Vietnam Reaffirms 'Strategic Partnership' With US Day After Putin Visit

The Vietnamese government lauded its seven-month-old "strategic" level ties with the United States just one day after top officials met in Hanoi with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Friday afternoon talks took place mere hours after Putin departed Vietnam following a two-day state visit to shore up ties amid mounting economic and diplomatic isolation over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Moscow is Hanoi's main arms supplier, and the two have enjoyed close ties for decades, with then-North Vietnam moving closer to the then-Soviet Union to hedge against China and for military assistance against U.S. forces in the Vietnam War.

Local media reported that during Friday's dialogue between Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Kritenbrink, the Southeast Asian country's top diplomat thanked the State Department for its role in upgrading bilateral ties last year. Son also expressed appreciation for the first Vietnam-U.S. Foreign Ministers' Dialogue held in Washington, D.C., in March.

The U.S. and Vietnam signaled increasingly friendly relations in September by upgrading bilateral ties to the level of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during President Joe Biden's visit to the country. This move is part of U.S. efforts to counter China's influence in the Asia-Pacific.

Vietnam had already adopted the same designation for its relationship with China and Russia.

Newsweek reached out to the Russian and Vietnamese Foreign Ministries via email for comment.

Friday's meeting came one day after Putin met with his Vietnamese counterpart To Lam and Communist Party of Vietnam chief Nguyen Phu Trong.

The heads of state signed about a dozen agreements, including on Russian natural gas and fossil fuel exports. They also agreed to boost cooperation in oil and gas exploration, green technology, science, and education, Vietnam's Foreign Ministry wrote in a statement.

They also discussed international issues "of mutual interest" and agreed on the "importance of resolving disputes through peaceful means on the basis of compliance with the fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations and international law."

This reportedly included the South China Sea, where Beijing's sweeping claims over the waterway have landed it in territorial disputes with Vietnam and several other neighbors. It also included increasingly violent confrontations between China and the Philippines, a U.S. treaty ally.

Putin was fresh off his visit to North Korea, during which he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a new treaty pledging military aid if either country was attacked, a move criticized by the U.S. and South Korea.

The neighbors have been deepening ties since the 2022 invasion, with mounting evidence suggesting North Korea has provided missiles and artillery to replace those used up in Russian forces' offensives in Ukraine.

"Vietnam has had longstanding very close ties with Russia, so our only expectation is that when they have conversations with Russia—as China does, as other countries in the region do—we would hope that they would express their support for the principles of the U.N. Charter everywhere in the world," U.S. Department of State Spokesperson Matthew Miller said during Thursday's press conference.

Asked during Thursday's press conference whether there was a connection between Kritenbrink's visit and Putin's, given the timing, he said the trip had been planned well in advance.

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