Trump-Kim summit puts Vietnam in geopolitical spotlight

In his State of the Union address on February 5, President Donald Trump announced that Vietnam would be the venue for the second US-North Korea summit. A week later, the White House boss continued to announce on Twitter that the meeting between him and leader Kim Jong-un would be held in Hanoi from February 27-28.

Leader Kim Jong-un and President Donald Trump. Photo: Reuters

In an article titled "The second Trump-Kim summit puts Vietnam in the geopolitical spotlight," ABC News journalist Ben Gittleson commented that all attention has been focused on Vietnam - a Southeast Asian country that has friendly relations with all parties involved in the US-North Korea summit.

Warm relations between Vietnam and other countries

The United States and Vietnam normalized relations in 1995, decades after the end of the war. Over the next quarter century, the US-Vietnam economic and trade relationship has grown stronger and stronger. According to data from the US State Department, from 1995 to 2016, bilateral trade increased from $451 million to nearly $52 billion.

Former US President Barack Obama visited Vietnam in 2016. Then, President Donald Trump also visited Vietnam to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in 2017. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc also visited the White House in 2017.

South Korea and Vietnam normalized relations in 1992. Similar to the US, South Korea and Vietnam have also built a close relationship based on large trade turnover. Vietnam was South Korea's fourth largest trading partner in 2017.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Photo: AP

Meanwhile, North Korea and Vietnam have maintained a longer-standing bilateral relationship, dating back to 1950. The two countries also share similarities in political systems and once operated centrally planned economies. However, Vietnam has been quick to open its markets and develop its economy over the years.

Vietnam's advantages

According to journalist Ben Gittleson, being chosen as the venue for a major diplomatic event like the US-North Korea summit has given Vietnam the opportunity to showcase its economic achievements as well as its geopolitical importance.

In addition to its relations with South Korea, North Korea and the United States, Vietnam also boasts partnerships with Russia, China and many other countries. Vietnam has also hosted many high-level international events in the past, including the World Economic Forum in Hanoi in September 2018 and the APEC summit in Da Nang in 2017, which was attended by many world leaders, including President Donald Trump.

"Vietnam's top priority is to ensure that the logistics and security of the second (US-North Korea) summit go smoothly," Carlyle Thayer, an expert on Southeast Asian politics, told ABC News.

According to Thayer, as the host country, Vietnam "will make great efforts" to ensure the success of the meeting between the two US and North Korean leaders. Last month, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told Bloomberg that if chosen as the venue for the Trump-Kim summit, Vietnam would "do its best" for the event.

Photo: Reuters

According to journalist Ben Gittleson, Vietnam is often praised as a model of successful economic development that North Korea can learn from. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also mentioned this story during his visit to Hanoi last June. Mr. Pompeo also emphasized the increasingly good relationship between Vietnam and the US when the two countries went from former enemies to partners.

Reasons to choose Hanoi

On VTCNews, an excerpt from an article by Mr. Thayer, an honorary professor at the University of New South Wales, Canberra, said: First of all, both sides wanted to choose the location to hold this particularly important event in the capital of the country holding the ASEAN Chair. That is why Singapore was chosen in June 2018. Thailand, currently holding the position of ASEAN Chair 2019, was also considered as one of the top potential candidates.

But with Bangkok preparing for its first general election since a 2014 military coup, the lifting of a ban on political activity in mid-December 2018, and Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn succeeding his father, the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, security experts are worried about the risk of political instability in the land of the golden pagodas. In addition, Thailand's severe air pollution and street protests are also causing no small amount of concern.

Thailand was therefore removed from the list. From then on, Vietnam, as the country taking over the ASEAN Chair in 2020, became the chosen name.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in hopes for the second US-North Korea summit in Vietnam. Photo: AP

According to Mr. Thayer, in reality, the US and North Korea do not really care whether the second summit is held in Hanoi or Da Nang, but only that it takes place in Vietnam, a country that is seen as neutral by relevant parties such as China and South Korea.

They also believe that Vietnam is capable of ensuring security and providing ideal accommodation and travel for both delegations, which has been demonstrated in international events that Vietnam has hosted in the past.

Another plus point of Hanoi is that it is home to the North Korean embassy. Mr. Kim is said to want to stay where his country’s embassy is located and not travel to a second city to meet President Trump after his official visit to Hanoi. The distance from Pyongyang airport to Hanoi is also within the flight range of his Ilyushin-62M aircraft. In addition, North Korea also believes that their leader is guaranteed maximum security in Hanoi or any location in Vietnam.

Vietnam has long maintained friendly diplomatic relations with North Korea. Vietnam has supported North Korea to become a member of the ASEAN Regional Forum. North Korea has continuously sent students and delegations to Vietnam for many years to study the model of reform and opening up.

Vietnam's reputation is enhanced

Mr. Thayer said that like Singapore, when Hanoi welcomes the two leaders of the US and North Korea, the capital of Vietnam will become the center of the world from now until after the conference ends. Vietnam will be constantly mentioned as the place where the meeting takes place to discuss one of the most important security issues in the world today: nuclear non-proliferation and denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

In addition, Vietnam's international reputation will certainly be enhanced after this event that the whole world is looking forward to. Vietnam will also be recognized as having made significant contributions to regional and global security issues. More importantly, Vietnam has proven that the countries of the Asia-Pacific Group unanimously approved the nomination of Vietnam as the group's sole candidate for the position of non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the Group for the 2020-2021 term.

Vietnam's successful hosting of the second US-North Korea Summit will reaffirm the correctness of its foreign policy of diversifying international relations and show that Vietnam is a trustworthy friend to all.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and many commentators have mentioned the reform process in Vietnam and encouraged North Korea to learn from Vietnam’s economic model. This further convinced the parties involved that Vietnam stands in a neutral position in the US-North Korea dialogue.