A senior US diplomat on Saturday held talks in Vietnam and said that the trust between the two countries was at an “all-time high,” just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s state visit to Hanoi.
US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink said that his trip was unrelated to Putin’s visit on Thursday.
Vietnam last year elevated the US to its highest diplomatic status, comprehensive strategic partner, putting it at the same level as China and Russia. The elevation of the US ties suggested that Vietnam wanted to hedge its friendships as Western companies look to diversify their supply chains away from China.
Photo: AP
Kritenbrink was speaking at a briefing for selected media in Hanoi.
Putin’s trip to Hanoi had triggered a sharp rebuke from the US embassy in Hanoi, which said that “no country should give Putin a platform to promote his war of aggression and otherwise allow him to normalize his atrocities,” referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Kritenbrink echoed those concerns, but said that he made it clear to Vietnamese officials that the “main reason” for his trip was the partnership between the US and Vietnam. He met Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son.
“Only Vietnam can decide how best to safeguard its sovereignty and advance its interests,” Kritenbrink said, while stressing the economic relations between Vietnam and its largest export market, the US.
Trade between the two countries was US$111 billion last year — compared with just US$3.6 billion between Vietnam and Russia.
The US and Vietnam discussed ways to develop their strategic partnership, the Vietnamese government said in a statement.
The US reiterated its commitment to supporting a strong and prosperous Vietnam, while Kritenbrink also affirmed that the US welcomes and appreciates Vietnam’s increasingly important role at multilateral and regional forums, it said.
The statement quoted Bui as saying that the US has always been a strategically important partner, and that Vietnam is ready to work together to promote the comprehensive strategic partnership.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
In a market in the Chadian capital, N’Djamena, customers flock to Ache Moussa’s stall to have their long plaits smeared with a special paste in an age-old ritual. Each strand of hair, from the root to the end, is slathered in a traditional mixture of cherry seeds, cloves and chebe seeds, the most important ingredient of all. Users say the recipe makes their hair grow longer and more lustrous. Local and natural hair products are gaining popularity across Africa as people turn away from commercial cosmetics. Moussa applies the mixture and shapes the client’s locks into a gourone — a traditional hairstyle consisting of
The US yesterday wrapped up its first multidomain exercise with Japan and South Korea in the East China Sea, a step forward in Washington’s efforts to enhance and lock in its security partnerships with key Asian allies in the face of growing threats from North Korea and China. The three-day Freedom Edge increased the sophistication of previous exercises with simultaneous air and naval drills geared toward improving joint ballistic-missile defense, anti-submarine warfare, surveillance and other skills and capabilities. The exercise, which is expected to expand in years to come, was also intended to improve the countries’ abilities to share missile warnings —
‘APOCALYPTIC : An UN official said that Lebanon was ‘the flashpoint beyond all flashpoints,’ and a conflict that involved it would draw in Syria and other nations Israel on Wednesday said that it does not want war in Lebanon, but could send its neighbor “back to the Stone Age.” The border between the two countries has seen daily exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants since the attack on Israel by Hezbollah’s ally Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, which triggered the war in Gaza. Fears those exchanges could escalate have grown in the past few weeks as cross-border attacks intensified and after Israel revealed it had approved plans for a Lebanon offensive, prompting new threats from Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah. Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant said
‘ONE FELL SWOOP’: Overturning a landmark ruling that said judges should defer to experts would ‘cause a massive shock to the legal system,’ a dissenting opinion said Prosecutors overstepped in charging Jan. 6, 2021, rioters with obstruction for trying to prevent certification of the 2020 presidential election, the US Supreme Court said on Friday, throwing hundreds of cases into doubt, while another controversial ruling struck down 40 years of legal precedent on federal agencies’ ability to regulate critical issues. The matter was brought to the court through an appeal by former police officer Joseph Fischer, a supporter of former US president Donald Trump who entered the Capitol with hundreds of others in 2021. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said prosecutors’ interpretation of the law would “criminalize