According to the professor, during the 33rd U.S.-ASEAN Dialogue, held in Washington D.C. on August 4, it was expressed that the U.S.-ASEAN strategic partnership was important for a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

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Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo (left) meets with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh in Hanoi on October 30, 2020. (Photo: U.S. Department of State)

The United States has buttressed the need for clear and transparent rules based on the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and commitment to the 2016 arbitration tribunal ruling.

Under the chairmanship of Vietnam, ASEAN has been able to address the COVID-19 pandemic and the U.S. has expressed faith in ASEAN resilience against unsustainable debt. The U.S. had declared more than 87 million USD for providing emergency health, medicines and assistance to combat the coronavirus in Southeast Asia.

One of the achievements in the year 2020 has been the U.S.-ASEAN smart cities partnership which would promote better understanding on transportation, connectivity and water management in selected cities in the region. The IT alliance program between the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and 11 Vietnamese universities would help modernise Vietnamese technology and engineering institutes and promote Vietnam as an emerging regional technological hub.

It seems that the year 2020 has been a milestone year for developing better relationships between the U.S. and Vietnam and also involving U.S. in ASEAN activities. The number of projects as well as assistance programs that the U.S. has announced in the year 2020 clearly outlines the fact that the global power would look into this region with more focus, particularly in the emerging geopolitical challenges and the tensions in East Sea (South China Sea), the article said.

Source: VNA