{"id":293363,"date":"2025-04-29T15:39:05","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T15:39:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/29\/u-s-eases-ban-for-diplomats-at-vietnam-war-anniversary\/"},"modified":"2025-04-29T15:39:05","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T15:39:05","slug":"u-s-eases-ban-for-diplomats-at-vietnam-war-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/29\/u-s-eases-ban-for-diplomats-at-vietnam-war-anniversary\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Eases Ban for Diplomats at Vietnam War Anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/04\/29\/multimedia\/29int-vietnam-anniversary-01-mtkw\/29int-vietnam-anniversary-01-mtkw-facebookJumbo.jpg?ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"U.S. Eases Ban for Diplomats at Vietnam War Anniversary\" title=\"U.S. Eases Ban for Diplomats at Vietnam War Anniversary\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Trump administration, reversing a policy that angered Vietnam veterans, has eased a ban on senior American diplomats <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/04\/22\/world\/asia\/us-diplomats-vietnam-war-anniversary-trump.html\" title=\"\">attending events for the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On Tuesday, the United States informed Vietnamese officials that Susan Burns, the U.S. Consul General, would attend a reception on Tuesday night with other diplomats and Vietnamese officials. Witnesses reported seeing her at the event, which was held at a hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, and one shared a photo with The Times.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Marc E. Knapper \u2014 the U.S. ambassador and son of a Vietnam veteran \u2014 was not seen with Ms. Burns, though he had previously planned to represent the United States.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Knapper is also not expected at the main event, which includes a parade and speeches on Wednesday, the actual anniversary of South Vietnam\u2019s surrender and the American evacuation from what was then Saigon on April 30, 1975.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Critics of the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/04\/22\/world\/asia\/us-diplomats-vietnam-war-anniversary-trump.html\" title=\"\">attendance ban<\/a> welcomed Ms. Burns\u2019 presence, but insisted it was not enough. They said that the Trump administration had already shown a lack of understanding about the importance of postwar reconciliation with a country that is now a strategic partner in efforts to counter China\u2019s influence across the region.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cFrom where I sit, they don\u2019t have a clue,\u201d said John Terzano, a founder of the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, who has been returning to Vietnam since 1981.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He said that the United States had bumbled into the war and stayed too long because leaders at the time, like Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, saw Vietnam only through the lens of arrogance or parochial interests. Washington was now at risk of making similar mistakes, he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe ambassador is not here,\u201d Mr. Terzano said. \u201cAnd the symbolic nature of that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Trump administration did not give a reason for the ban, though some U.S. officials speculated that the White House did not want to be seen as celebrating an anniversary of defeat around the 100th day of Mr. Trump\u2019s second term.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Analysts noted that the United States and Vietnam had elevated their ties in 2023 to a comprehensive strategic partnership as a step forward \u2014 not because of the war or a hunger for reconciliation, but rather because of urgent shared interests, which can transcend diplomatic squabbles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe U.S. values its closer ties with Vietnam because of its strategic competition with China, while Vietnam hopes its closer ties with the U.S. will greatly help its quest for security and prosperity,\u201d said Alexander Vuving, a professor at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Few countries in Asia are more hostile to China than Vietnam is. Vietnam\u2019s people see their national identity as embedded in their resistance to dominance from Beijing. As China\u2019s southern neighbor and former colony, Vietnam has <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/10\/28\/world\/asia\/vietnam-south-china-sea.html\" title=\"\">frequent disputes<\/a> with China over territory in the South China Sea, even as it welcomes Chinese investment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Roughly 30 percent of Vietnam\u2019s exports went to the United States last year, producing a large trade imbalance. But China is Vietnam\u2019s largest trading partner, and Mr. Trump\u2019s tariffs and his destruction of U.S.A.I.D. have shaken Vietnam\u2019s bond with the United States. U.S.A.I.D. recently suspended funding for removing land mines left behind from the war, and the cleanup of Agent Orange, an herbicide that causes cancer and birth defects.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Vietnam\u2019s goal has long been balanced relations with great powers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/vov.vn\/emagazine\/bai-viet-cua-tong-bi-thu-to-lam-nuoc-viet-nam-la-mot-dan-toc-viet-nam-la-mot-1195186.vov\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">an essay<\/a> published on Sunday in the state news media, To Lam, Vietnam\u2019s top leader and the general secretary of the Communist Party, stressed the power of personal reconciliation among former enemies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI have witnessed many moving encounters between Vietnamese veterans and American veterans \u2014 those who once stood on opposing sides of the battlefield, who once confronted each other at gunpoint, but who can now shake hands, converse and share sincere understanding without lingering resentment,\u201d he wrote. \u201cToday, Vietnam and the United States \u2014 once former adversaries \u2014 have become comprehensive strategic partners, cooperating for peace, for the benefit of both peoples, and for the security and stability of the region.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Yet Xi Jinping, China\u2019s leader, who recently visited Hanoi, Vietnam\u2019s capital, and the Trump administration have each warned Vietnam not to support the other.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The American ambassador\u2019s absence at the 50th anniversary commemorations may now be seen as another attempt to pressure Vietnam into compliance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cFor many Vietnamese, the message is: \u2018You have to choose,\u2019\u201d Mr. Vuving said. \u201cFor some others, the message is \u2018Vietnam\u2019s Communist regime is incompatible with a U.S. partnership.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Burns is expected at a parade for the anniversary on Wednesday, according to two people with knowledge of the U.S. confirmation that was sent to Vietnamese officials.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The State Department and the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Tung Ngo<!-- --> contributed reporting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/04\/29\/world\/asia\/vietnam-war-anniversary-us-diplomats.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Trump administration, reversing a policy that angered Vietnam veterans, has eased a ban on senior American diplomats attending events for the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. On Tuesday, the United States informed Vietnamese officials that Susan Burns, the U.S. Consul General, would attend a reception on Tuesday night with other [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":293364,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/04\/29\/multimedia\/29int-vietnam-anniversary-01-mtkw\/29int-vietnam-anniversary-01-mtkw-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1382,230,171065,7205,5601,171066,221,128437,14600,3102],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293363"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293363"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293363\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":293365,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293363\/revisions\/293365"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/293364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}