[ad_1]
Image source, Twitter Pham Binh Minh
The visit to Vietnam is added at the last minute, when the US Foreign Minister finalizes his schedule to visit India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia.
On the eve of the US general election, Pompeo’s visit to Vietnam is said to be “superficial” to commemorate 25 years of US-Vietnam relations, but actually reinforces the Trump administration’s anti-China message. .
The visit to Vietnam was added at the last minute, when the US Secretary of State ended his schedule to visit India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia.
Vietnam announced that Pompeo’s two-day visit from October 29-30 was near, on October 28, when the US State Department had not yet included the Vietnamese name in its work schedule.
It wasn’t until October 29 that the US State Department announced that Pompeo’s visit to Vietnam was aimed at “supporting a strong, prosperous and independent Vietnam.” The two sides will celebrate 25 years of diplomacy and discuss the East Sea, the Mekong and other common concerns together.
On Twitter, Foreign Minister Tran Binh Minh tweeted on October 30: “Delighted to meet with US Secretary of State Pompeo in Hanoi to celebrate the 25th anniversary of US-Vietnam diplomacy together. I am sure you will. the partnership is full. The Vietnam area and the United States will achieve even greater achievements in the coming time. Determination and joint action for the common good will certainly take us far. “
Mr. Mike Pompeo also tweeted: “It is wonderful to return to Hanoi to celebrate the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the United States …”
Why is there this “sudden” visit?
Mission to ’emphasize the Trump administration’s aversion to China’
ABCNews wrote that in the context of the US general elections, with only three days left to take place, Peopeo’s “superficial” visit to Vietnam is to commemorate 25 years of US-Vietnam relations.
But it was a visit to conclude Pompeo’s ‘anti-China’ tour of Asia.
“We have great respect for the Vietnamese people and the sovereignty of their country,” Pompeo told Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
In the brief comments the reporters heard, neither Pompeo nor Phuc mentioned the Chinese name, but Pompeo’s use of the word “sovereignty” became a rule alluding to opposition to aggression. from China, especially in Asia.
During his visit to India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia, Peopeo is expected to highlight the Trump administration’s aversion to China, its handling of the corona virus pandemic, human rights records and its belligerence with smaller neighbors.
These are the themes that President Donald Trump emphasized when he tried to defeat his rival Joe Biden in the November 3 election. Trump has tried to point out that Biden is vulnerable to China and has repeatedly questioned the alleged links between Biden’s son Hunter and Chinese companies.
As a country with many concerns about Chinese policies in the region, Vietnam was ‘belatedly added’ to Pompeo’s roadmap.
The South China Morning Post wrote that the “extra last minute” visit to Vietnam was to reinforce Pompeo’s diplomatic messages in the four countries mentioned above.
Just before his visit, Pompeo said he would “discuss how free states can work together to prevent threats from China.”
“Pompeo must have been aware that Joe Biden could be the next president, and must leave a legacy, such as that the United States did not leave ASEAN and especially Vietnam,” Eduardo Araral an expert on relations between the United States, China and Vietnam in Singapore, he commented in the South China Morning Post.
Xu Liping, director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Pompeo’s visit was aimed at “reinforcing Trump’s foreign policy legacy” with a focus on war. the US Indo-Pacific Strategy.
“Vietnam, as ASEAN president this year, is very important to Pompeo and the United States will not miss this opportunity to express its views before the East Asia Summit and the series of meetings due to Asean next month.” said Mr. Xu Liping.
The ‘Against China’ Tour
In a statement made prior to Pompeo’s arrival in Vietnam, the US State Department attacked China for renouncing its commitments to cooperation with other Mekong countries and for actively pursuing worthwhile claims of sovereignty. in the South China Sea, writes ABCNews.
“Malice and destabilizing actions by China in the Mekong region, including manipulation of the Mekong, negatively affect millions of people who depend on the river for a living,” according to the statement.
“The United States stands by its Indo-Pacific allies and partners in protecting its sovereignty over offshore resources in the South China Sea, in accordance with its rights and obligations. They follow international law.” The statement also noted that earlier this year, Pompeo rejected almost all of Beijing’s maritime claims in the South China Sea.
Pompeo came to Vietnam from Indonesia, where he praised the country’s leader for rejecting what he called “China’s illegal claim to sovereignty in the South China Sea,” and opposed Beijing for treating it harshly. Religious minorities refer to China as “the greatest threat to the future of religious freedom.”
In the Maldives, Pompeo announced that the United States would open an embassy here for the first time, a move that reflects America’s growing concern over growing Chinese influence and what he calls’ ‘anarchy and anarchy’ in the Indo-Pacific.
In Sri Lanka, Pompeo accused China of being a ‘predator’ in smaller countries by exploiting them through loans and development projects intended to benefit China more than its recipients.
Just before the meeting in New Delhi began, the Trump administration informed Congress of a plan to sell the $ 2.37 million Harpoon missile system to Taiwan.
