Vietnam's Response to the US Indo-Pacific Strategy

Responding to reporters' questions at a regular press conference on the afternoon of August 2 about US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's recent announcement of the Indo-Pacific Strategy vision, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang affirmed: "Peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region as well as in the world are the common goals of all countries. Vietnam welcomes initiatives, as well as efforts to connect and link in the region, contributing to this goal."

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Photo: Reuters

In response to a reporter's question about whether Vietnam will participate in the US Indo-Pacific Strategy, Ms. Le Thi Thu Hang said that participation must ensure independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity as well as national interests.

Previously, speaking at the US Chamber of Commerce on July 30 before visiting three Southeast Asian countries, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Washington will invest 113 million USD in the Initiative in the fields of digital economy, technology, energy and infrastructure of the Indo-Pacific region.

This is considered one of the first practical steps to implement the Indo-Pacific Strategy that US President Donald Trump announced in November 2017 at the APEC Summit held in Da Nang, Vietnam. The core content of this strategy is to affirm Washington's high priority, regardless of any administration, for the Indo-Pacific region.

With this strategy, President Donald Trump wants to convey the message that, despite withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the US still values ​​investment in the Indo-Pacific./.