BY hosting the latest summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum in Hanoi , the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has signalled that it has come of age as a major state player. And, by placing the unforgotten trauma of the United States-inflicted Vietnam War in the past tense, it is now seeking a new grammar of "forward looking" politics at home and on the international stage.
From the standpoint of the long-governing Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), there could not have been a more opportune public event than the APEC summit to showcase the country's potential strengths. The many photo-opportunity cameos of the summit helped Vietnamese leaders to reveal the brighter side of an increasingly self-confident nation.
Two contrasting aspects of Bush's new homage to Vietnam have come into focus. First, the Western critics of Bush, now growing in number, are questioning his fawning praise of Hanoi and his decision to disregard the standard American practice of faulting the CPV for "depriving" its opponents of political space and for "human rights" violations. Closely linked to this portrayal of a pathetic Bush is the other aspect of his homage - his own political plight that has only heightened the impact of Vietnam's unfolding success story.
APEC Summit 2006 was defined by an overwhelming sub-text. Bush was haunted by the three-decade-old shadow of the U.S. defeat in Vietnam. He is now beleaguered, and is reeling under his seemingly unfinished and catastrophic failure in Iraq. His participation in the summit only served to show up the costs of American "adventurism" to the world and to Washington itself.
In one sense, this substantive symbolism can be traced to some similarities between two different periods in global politics on either side of the Cold War. Yet, the real story, a subject of animated discussion behind the diplomatic scenes during this APEC summit, is how Vietnam is willing and able to plan strategies for its own future. In this, the CPV has drawn a leaf out of China's political book of "pragmatism".
At the same time, contemporary Vietnamese leaders, from the time of Ho Chi Minh, have often displayed a considerable penchant for autonomy of action over domestic and foreign policies. And these attributes account for the current dynamics of the U.S.-Vietnam engagement too.
Advocating a "forward looking" approach, Bush and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Minh Triet defined this in a joint statement after their talks on the sidelines of the APEC summit. They outlined the new elements as follows:
"Significant and growing trade and economic ties; an emerging military-to-military relationship; successful cooperation on health and development issues; growing cultural and educational links; a commitment to resolve remaining issues stemming from the [Vietnam] War; a shared interest in ensuring peace, stability, and prosperity in the Asia Pacific region; and frank and candid discussion of differences."
The catalogue is not as dramatic as the more fashionable label of a "strategic partnership", which Vietnam and the U.S. have eschewed on this occasion. As noted by Bui Thanh Son, a Vietnamese expert on the dynamics of the Hanoi-Washington engagement, "Vietnam does not [still] represent a priority in the U.S.' post-Cold War global strategy".
However, as in his assessment, Vietnam has "increasingly become an important factor in the U.S.' regional policy".
The CPV has been able to draw upon some of the "positive" economic experiences of the old "South Vietnamese" despite their defeat in the reunification war. This contrasts with the economic challenges that West Germany, one of the Cold War "winners", later faced in re-incorporating the erstwhile East Germany, the loser, into a unified country.
Emulating China, which Vietnam looks at with historical circumspection, the CPV has in recent years adopted a policy of proactive engagement with neighbours and big powers. As a result, the latest APEC summit has helped the new political leaders in Hanoi to raise their international profile.
P. S. SuryanarayanaCOMMents
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