U.S., Vietnam strengthen diplomatic ties during Joe Biden visit

Sept. 11 (UPI) -- U.S. President Joe Biden signed a deal Sunday with Vietnam to boost cooperation on a range of areas from semiconductors to rare earth minerals, while the Southeast Asian nation elevated the United States to its highest tier of diplomatic partnership some five decades after what Biden called the "bitter past" of the Vietnam War.

Biden stopped in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi on his return to the United States from the G20 Summit in India, where he met on Sunday night with Nguyen Phu Trong, the head of Vietnam's ruling Communist Party.

"Today, we can trace a 50-year arc of progress in the relationship between our nations from conflict to normalization," Biden said at a press conference. "This is a new elevated status that will be a force for prosperity and security in one of the most consequential regions in the world."

The deal, called the U.S.-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, includes major investments by American firms in semiconductor plants and design centers in Vietnam, while national carrier Vietnam Airlines announced it will buy some $7.5 billion worth of 737 Max jets from Boeing -- a move the White House says will support more than 33,000 direct and indirect jobs in the United States.

Washington will also invest hundreds of millions of dollars to help address lingering effects from the Vietnam War, including dioxin remediation from Agent Orange and the removal of unexploded ordnance, and offer security assistance to Vietnam in dealing with illegal fishing in its waters.

China and Vietnam have a long-running dispute over fishing and territorial rights in the South China Sea, with Beijing claiming sovereignty over almost the entire body of water -- a claim a United Nations tribunal rejected in 2016.

Washington has been campaigning to level up its relationships with several countries in the Asia-Pacific region amid China's growing assertiveness and economic competition in crucial sectors such as technology.

Biden on Sunday said the deepening ties with Vietnam, which is vying to increase its role as a global manufacturing alternative to China, is not meant as an effort to thwart Beijing.

"It's not about containing China," Biden said. "It's about having a stable base in the Indo-Pacific."

He added that China is "beginning to change some of the rules of the game, in terms of trade and other issues."

"I don't want to contain China," Biden said. "I just want to make sure that we have a relationship with China that is on the up and up, squared away, everybody knows what it's all about."

The deal elevates the United States to a comprehensive strategic partner and puts it on a par with China and Russia at the highest rung of Vietnam's diplomatic ladder.

The two countries officially established diplomatic relations in 1995 and a comprehensive partnership in 2013, when Biden was vice president under President Barack Obama.

Vietnam's Trong said Sunday that bilateral ties are reaching a "new height through the strengthening of economic trade and investment cooperation with innovation serving as the basis, the core and the driver."

The new partnership also includes a section on rare earth elements, which are crucial components in manufacturing batteries and electronics such as smartphones.

Vietnam has the world's second-largest reserves of rare earths, according to the United States Geological Survey. Its estimated 22 million metric tons are second only to China.

Biden added that he raised issues of Vietnam's human rights record with Trong, and the partnership includes an "enhanced commitment to meaningful dialogue" on the issue, but details remained limited.

Human Rights Watch says Vietnam, which strictly controls freedom of expression and other civil rights, is detaining at least 159 political prisoners.

On Monday, Biden is scheduled to visit a memorial marking the spot where a naval jet flown by his friend and former Senate colleague John McCain was shot down in October 1967.

He will also meet with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and President Vo Van Thuong before wrapping up the brief trip and heading back to the United States. Biden will stop at a military base in Anchorage, Alaska, where he will commemorate the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.