U.S. ambassador's arrival symbol of stronger Vietnam ties

U.S. ambassador's arrival symbol of stronger Vietnam ties

By Frederik Balfour

HANOI (AFP): The arrival today of U.S. Ambassador Douglas
"Pete" Peterson in Hanoi is seen by analysts as an important step
by the two former enemies to forge stronger economic as well as
strategic ties.

"The two countries have laid the basis for solid relations
across the board. They want dialogues in education, science,
technology, and the military," said one Western diplomat.

"But they can do better than that and have a strategic
partnership. Both countries want that," he added.

As one of the last communist regimes, Hanoi shed its
isolationist skin and pursued an ambitious diplomatic initiative
following the collapse of the former Soviet Union in 1991.

Normalizing diplomatic relations with the United States in
1995 was a key success within a broader policy of global
integration, analysts say, noting its successful policy of
diversification including membership into the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and preparations to join the
World Trade Organization.

One former state department official now doing business in
Hanoi warned that the United States should take care in how it
approaches its relations with Vietnam.

"The core of Vietnamese foreign policy, not just vis-a-vis
China but in general, is a diversification of relationships," he
added.

If the United States is seen as a bridge between Vietnam and
the international community, there is no better person than
Peterson to symbolize the new relationship between the two former
enemies.

As a former prisoner of war who spent more than six years
imprisoned in Hanoi, including time in the infamous "Hanoi
Hilton", Peterson brings to the job stirling credentials.

"With his background, he will have a forum whenever he chooses
to speak either to Americans or Vietnamese," said Sesto Vecchi,
an American lawyer who returned to work in Saigon after leaving
at the end of the war.

"Every message will carry the certain knowledge that here is a
former prisoner who has returned to the belly of the beast," he
added.

Peterson's desire "not to live in the past" was a strong
factor in resuming ties two decades after the end of a bitter
conflict in which three million Vietnamese and nearly 60,000
Americans died.

Peterson has said full accounting of the 1,589 American GIs
still listed as missing in action (MIA) from the war will be his
top priority. Indeed the legacy of the war still affects every
debate in Washington about Vietnam.

Also high on his agenda is pushing ahead with a bilateral
trade agreement that would pave the way for most favored nation
status, giving Vietnam access to the huge U.S. market.

"He understands better than anybody the MIA issue, but his
main concern will be moving ahead economically," said the Hanoi
businessman.

The Vietnamese hope Peterson's arrival in Hanoi, will help
speed progress on the economic front. Ratification of the
sweeping accord which the two sides will meet to discuss in
Washington in a few weeks, could be as much as two years off.
Said one lawyer familiar with the draft, "they are miles apart."

But trade negotiators as well as State Department officials in
Washington have made clear that progress on the trade agreement
will depend on Vietnam's human rights record, a potential source
of friction with the United States.

A human rights report issued in Washington earlier this year
said Vietnam's record on human rights remained poor and its
government imposed strict limits on political and religious
freedoms, provoking a stinging attack from the official communist
Nhan Dan newspaper.

Last month during Peterson's inauguration, the State
Department also put Hanoi on notice Peterson will press
Washington's view that human rights should be upheld by the
Vietnamese government.

"We encourage U.S. investment in Vietnam but it is still a
communist country," a spokesman said.

In March Admiral Joseph Prueher, U.S. Commander in Chief of
the Pacific Command said during a visit to Hanoi the two sides
were working towards "a nascent military-to-military
relationship."