Ten years have passed since Viet Nam and the US normalised their diplomatic ties. The past decade witnessed strides forward and important improvements in cooperative ties between the two countries.
Taking a look back at the two countries' relations will facilitate both sides to define measures to bolster their ties in the future.
In fact, the two countries had contacts as early as over two centuries ago and those ties have experienced historic ups and downs. Right at the start of the 1870s, King Tu Duc, who reigned the feudal country of Viet Nam from 1848 to 1883, sent his special envoy Bui Vien to present credentials to the then US President, Ulysses Grant, in seeking US assistance for preventing the invasion of the French colonialists.
In the first decades of the 20th century, President Ho Chi Minh on his voyage to seek ways to liberate the nation arrived in New York and Boston cities in the eastern region of the United States. The great leader of Viet Nam showed his respect for the US people's spirit of fighting for national independence, freedom and reunification in the previous centuries. In the preamble of the Declaration to proclaim independence of the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam delivered on September 2, 1945, President Ho Chi Minh quoted part of the US Independence Declaration saying that all peoples on the earth, including those in oppressed nations like Viet Nam, are equal from birth, all the peoples have a right to live, to be happy and free.
Opportunities for establishing and developing bilateral relations had been missed until the start of the 1990s when the process of normalising Viet Nam-US ties got a boost. The fruit of the process, which had required great efforts by both Governments and peoples, was the official establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries in 1995.
However, joint endeavours laid a firm foundation for the development of bilateral ties. The relations between Viet Nam and the US are those between two sovereign nations and developed based on the principles of mutual respect, equality and mutually beneficial cooperation. The principle reflects the common aspirations of the two peoples who wish to build friendly and co-operative ties between the two nations.
The normalisation of bilateral relations has brought about huge benefits to both the Vietnamese and the Americans. Over the past decade, the governments and the people of the two countries have exerted great efforts in overcoming severe aftermaths of the war, bridging differences, and building mutual confidence to pave the way for sustainable and marked improvements in bilateral relations.
Recent years have seen marked improvements in all-round bilateral ties, which are currently in the finest stage so far. The two countries have set up negotiations channels between branches of activities at all levels, and mass and social organisations.
High-ranking administrative, legislative, economic and commercial delegations of the two countries have paid visits to one another's country. US President Bill Clinton, Defence Secretary William Cohen, and State Secretaries have visited Viet Nam, which has sent its Deputy Prime Ministers, Foreign Minister and National Defence Minister to the US.
Leaders of the two countries have had frequent contacts at international and regional forums. They have reached a consensus on building stable and long-lasting relations between the two countries.
Economics and trade is the field with the most rapid and impressive progress in Viet Nam-US ties. The coming into force of the Bilateral Trade Agreement in 2001 opened up a host of opportunities for businesses in the two countries. Two-way trade value jumped from nearly 1.4 billion USD in 2001 to 5.85 billion USD in 2003 and 6.4 billion USD in 2004.
The two countries have signed many economic treaties and agreements, including a textiles agreement and an agreement on civil aviation. They are also working on other agreements such as a framework agreement on economic and technical cooperation, an agreement on maritime transport, and a Memorandum of Understanding on agricultural cooperation. The number of Americans travelling to Viet Nam is also growing, helping promote bilateral economic, trade, investment and tourism ties. In the first 11 months of last year, 247,221 US visitors travelled to Viet Nam, up 27.7 percent year-on-year. The number was second only to China. Direct flights between Viet Nam and the US have also been resumed recently after 30 years of suspension.
Cooperative ties in other fields such as science and technology, education and training, health care, labour, culture and humanitarian activities have also seen positive steps. The two sides have signed a document on principles of cooperation for the implementation of the Viet Nam Education Fund programme. Many projects and cooperation programmes in medicine and health care have been carried out fruitfully, including a 15 million USD anti-HIV/AIDS programme in 2004, a cooperation programme to fight SARS, and a project on hygiene and nutrition education in schools.
Bilateral cooperation on humanitarian issues left behind by the war has been expanding, starting with Viet Nam's good-will and effective collaboration in searching for missing-in-action soldiers. The US side has also taken steps to respond to Viet Nam's humanitarian needs in overcoming the consequences of the the war.
Military ties between the two countries have also gradually got on track for normalisation. In reciprocating the visit to Viet Nam by US Secretary of Defence William Cohen in March 2000, Vietnamese Defence Minister Pham Van Tra led a high-level military delegation to visit the US in November 2003. Many ships of the US Navy have visited Viet Nam: the USS Vandergrift FFG 48 ship has called at Ho Chi Minh City Port, the USS Curtis Wilbur, to Da Nang, and recently, the USS Gary FFG 51, to Ho Chi Minh City.
Viet Nam and the US have been actively cooperating in sharing information to fight terrorism, which shows that bilateral ties are becoming comprehensive, laying an important foundation for their long-term relationship.
Besides the positive developments, a number of differences have also arisen between the two countries regarding democracy, human rights and religion. This is understandable when taking into account the differences in history, culture, political systems and the level of development of the two countries. Time is necessary to resolve these differences, but the most important thing is the two countries should look straight to the reality and put the interest of their peoples first in order not to let the differences hinder bilateral ties. The two countries should also strive to resolve the differences through dialogue and negotiations.
Despite difficulties ahead, the developments over the past 10 years demonstrate that Viet Nam-US relations should be further expanded and strengthened not only in the interest of the two peoples but also for the sake of peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world. (Source: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
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