The deal is a boost to Mr Phan's government. Might not those young officers now being trained in America merely use their new skills to hound political dissidents more ruthlessly? The administration, somewhat inevitably, replies that dialogue is the way forward and that Mr Phan assured Mr Bush that progress was being made. Vietnam may be a communist dictatorship, but, economically speaking, it is a long way from Myanmar.

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