The press conference by a clearly fatigued President Biden dominated much attention on his two-day trip to Vietnam, but despite the dodgy optics, administration officials say the trip helped fill in spaces on the fast-evolving Indo-Pacific strategic map.
Critics of the 80-year-old president’s stamina will have new ammunition after Mr. Biden’s handlers ended a press conference by apparently cutting off the microphone in Hanoi, after a tired-looking Mr. Biden announced he was heading to bed.
“We have an opportunity to strengthen alliances around the world to maintain stability,” Mr. Biden continued. “That’s what this trip is all about.” Vietnam lies on China’s southwestern flank, and has traditionally held strong sway over its smaller neighbors, Cambodia and Laos. Vietnam has traditionally bought arms – including submarines – from Russia, a spigot Washington would like to turn off. A source in the arms industry said he anticipates Vietnam moving toward more Western arms suppliers in the near future.“A lot of it is focused on coast guard patrol capabilities and maritime domain awareness, and this has been in discussion for several years,” said Singapore-based Alex Neill, a security expert with the Pacific Forum think tank.
Mr. Biden has faced pressure from China hawks on Capitol Hill to cut back the U.S. economy’s reliance on Chinese competitors, but Mr. Biden may also have taken a political risk embracing such close ties with a Communist regime in Hanoi with a highly questionable record on human right and civil liberties.
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