Back during the Sino-Vietnamese War of 1979, the United States was at best loosely siding with China during that conflict.
Yes, the People’s Republic of China was still very much a communist country (and still is, of course), but by this point in history, the U.S. was seeing the PRC as a useful adversary of the Soviet Union – the so-called “China Card” – as manifested in Dick Nixon’s rapprochement trip to China in 1972 followed by Jimmy Carter’s granting of full diplomatic recognition to the PRC in December 1978. Not to mention the U.S. was still smoldering with resentment of its humiliation in the Vietnam War.
Fast-forward to 1995, and there were subtle portents of a 180-degree turnaround in U.S. policy. During that year, the Clinton Administration granted full diplomatic recognition to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
Meanwhile, though Bill Clinton had renewed China’s Most Favored Nation (MFN) trade status the preceding year – whilst still making a token gesture by banning the future import of Chinese-made small arms and ammo – he was also vocal about criticizing the PRC’s human rights record, which did not sit well with the powers-that-be in Beijing.
Fast-forward again to the present day, and it’s sad to say that the 180-degree turn has been completed; China is now the clear-cut adversary of the U.S, whilst Vietnam – its own still-communist nature notwithstanding – is seen as at least a loose ally in the Indo-Pacific bulwark against Chinese expansionism. This was most recently evidenced in a U.S. port call in Vietnam.
The Basics
The primary source of information is a June 23, 2023, Associated Press article by David Rising titled “US aircraft carrier makes Da Nang port call as America looks to strengthen ties with Vietnam.” As Mr. Rising notes:
“The USS Ronald Reagan, along with the guided missile cruisers USS Antietam and USS Robert Smalls, arrived in Da Nang on Sunday for the visit … Neighboring China is Vietnam’s largest trading partner but Beijing’s sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea have led to increasing friction with Vietnam, as well as with Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines … The U.S., meantime, has been on a diplomatic push to strengthen economic and military ties in the Indo-Pacific region … The aircraft carrier’s port call — only the third such visit since relations were reestablished after the end of the Vietnam war — follows visits to Vietnam this year from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and USAID Administrator Samantha Power.”
I’m sure I’m not the only one who sees the irony in a warship bearing the name of the late POTUS Ronald Reagan making a port call in Vietnam. After all, Mr. Reagan was the most ardent anticommunist ever to sit in the Oval Office, and therefore any sort of overtures to Hanoi during his presidency would’ve been unthinkable … though he still maintained relations with China as it was a useful bargaining chip in his strategy of not merely containing but indeed rolling back the Soviet Union.
But then again, in the spirit of Mr. Spock of the Star Trek franchise stating that “Only Nixon could go to China,” perhaps it’s entirely apropos for a ship with Mr. Reagan’s name to be carrying out this sort of mission, as a tangible symbol of the sea change in U.S. posture toward the two Asian communist nations compared with the 1970s and 80s.
Longer-Term Implications?
As far as I’m aware, the PRC’s official mouthpieces have not yet made official statements condemning the Reagan’s (CVN-76) port visit, but they’re certainly not pleased about it. For their part, the Chinese have been trying to mend fences with Vietnam – the two countries have a longstanding mutual animosity, their status as fellow communist nations notwithstanding – doing so via a “goodwill tour” made by the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) training ship Qi Jiguang (戚继光舰), which made a stop in Vietnam last month, in addition to Thailand, Brunei, and the Philippines.
Not to be outdone, Japan, as a key U.S. ally in “The Quad,” made its own port call in Vietnam last week with its largest destroyer, JS Izumo (DDH-183).
It is also interesting to note that, for all of the animosity between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, the current Administration’s overtures to Vietnam are very much a continuation of the strengthening of U.S.-Vietnamese relations during the Trump Administration, as was exemplified by Mr. Trump’s welcoming of then-Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc of Vietnam to the White House back in May 2017.
What the Vietnamese Navy Brings to the Table
Meanwhile, for its own part, Vietnam has been seeking to build a “more modern, better-skilled navy that can hold off complex threats, mainly what experts believe to be increasing pressure from China,” as noted in an August 2019 article for Voice of America (VOA) penned by Ralph Jennings. Mr. Jennings cited a Vietnamese rear admiral and commissar by the name of Phạm Văn Vững, who stated that his country’s navy could not be “taken by surprise at any development.”
At the time the VOA article was published, the Vietnam People’s Navy had 65 vessels including six Kilo-class submarines and six frigates; by contrast, the PLAN’s warship count at the time stood at 714 vessels including 76 submarines, 33 destroyers, and an aircraft carrier.
Strong motivation then, for Hanoi to increase naval ties with Washington.
Christian D. Orr is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He has also been published in The Daily Torch and The Journal of Intelligence and Cyber Security. Last but not least, he is a Companion of the Order of the Naval Order of the United States (NOUS).
