Who would have thought that the United States would consider lifting an arms embargo on Vietnam after fighting a losing war there. And it’s under consideration because Vietnam is concerned about encroachment by a fellow communist country, China, which helped arm the victorious North Vietnamese against the U.S.
Monday’s visit by President Barack Obama marks the third such trip by an American president since diplomatic relations were re-established in 1995.
Weighing heavily on Obama against lifting the 41-year arms embargo is Vietnam’s human rights record. One prominent political prisoner was released Friday. But Vietnam is said to detain the most political prisoners in Southeast Asia. Media is repressed and public protest is subject to crackdown.
Vietnam and the U.S. have a common interest in reversing China’s provocative behavior in the South China Sea. Both countries have common interest in developing stronger trade and cultural ties. Where does human rights fit into the equation?
“VOA will present the policies of the United States clearly and effectively, and will also present responsible discussion and opinion on these policies.” — VOA Charter
Showing Archived Posts
Obama’s Triangulation in Vietnam
U.S. and Turkey Clash Over Islamic State Lifeline to Syria
By Barbara Slavin It’s called the Manbij pocket and it’s a major impediment to the U.S. goal of defeating the Islamic State (IS) in Syria. The enclave in northern Syria, which borders Turkey for 60 miles, has remained open to IS infiltration. It is a lifeline for the IS “capital” of Raqqa that the Barack […]
Reading the U.S.-China Tea Leaves
President Barack Obama has an opportunity to take several steps toward his oft-anticipated and oft-postponed Asia pivot later this month. A visit to Vietnam before attending the G7 summit in Japan puts Asia squarely on the agenda.
And when Asia is on the agenda, China is at the center. From an economic engine to a military superpower, China impacts nearly everything that happens in Asia.
As for how that interests the U.S., Defense Secretary Ash Carter told graduating cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy that managing historic change the Asia-Pacific “will be in your lifetimes the single region of the world of most consequence for America. It’s where more than half of humankind lives, half the global economy, ad that’s only increasing.”
Last month, Carter gave witness to the importance of the U.S. in the Asia-Pacific when he toured the USS John C. Stennis, operating in the South China Sea.
It all has experts reading the Chinese tea leaves.
Obama to Hiroshima: Acknowledge or Apologize?
President Obama’s decision to be the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima attracted plenty of chatter even before the final decision was announced.
Once Secretary of State John Kerry paid his respects during an April meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Japan, it seemed inevitable that Obama would do the same during this month’s G7 summit.
The United States remains the only nation to use a nuclear weapon, forcing Japan to surrender, ending World War II. A Smithsonian Institution exhibit to mark the 50th anniversary of the Enola Gay’s mission to drop the first atomic bomb drew widespread criticism for raising questions about the necessity of using such a weapon of mass destruction. President Harry Truman’s decision to do so remains one of the world’s most scrutinized, 71 years later.
Visiting Hiroshima, Obama will have to balance the burden of his predecessor’s decision with acknowledgement of the result — and vision of the future.
Ben Rhodes: The Sycophantic Political Operative Shaping Obama’s Foreign Policy
Samuels wrote that Rhodes is … “the single most influential voice shaping American foreign policy aside from POTUS himself.” He also notes that Rhodes’s “lack of conventional real-world experience of the kind that normally precedes responsibility for the fate of nations … is still startling.”
Washington-Riyadh Chill: The Sequel
There is no doubt that the relationship is at one of its lowest points in terms of what the leaders think of each other….In the end the two sides soldiered on together despite their disagreements because neither side would have benefited from a permanent breach.
UK and America Can Be Better Friends than Ever, Mr. Obama…If We Leave the EU
The US guards its democracy with more hysterical jealousy than any other country on earth….For the United States to tell us in the UK that we must surrender control of so much of our democracy – it is a breathtaking example of the principle of do-as-I-say-but-not-as-I-do.
As Your Friend, Let Me Say that the EU Makes Britain Even Greater
The European Union doesn’t moderate British influence – it magnifies it. A strong Europe is not a threat to Britain’s global leadership; it enhances Britain’s global leadership.
Obama’s ‘Complicated’ Saudi Trip
“It’s complicated.” That’s the way President Barack Obama is said to have recently described the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia. And it appears Saudi Arabia feels the same way. Hanging over this week’s visit by Obama to Riyadh and his attendance at the Gulf Cooperation Summit were comments the president made in a recent Atlantic cover story, describing the Saudis and other Gulf nations “free riders” on U.S. military action in the region, and saying the Saudis need to “share” the Middle East with Iran. In a post-summit news conference Thursday, the president described any strain about his comments as “overblown” and he pointed to U.S. “cooperation in interdicting Iranian efforts to arm the Houthi militias inside Yemen” as creating some confidence. In his statement at the end of the summit, Obama said he reaffirmed the policy of the United States to use all elements of our power to secure our core interests in the Gulf region and to deter and confront external aggression against our allies and partners.” Can statements like that from a president who is in office for just another nine months do much to warm what is by all indications a frosty relationship?
Why Obama Will Almost Certainly Visit Hiroshima
It’s a sign that, despite the passage of decades, the American role in unleashing nuclear terror remained a sore subject. Obama’s Hiroshima visit, following so closely the 70th anniversary memorials last August, could provide the context for a less emotional assessment.
Transformational Change? Time Will Tell
The crux of the criticisms (about Africa policy) that developed during Obama’s first term and followed him through his second can be boiled down primarily to two arguments: he did less than Bush, and he’s doing less than China.
Principle and Pragmatism, Here and Abroad
The division in the reformist camp in Iran is similar to some disagreements in other political systems, including our own, between people who share between themselves the most important objectives but differ over strategy and tactics in terms of how many of those objectives can be accomplished and how quickly they can be accomplished…
Road to Riyadh: Bridging the Gulf
Regardless of what the administration says is its record of accomplishment in this area, the partners are not getting the memo. If your partner doesn’t think you are living up to your end of the partnership that’s an issue. Hopefully the Riyadh summit will play a role in diminishing those concerns.
The End of the American Empire
Congress may be on strike against the rest of the government, but our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines remain hard at work….The major achievement of multiple interventions in the Muslim world has been to demonstrate that the use of force is not the answer to many problems, but there are few problems it cannot aggravate
Putin Fills Another Leadership Void in Nagorno-Karabakh
The overstretched Obama White House may view Putin’s gains as a price worth paying to quell the current violence and keep an additional crisis off its plate. Such benign neglect, however, creates opportunities for Kremlin exploitation in a region that connects Turkey, Russia, Iran, Central Asia and Caspian energy supplies.