U.S., Vietnam Are Ready to Take Relationship to `New Level,' Clinton Says - Bloomberg: "The U.S. is ready to take relations with Vietnam to a “new level” 15 years after establishing diplomatic ties with its former adversary, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.
Vietnam is on the verge of becoming a “great nation” and the U.S. is keen to promote further economic progress, she told reporters in Hanoi today after meeting Vietnam’s Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem.
“We see this relationship as important not only on its own merits,” but also in the context of the larger Southeast Asia region, Clinton said. The two countries fought a war ending in 1975 that killed 58,000 U.S. soldiers and more than 3 million Vietnamese.
Closer ties between the U.S. and Vietnam come as American military officials say China’s military buildup raises security concerns for the region. China claims the entire South China Sea as its own, putting it at odds with Vietnam and other countries that also declare sovereignty over islands in a waterway that may contain oil and gas reserves."
