Thayer Consultancy Background Brief:

ABN # 65 648 097 123

U.S. National Security Adviser
Visits Vietnam – An Anti-Climax
Carlyle A. Thayer
November 23, 2020

Ralph Jennings, Voice of America, Taipei:

It is clear National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien’s visit to Vietnam exposed
differences between the United States and Vietnam on how to deal with China. While
both sides oppose Chinese bullying and intimidation, they disagreed about how to
respond. Vietnam signalled that it will not endorse the hyped-up rhetoric of the Trump
Administration’s Secretary of State. After O’Brien’s meetings with four senior
Vietnamese leaders not a single mention of China was made in Vietnamese media
reports.
Trade issues and U.S. threats to impose tariffs on Vietnam soured the recent visit by
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. O’Brien was quoted by the media as telling
“Vietnamese leaders they must curb illegal rerouting of Chinese exports and buy more
US goods such as liquified natural gas and military equipment to avoid punitive
American tariffs.” O’Brien’s intervention follows the imposition of preliminary anti-
subsidy duties on Vietnamese car and truck tires by the U.S. Department of Commerce
earlier this month. Last month the Office of the United States Trade Representative
launched two investigations into allegations of Vietnamese currency manipulation and
export of illegally acquired timber.
A review of Vietnamese media reporting on O’Brien’s visit reveals only one new area
of future cooperation. O’Brien met with Minister of Public Security To Lam. The two
agreed to discuss joint efforts to combat transnational crime in the Mekong sub-region
under the umbrella of the new Mekong-U.S. Partnership and to expand cooperation
“on a broad range of [unspecified] security issues.”
A key indicator that O’Brien did not significantly advance bilateral relations may be
found in reports of his meeting the Minister of National Defence General Ngo Xuan
Lich. Once again Vietnam extracted a commitment from the United States to
contribute to addressing Vietnam war legacy issues such as Agent Orange or dioxin
poisoning and dealing with unexploded bomb and mine clearance. Vietnam pressed
O’Brien for more U.S. assistance in UN peacekeeping operations and improving the
capabilities of the Vietnam Coast Guard.
O’Brien was reported as saying after his discussion with four senior government
ministers, that Vietnam was interested in boosting military-to-military information
 2

sharing, obtaining more U.S. Coast Guard equipment, and U.S. finance to assist in the
purchase of U.S. helicopters.
Vietnamese officials appear to be bemused about the purpose of O’Brien’s trip. No
joint statement was released after his discussions with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan
Phuc or Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh. Vietnamese
media stressed the expedient explanation that O’Brien’s trip was to mark the
25th anniversary of U.S.-Vietnam normalisation. The same rationale was advanced
when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited earlier this month. As a point of fact,
the 25th anniversary of normalisation fell in July 2020 and had to be celebrated
virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Vietnamese media reports on O’Brien’s meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and
Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh noted that the two sides discussed the prospects
for developing their comprehensive partnership without reaching any concrete
commitments. They did agree, however, to give priority “to the early resumption of
regular delegation exchange, joint work in humanitarian assistance of the
consequences of war, and continued facilitation of trade and investment ties based
on mutual benefits.” On the thorny issues of trade issues, O’Brien got no further than
Secretary Pompeo. Foreign Minister Minh continued to insist on “the effective
implementation of the Action Plan towards harmonious and sustainable trade
balance” between the U.S. and Vietnam. Vietnam sweetened its position by agreeing
to purchase billions of LNG from the U.S.
Vietnamese media reports on O’Brien’s meeting with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan
Phuc stressed that the two “agreed that Vietnam and the US will continue
cooperating in order to cope with common challenges [read China], thus significantly
contributing to peace, stability, prosperity and cooperation in the region and the
world.” Prime Minister Phuc affirmed that Vietnam regarded trade cooperation as
“the centre and main driver of bilateral ties” and facilitated the participation of U.S.
businesses in hi-tech and innovation in Vietnam with local partners.

Suggested citation: Carlyle A. Thayer, “U.S. National Security Adviser Visits Vietnam –
An Anti-Climax,” Thayer Consultancy Background Brief, November 23, 2020. All
background briefs are posted on Scribd.com (search for Thayer). To remove yourself
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