By Hai Hong Nguyen
A strategic partnership with Vietnam would both advance US interests and produce better results on human rights.
Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang's trip to Washington this week to meet with President Barack Obama at the White House is being closely watched by observers of the bilateral relationship, both in Vietnam and abroad.
There is a general sense among some observers that there is a historic opportunity to upgrade the current relationship to a strategic partnership. This optimism is born largely out of persistent rumors that Vietnamese leaders have decided that they must engage more closely with the U.S. in order to balance against China. The U.S., on the other hand, sees Vietnam as a crucial component of its rebalance to Asia.
But while the strategic logic of such a partnership is increasingly obvious, seizing it continues to be hobbled by concerns over Vietnam’s human rights record.
Together with strategic and economic interests, human rights and the promotion of U.S. values are often considered the three pillars of U.S. foreign policy.
That said, these pillars should not be seen as equal. Indeed, U.S. presidents have regularly prioritized America’s strategic and economic interests over its normative interests.
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