The extraordinary road to normalisation

Pete Peterson, the first US Ambassador to Vietnam, was instrumental in the effort to normalise relations between the two countries

With the world experiencing so much turmoil, I am extremely pleased that President Obama has found time to visit Vietnam, particularly given his demanding schedule dealing with critical global problems.

His visit signals America’s strong support for continued strengthening of bilateral relations between our two countries.

Following the end of the war, it has been 16 years since the historic first visit by a US president.

At the time of President Clinton’s visit in 2000, Vietnam was still in its early stages of development. Much progress has been made since that visit. Today, Vietnam is a resilient middle-income nation with a steadily growing economy providing its citizens a higher quality of life than at any other time in its history.

Vietnam now has a much greater stake within the community of nations and, as the title of this special publication points out, Vietnam and the United States now enjoy a Comprehensive Partnership.

None of us who worked long and hard to lay the groundwork for the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries in the early 1990s could imagine in our wildest dreams, the extraordinary progress that has been made to cement the relationship that now exists between Vietnam and the United States.

Nothing gives me more pride and professional satisfaction than to see our two nations working closely together towards the achievement of common goals. But let’s be frank. Following the end of the war in 1975, there was little inclination on either side to work towards reconciliation.

In fact, hatred, animosity, and retribution filled the hearts and minds of many people in both Vietnam and the US, and those sentiments were amplified significantly among those who were directly involved in the war.

We faced a situation whereby only time could provide an avenue for healing the wounds of war and create an opening for social and diplomatic dialogue. It took a decade before meaningful consultations were possible.

While not its original intent, the big breakthrough came when Vietnam and the United States agreed to create a joint taskforce to seek the fullest possible accounting for all personnel whose fates remained unknown after the war.

Over time, the pioneering and highly professional efforts of the joint MIA‐POW teams created an atmosphere of trust and confidence that eventually laid the ground for political and diplomatic dialogue.

Upon my release and return to the US after 6.5 years as a POW in Vietnam, my mind was not focused on reconciliation or normalisation of relations with Vietnam. I had my hands full as a modern day “Rip Van Winkle” trying to readjust back to being a normal fully‐functioning American citizen again.

It took much longer than I thought it would.

However, once I got back on my feet, the idea of someday returning to Vietnam did enter my mind. But it was not until I became more politically active during my first congressional campaign in 1989 that I started to think seriously about how to mend the broken relationship and help build a bridge across that river of pain that still existed between our two nations.

When I entered the United States Congress in 1991, my colleagues by-and-large were not fans of any efforts for reconciliation or normalisation of relations with Vietnam.

There certainly was no national sentiment to do so. However, there was a small group of former Vietnam veterans (myself included) in both the House and Senate who did express some optimism for that possibility.

But I must admit that our collective motivation at the time was largely driven by the belief that by improving the US-Vietnam relationship we would enhance the work of the joint MIA/POW task force.

That ultimately proved to be true as it is one of the most successful components in the US-Vietnam relationship. I returned to Vietnam for the first time in 1991 as part of a Congressional delegation to see firsthand how the joint work was progressing.

I was impressed with the professionalism and level of co-operation between the two sides, and recognised that the programme held high potential for helping to open a path for co-operation on other critical issues.

Following that visit, I became even more deeply involved with US efforts for reconciliation. I met with a number of Vietnamese diplomats serving in the US at that time and became a strong advocate of the so called “road map” for normalisation.

I made a second visit to Vietnam in 1993, which helped to solidify my belief that it was clearly in America’s best interests to aggressively pursue all opportunities to re-establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam. It must be pointed out that America’s business community deserves much credit for the progress we made on the voyage toward normalisation. The US-Vietnam Trade Council in particular was key to keeping the movement alive and at times served as an intermediary for dialogue between officials from the two countries.

This public/private partnership was, in my view, a key success factor in convincing President Clinton to lift the economic embargo on Vietnam in 1994, which finally paved the way for the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries.

While my personal contributions were only a part of the overall collective effort in support of normalisation, I am extremely pleased to be counted among a very small number of Americans that helped steer the United States and Vietnam toward reconciliation.

I may have made it sound like the course of reconciliation and normalisation was a straight forward, simple process. No, it certainly was not! It was a complex, start-and-stop effort full of emotion, disappointment, and with some moments of abject failure.

A lot of sweat and tears were shed on both sides during that process. Fortunately for the sake of history, the leadership on both sides never lost sight of the potential benefits to be derived from completing full normalisation of relations. It was a special day on July 11, 1995 when the establishment of diplomatic relations was announced in Vietnam, and the American Embassy was opened in Hanoi.

I was very pleased to receive a call from then Secretary of State Warren Christopher on that day to inform me that the normalisation process was complete and the new embassy was now open for business.

Since that time, major achievements have been made in virtually all sectors and important diplomatic milestones have been met and often surpassed. The signing and implementation of the US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement took us to a new level of economic co-operation and became the single most important tool to boost Vietnam’s economic development.

Normalisation also served as a template for Vietnam’s entry into the World Trade Organization a few years later. Driven by the merger of the two country’s common interests regionally and globally, the comprehensive partnership Vietnam and the United States now enjoy is on the threshold of being elevated to a strategic partnership.

While the initial focus was mainly on economic issues, co-operation quickly spread across the entire spectrum of political, military, social, and cultural issues. Clearly, there remain sensitive issues and differences of opinion, but the bilateral relationship has matured to the point where there is nothing now that cannot be addressed through ongoing political/diplomatic dialogue and comprehensive engagement.

The issue of human rights remains a troubling issue to overcome on the way to concluding the strategic partnership, particularly with respect to freedom of the press, which is a very sensitive issue.

Over the past two decades, I have witnessed steady and positive improvements in Vietnam’s human rights policy which I very much applaud, but recognise that there are still many opportunities for further improvement.

Vietnam has made an incredible transition from a war-torn developing country to one of the world’s most successful middle-income countries.

As the 14th most populous country in the world with an intelligent and productive work force, the future holds much promise for Vietnam, and one can only imagine what Vietnam will look like in 20 years – the thought is mind boggling.

Vietnam’s robust economy will continue to grow and the interests of Vietnam and the United States will become even more deeply intertwined.

Vietnam will assume a greater role within the international community and the US-Vietnam relationship will grow to the point where our two nations will ultimately become close allies.

While Vietnam’s future is full of promise, it also faces numerous tough challenges. To achieve its full potential, Vietnam must place a top priority on the development of its national infrastructure; it should initiate innovative education reforms; eradicate corruption; and move more closely to the adoption of international standards on human rights.

As one of Vietnam’s earliest advocates, I am confident that with enlightened leadership, Vietnam’s future is full of exciting prospects. I plan to be a key witness and participant in Vietnam’s continued journey to greater achievement and prosperity.