President Donald Trump may discuss the East Sea when meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister

US President Donald Trump may discuss developments in the East Sea with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc during talks this week at the White House.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc begins his visit to the US from May 29. Photo: Giang Huy

Forecasting the content of the upcoming discussion between President Trump and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Washington, Mr. Murray Hiebert, Deputy Director of the Southeast Asia Research Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), USA, said that the issue of Vietnam hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit is not a key factor.

According to Mr. Hiebert, the APEC content is only part of the discussion before President Trump is scheduled to visit Vietnam in November. More important are the strategic issues between the two countries.

"The Trump administration cannot ignore the issue that Vietnam is a neighbor of China and is having disputes with Beijing in the East Sea," Mr. Hiebert stated the main content that the leaders of the two countries will discuss.

On the Vietnamese side, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc also wanted to learn about Mr. Donald Trump's assessment of developments in the East Sea and China's actions in recent years to assert claims in this area.

CSIS experts noted that the visit to the US by Vietnamese leaders took place early, since Mr. Trump took office, demonstrating Hanoi's strong outward-looking strategic orientation, in the context that most neighboring countries in Southeast Asia have to focus on solving domestic problems.

The US President and the Vietnamese Prime Minister both want to find out how bilateral cooperation will be when the US has a new administration. The two leaders will discuss promoting trade and investment cooperation after the US withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

“Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc may want to define US engagement plans in Southeast Asia,” said Mr. Hiebert.

As a long-time follower of Vietnam-US relations, Professor Alexander Vuving, Asia-Pacific Security Studies Center, USA, also highlighted the content of the exchange on the East Sea between the US President and Vietnamese leaders next week.

"Both countries are interested in the East Sea issue and maritime security. President Trump and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc will exchange views and discuss a number of measures for the US to help Vietnam improve its capacity to protect maritime security," said Mr. Vuving.

Expert Vuving assessed that among ASEAN countries, Vietnam is the country that has made the most efforts to contact the Trump administration. In return, the Trump administration also values ​​Vietnam's position and role in the region.

Professor Vuving predicts that the Vietnamese Prime Minister also wants to know what plans the US has to replace the TPP.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc began his official visit to the United States on May 29, a trip that will last until May 31. Ms. Le Thi Thu Hang, spokeswoman for the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said yesterday that the leaders of Vietnam and the United States will discuss measures to promote the comprehensive partnership between the two countries in the coming time.

According to VNE