US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (EAP) David R. Stilwell will begin a three-day visit in Vietnam today [December 16].

US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (EAP) David R. Stilwell at a forum in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: AP

Assistant Secretary Stilwell will inaugurate celebrations for the 25th anniversary of US-Vietnam diplomatic relations and will discuss shared priorities ahead of Vietnam’s 2020 ASEAN Chairmanship and its 2020-2021 UN Security Council non-permanent membership term, the US Department of State said in a statement.

Vietnam and the US normalized bilateral relations in 1995, one year after US President Bill Clinton lifted the trade embargo on Vietnam.

In a testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on September 18, David Stilwell said Beijing conducted maritime surveys within Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone to intimidate Hanoi.

Chinese activities aim to keep Vietnam and other ASEAN states away from developing oil and gas resources in the South China Sea.

The assistant secretary said in highlighting the role of the committee and EAP in advancing the White House’s Indo-Pacific strategy, saying that the US approach recognizes the region’s central global importance and central role in American foreign policy, as underscored by the President’s National Security Strategy.

“As the President’s National Security Strategy makes clear, we are especially concerned by Beijing’s use of market-distorting economic inducements and penalties, influence operations, and intimidation to persuade other states to heed its political and security agenda,” he said.