POLITICAL RISK: US To Send Dep. Sec Of State To Vietnam In Wake Of Putin Visit

The US State Dep't has confirmed that Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink will visit Vietnam from 21-22 June. The trip comes in the immediate aftermath of Russian President Vladimir Putin's high-profile state visit to Hanoi. The US strongly criticised the visit, with a spox at the US embassy in Hanoi stating that "No country should give Putin a platform to promote his war of aggression and otherwise allow him to normalise his atrocities,".

• In recent years Vietnam has developed closer relations with the United States. In June 2023, bilateral relations were raised to the status of a comprehensive strategic partnership, the highest level of relations Hanoi affords. 
• Wires carrying comments from US Treasury Sec Janet Yellen saying that it is not a condition of the US partnership with Vietnam that Hanoi sever ties with Russia or China. 
• Hanoi has proved adept at balancing relations between regional and global partners, retaining good relations with Russia, China, and the United States. FT reports, "party chief Nguyen Phu Truong, the most senior political figure in Vietnam, calls this “bamboo diplomacy”, citing that plant’s “strong roots, stout trunk and flexible branches”."
• Putin talked up the establishment of a 'reliable security architecture' in the region alongside Vietnam. This development could cause concern in the US as it seeks to bolster ties with countries in the Indo-Pacific including Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia, that are seen as non-aligned rather than US aligned (Japan, South Korea) or China aligned (Cambodia, Laos).