WASHINGTON - Despite landing new agreements on trade and investment, Vietnamese
President Nguyen Minh Triet's landmark official visit to the United States, the
first by a Vietnamese head of state since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975,
ended on a sour note and raises new questions about the direction of the
relationship.
US President George W Bush, who visited Vietnam last year when Hanoi hosted an
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
meeting, last Friday met privately with Triet at the White House. The two
leaders later spoke to the international media sitting side by side in an
informal discussion at the Oval Office.
Bush told reporters they discussed the tremendous economic opportunities closer
bilateral cooperation has and would continue to bring to the two nations.
Annual trade and cooperation between the US and Vietnam is now estimated at
about US$1 billion, and big US corporations have recently made major
investments in the Southeast Asian country's manufacturing sector.
But Bush also significantly broke from the conciliatory script and publicly
upbraided Triet over his government's rights record.
"I also made it very clear that, in order for relations to grow deeper, that
it's important for our friends to have a strong commitment to human rights and
freedom and democracy," Bush said, with Triet directly at his side. "I
explained my strong belief that societies are enriched when people are allowed
to express themselves freely or worship freely."
During his week-long visit, Triet also met with congressional leaders from both
political parties on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers in the meeting said he was
repeatedly taken to task over recent claims by rights groups that Triet's
government has increased repression of pro-democracy activists and religious
leaders, some of whom have been sentenced to long prison terms on assorted
anti-state charges.
Commenting on the talks afterward to reporters, Republican Congressman Ed
Royce, who had attended the meeting, said human rights had been "overwhelmingly
the dominant issue" of the session.
"We've got to see a stop to this conduct if this relationship is going to
improve," he said, adding that Triet answered questions but was "very evasive"
during the meeting.
Earlier, the US had predicated trade concessions, including support for
Vietnam's membership bid to the World Trade Organization, which Hanoi achieved
this January, on a demonstrable improvement on its abysmal rights record.
Members of Congress had called on Bush to push Triet to end what they perceive
to be widespread state-sponsored human-rights abuses, and that seems to be what
finally happened on Friday.
Predictably, Triet defended his government's position to reporters before and
after the White House meeting. He said he had a "direct and open exchange" on
human rights with Bush, but offered no indication that he might change his
government's policies or practices as a result of the discussion.
"It's not a question of improving or not," Triet said in an interview with the
Associated Press, hours after meeting with Bush. "Vietnam has its own legal
framework, and those who violate the law will be dealt with. The Vietnamese
laws could not be 100% the same as US laws, due to the different historical
backgrounds and conditions. There is a different understanding on this issue,"
he said through an interpreter.
The US media that covered his trip saw it differently, however. A quantitative
news analysis of media coverage of Triet's visit showed that fully 70% of news
outlets highlighted the human-rights issue. In Vietnamese media, however, the
topic was almost entirely overlooked and the new trade and investment pact led
the headlines.
Triet insisted that differences on the rights issue would not adversely affect
the two countries' "larger interests". But it's no doubt significant that Bush
made his public comments on such a high-profile occasion. The Washington Times
in its news coverage reported that Bush "chided" Triet for Vietnam's
human-rights record, religious repression and lack of democracy.
On Monday, the same publication ran an extraordinary commentary written by
Triet in what could be interpreted as a mild official rebuke of Bush's earlier
comments to reporters. Notably, the essay did not once mention human rights.
"Known as a new rising star in Asia, Vietnam offers an attractive business and
investment environment, driven by a youthful and friendly population who are
exceedingly optimistic about the future," Triet wrote. "In the international
arena, Vietnam is showing itself more and more to be a responsive and reliable
partner. And I know that a stable and prosperous Vietnam is also the wish of
the American government and people."
In its entirety, the article reads more like a lecture to schoolchildren than a
proper op-ed piece and underscores clearly his hope that bilateral trade and
investment issues will, as before, continue to trump Washington's concerns
about his government's poor democratic and human-rights records.
Triet wrote that "bilateral ties are built on the two countries' common
interests and concerns: commerce, culture, science and technology, education,
regional peace and stability, the fight against terrorism, preventing the
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, humanitarian assistance to combat
HIV/AIDS, avian influenza, and the lingering wounds of war". He added: "For
Vietnam, the United States is always a key partner, and Vietnam's commitment to
multifaceted cooperation with the United States is sincere and steadfast."
Only time will tell what really happened behind closed doors in Washington last
week, but Bush's and Triet's mild spat in the media indicates the bilateral
relationship could be in for rocky time ahead, particularly if Bush was serious
about prioritizing democracy and human rights on par with economic matters in
his government's official dealings with Vietnam's communist rulers.
John E Carey is the former president of International Defense
Consultants, Inc. He writes frequently on international issues from Washington,
DC. His daily weblog is
Peace and Freedom.
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