Nguyen Tuong Van, Secretary-General of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Vietnam-US diplomatic ties, Nguyen TuongVan, Secretary-General of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA),has penned an article on the role of parliamentarians in the 25-year diplomaticrelationship between the two countries.
In the article, Van, who was former deputy director of the external relations department inthe Vietnam National Assembly’s Office with nearly 20 years in charge of Vietnam-US relations, recalled the day a quarter of a century ago when US President Bill Clinton officially announced the normalisation ofUS-Vietnam relations.
She stressed that no onecould have imagined that the two countries that were once mortal enemies wereclosing their traumatic past and moving on to a new chapter in theirhistory.
“In order to take historic stepsin Vietnam-US relations, from a formerenemy to a friend and a comprehensive partner since 2013, many changes haveoccurred in the way of thinking and ideology of the heads of parliament andgovernment on both sides,” Vannoted.
According to her, what Vietnam and the US have done is the result of along process with persistent efforts by both sides to overcome major obstacles.
Van wrote, “It isimportant to mention the contributions of American lawmakers who have triedtheir best for the development and interests of the two nations. Prominentamong them were the late Senator John McCain and the former Senator, USSecretary of State John Kerry, who led the way in breaking the iceberg ofsuspicion among American politicians. Looking back at the whole process, thereis a paradox in Vietnam-USrelations, that is, those who fought in the past became the pioneers in healingthe relationship. Without the strong support of Senators McCain and Kerry, thenormalisation process would have been delayed for many years since oppositionin the US Congress was still very strong.”
Shesaid in the final years of his life, Senator McCain suffered from brain cancer, but he continued to fight for peace, stabilityand law and order in Asia-Pacific, especially the actions of China in themilitarisation of the South China Sea (called East Sea in Vietnam).
Alsoa veteran of the US, joining the naval force in the war, Senator - formerSecretary of State, John Kerry is often regarded as one of a pair of cardsalong with Senator McCain in the issue of healing wounds between the twonations although the two senators belonged to opposing parties.
Senator Kerry was the Chairmanof the Special Committee on Prisoner of War and Missing in Actions Affairs(POW/MIA). At that time, the Vietnam Warwas still a very sensitive issue, a painful wound for Americans. But, withdozens of trips to Vietnam andSoutheast Asia, and by studying thousands of documents and images, Kerryclarified the rumours of US soldiers imprisoned in “secret prisons" in Vietnam. That helped him gain a high reputationin the US Congress.
Vanalso mentioned Senator Patrick Leahy, Vice Chairman of the US SenateAppropriations Committee, who hasdevoted 30 years to war recovery efforts between the two countries. SenatorLeahy is considered the next generation of McCain and Kerry in cultivatingVietnam-US relations. Senator Leahy,79 years old, has a special affection for Vietnam and has made great contributions tobudget allocations for Vietnam notonly in dealing with the aftermath of the war but in many fields.
As trust between the twocountries improved, Senator Leahy started projects to help Vietnam, in whichthe Leahy War Victims Fund provided prosthetics and wheelchairs to helpthousands of Vietnamese people.
SenatorLeahy was also a campaigner for the repatriation of the remains of Americansoldiers missing in the war. He once said the work helped ease the pain ofhundreds of American families, and he could only do so with the help of theVietnamese Government, even when Vietnam was facing poverty and hungerafter the war and the US economic embargo.
Vanunderlined that 25 years is not a long time in the history of relations betweenthe two countries, but what Vietnam and the US have achieved, with thecontributions of the US Congress, US Congressmen and the National Assembly ofVietnam, is really impressive. It significantly contributed to paving the wayfor the outstanding co-operation of the two countries in all fields at present.
“Besidesbilateral interests, the two countries are closer to each other because theyshare strategic interests in maintaining peace, security, stability, cooperationand order based on laws in Asia-Pacific, including issues in the East Sea,Mekong, Korean Peninsula and coordination in regional and international forums.Most importantly, the relationship between the two countries was established onthe basis of the principles of respect for independence, sovereignty,territorial integrity and political institutions,” Van wrote in the article.
Shehighlighted that the strategic trust between the people and the leaders ofthe two countries has been increasingly improved, and expressed her belief that,in the future, the two sides will continue to dismiss differences, respecthistory and look forward, for a shared future of trust, peace and prosperity./.
