Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Secretary of the US Department of State Mike Pompeo said in Washington on May 22 that they affirmed an engagement in pushing for peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. 
Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Secretary of the US Department of State Mike Pompeo. Photo: Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs
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The two countries would respect the jurisdiction and diplomacy for the effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) signed between ASEAN and China in 2002, the Vietnamese foreign ministry. Minh is on a visit to Washington on May 22-23 after visiting Cuba.
US Assistant Defense Secretary for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Randall G. Schriver affirmed early April 2019 that Vietnam appeared to be a valued partner in the Indo-Pacific region for Washington, according to the US Department of Defense.
Randall G. Schriver noted that the defense relationship between the US and Vietnam is strong and represents one of the strongest pillars in the multifaceted bilateral relationship. The US has upgraded the level of their annual defense talks and they had an unprecedented level of senior engagement.
Multifaceted relations
Washington declared to boost mutual interests-based economic ties with a focus on trade, investment, and support to post-war settlement with dioxin cleanup in Bien Hoa airport in Vietnam’s southern province of Dong Nai.
In turn, Deputy PM Pham Binh Minh highly appreciated the US’s role in the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) which was established in 2009 by the US and the countries of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam, with an aim to deliver equitable, sustainable, and inclusive growth in the Lower Mekong Region.
Minh said Hanoi expected further cooperation in multilateral mechanism, especially when Vietnam takes over the chairmanship of ASEAN in 2020.
Possible upgrade of bilateral ties: During Minh's visit which also marked the meetings between Minh and Charles Kupperman – deputy national security advisor to President Donald Trump, and Keith Kellogg – national security advisor to Vice President Mike Pence, they discussed efforts to strengthen the US - Vietnam Comprehensive Partnership.
The deepened relationship would be based on reinforcing political, security, economic, and people-to-people ties, in addition to cooperation on humanitarian and settlement of war legacy issues, according to the US Department of State.
High-ranking exchange visit: During the visit, Washington highlighted the importance of high-ranking exchange visits.
President Nguyen Phu Trong is believed to visit Washington this year at the invitation of US President Donald Trump. Timetable of the visit would be made public at a convenient time, Spokeswoman of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang said at a press briefing on March 14, 2019.
Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc said in an interview with VnExpress in mid-March that both Hanoi and Washington were preparing for the visit. The Vietnamese side has discussed with the Department of State, the Department of Defense, the US Congress, the National Business Association, and the National Research Center for the preparations, he said.
US President Donald Trump said in the farewell at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on February 27 that he expected to welcome President Nguyen Phu Trong at the Oval Office in the White House.
Trump’s visit to Vietnam and the meetings between the two countries’ top leaders in February would be favorable premise for the Vietnamese president’s upcoming visit, Ngoc said, noting that Trong’s visit would be one of major events in the US-Vietnam relations in 2019.
The exchange visits among top leaders would largely contribute to the improvement of the US-Vietnam Comprehensive Partnership, especially the 25th anniversary of the normalization in 2020.
