As part of an effort to woo Vietnam to join its illegal military and sanctions crusade against China, US President Joe Biden visited Hanoi

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nurturing hopes of signing a “comprehensive strategic partnership agreement” with the dynamically developing Southeast Asian nation.

Washington is eyeing “swaying Vietnam to its side,” for it believes the US can use Hanoi as “a counterbalance to China’s influence in South East Asia,” Professor Anna Malindog-Uy, vice president of the Manila-based think tank Asian Century Philippines Strategic Studies Institute (ACPh), told Sputnik.

However, there is no indication that Vietnam has any interest in joining the “US-orchestrated” coalition against China, consisting of Washington’s allies, Anna Malindog-Uy added.

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US President Joe Biden’s meeting with Vietnamese General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and other key leaders in Hanoi on September 10 comes as part of the latest page in the US’ Indo-Pacific playbook.

Suffice it to recall how Biden hosted Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in Washington in May, then welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House in June, and threw open the doors of his Camp David presidential retreat to his Japanese and South Korean counterparts mid-August.

The trilateral summit with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is regarded by pundits talking to Sputnik as part of an effort blatantly tailored to forge a new alliance against China and the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK).

The US has also been posturing in the Indo-Pacific region by holding a slew of large military drills with Japan, Australia, and the Philippines in the South China Sea in recent days.

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Vietnam is vital to US foreign policy for several political, economic, and geopolitical reasons, the professor underscored. Firstly, the “strategic geographical location” of Vietnam in Southeast Asia (SEA) is important to the US. Vietnam boasts “close contiguity and nearness to major global shipping lines like the South China Sea (SCS), and it has a border with China,” Anna Malindog-Uy stressed.

Geopolitically Strategic Location

Vietnam plays a crucial role in US foreign policy due to its “strategic location, economic significance, and potential to counterbalance China,” according to Professor Anna Malindog-Uy.

“American companies have invested in Vietnam, and trade relations have expanded. Since Vietnam is a member of ASEAN, a regional body that is important to the US, especially on issues such as economic integration, security, and diplomacy, this makes Vietnam a vital partner of the US in advancing its interests in the Indo-Pacific region.

The US is likewise keen on upgrading its relations with Vietnam from a ‘comprehensive partnership,’ established in 2013, to a ‘strategic’ partnership.'”

Hanoi is being eyed by Washington for its perceived “potential to counterbalance China,” the expert added.

“The evolving relationship between the United States and Vietnam manifests the broader and active US engagement in the Asia-Pacific region and underscores Vietnam’s growing importance as a regional partner,” Anna Malindog-Uy emphasized.

Vietnam became a focal point for US diplomacy when it became the sixth member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in July 1995, the same month Vietnam and the United States normalized relations, concurred Carl Thayer.

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