(Reuters) — Former U.S. President Bill Clinton visited Vietnam on Thursday (July 2) to commemorate the 20th anniversary of relations between the United States and Vietnam.
Speaking as a guest of honor at the Marriott Hotel in Hanoi for an event hosted by the U.S. Embassy to celebrate American Independence Day, Clinton described the normalization of relations as “one of the most important achievements” during his terms.
Vietnam is turning to their now reconciled former enemy in the wake of China’s increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea, a move that Clinton appraised in his speech.
“This is the beginning of what I hope will be a regional way of tackling problems, seizing opportunities and resolving disputes. Every country in this region without regards of their size or the size of their military, deserve the right to be treated with dignity and independence, and have their claims fairly adjudicated, and I thank the Vietnamese government and the people for asking the United States to support that approach,” he said.
China claims most of the potentially energy-rich South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping claims.
In 2000, Clinton was the first U.S. President to visit Vietnam after the end of a war that killed 58.000 U.S. troops and more than 3 millions Vietnamese.
The last U.S. troops withdrew in 1973 leading to the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975. The U.S then enforced an embargo on the Communist-ruled country until Clinton announced the normalization of relations on July 11,1995.
“Twenty years ago our trade was 500 million dollars a year. Now it is 35 billion and raising. And Vietnam just passed Malaysia and Thailand to become ASEAN’s top exporter of merchandise to the U.S,” he told the audience.
Earlier this week, U.S. President Barack Obama announced the normalization of relations with neighbouring Cuba, a diplomatic move Bill Clinton did with Vietnam two decades ago.
This visit is Clinton’s fifth to the Southeast Asian nation, where his Clinton Foundation has provided significant support in the country’s fight against malaria and HIV/AIDS.
