Hanoi, Vietnam – Four decades after first visiting as a congressman at the height of a divisive war, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld toured Vietnam on Monday amid increasingly warming relations between the one-time enemies and made unexpected progress toward improving military relations.
U.S. officials had been careful to lower expectations ahead of Rumsfeld’s visit, particularly given Vietnam’s occasionally tense relations with its northern neighbor China. But following meetings with Defense Ministry officials and Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, Pentagon officials emerged upbeat, saying Hanoi appeared eager to deepen defense cooperation, despite the possibility of antagonizing Beijing.
“Both sides agreed we wanted to expand things,” said one Pentagon official involved in the talks.
Eleven years after the U.S. and Vietnam normalized diplomatic relations, defense cooperation remains limited. For example, a Navy destroyer is to arrive in Vietnam next month, the fourth U.S. ship to make a port call in four years, and two Vietnamese officers arrive in Texas this month for English-language training.
As a result, the moves agreed to during Rumsfeld’s current visit were small steps. But the defense secretary characterized them as important steps, particularly alongside a recently signed trade deal and progress toward Vietnam’s membership in the World Trade Organization.
President Bush will travel to Hanoi later this year.
