PANO – In an interview with the press on the sidelines of the bilateral conference “Vietnam-US relationship: For 20 more successful years”, Former Deputy Foreign Minister and the First Ambassador of Vietnam to the United States stressed that there were sea of difficulties for Vietnam and the United States to overcome in the process of normalization of relationship. The People’s Army Newspaper Online would like to introduce the interview with the ambassador to readers.
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– Reporter: What were the difficulties for Vietnam and the United States to reach the normalization in 1995, Mr. Ambassador?
Ambassador Le Van Bang
- Ambassador Le Van Bang: There were countless difficulties on the way to the normalization. The major ones included: the issue involving in US servicemen, missing in actions (MIA); how to deal with the money and property that the US left behind in Vietnam after the war; and the Vietnam War syndrome in the US. They were all very tough issues that the USA wished Vietnam to cooperate and support in dealing with. Neverthless, Vietnam with its good deed tried its best. Facts from history show that Vietnam is a peace-loving nation and that Vietnamese people with humanity always try to be friendly to their old enemies after the wars.
- Reporter: How important is the issue of MIAs in the relationship between the two countries?- Ambassador Le Van Bang: In the 1980-1985 period, the United States practiced hostile policies towards Vietnam, and families of US troops missing in action in Vietnam demanded the return of their family members. After 1986, the country changed its policies towards Vietnam, but these families made the MIAs issue a prerequisite for the normalization. They demanded that the normalization could only take place after the US Government had brought home all the POW/MIAs in Vietnam or they had at least gotten the information about the POW/MIAs. As a result, it took 20 years, from 1975, for the two nations to reach the normalization. In fact, until now, the search and collection of MIAs’ remains have not been completed yet, but the demands have also been eased.
- Reporter: For you, why the demands became less pressing, Mr. Ambassador ?- Ambassador Le Van Bang : It resulted from the fact that Vietnam has done the best in dealing with the issue. At times, the US side said they would find the information about the troops missing in action themselves and requested Vietnam to provide helicopters for the US search teams. However, they could not succeed in finding anything as their information was not exact. After the unsuccessful operations, the American side started to believe in Vietnam’s sincerity and admitted that the problem was solved. It is worth mentioning that the United States really appreciated the efforts of Vietnam in the search of MIAs.
- Reporter: Another post-war problem as an obstacle to normalization is dioxin consequence relief. How was it done?- Ambassador Le Van Bang: I think this is a very hard problem for the United States. In the 1990s, once the question was raised, the United States simply did not listen or shunned it. Then, they gradually listened to us and started to provide financial support. This is a difficult issue, but it is the justice for Vietnamese victims. So many Vietnamese people are still suffering from bad consequences of Agent Orange/Dioxin. However, it is certainly hard for the United States to provide financial assistance to Vietnam to overcome the consequences.
- Reporter: As the first Vietnamese ambassador to the United States, what is your assessment of the relationship over the past 20 years?- Ambassador Le Van Bang: The past 20 years witnessed things that even surprised me; for example, the partial lift of the ban on the lethal arms sales to Vietnam. Or the bilateral trade turnover has now reached USD 30 billion while it was just about USD 1 billion when I was in my office in the United States. Another example is that around 15,000 to 16,000 Vietnamese students are now studying in the United States. However, the most important is that Vietnam and the United States have established the comprehensive partnership.
- Reporter: Is there anything that the two sides have not yet achieved as planned?- Ambassador Le Van Bang: There are quite a lot, but I just mention two things namely the Vietnam War syndrome and the fact that United States keeps issuing its annual resolutions on human rights and democracy against Vietnam. These issues could more or less hinder the development of bilateral relations between the two countries. I think that we should leave differences behind to come closer for the benefit of people of both countries.
- Reporter: What about economic ties?- Ambassador Le Van Bang: As I have said, USD 30 billion of trade turnover is a good number. But there still remain things that the Americans need to improve. For instance the US has many times proposed the imposition of the anti-dumping tax on Vietnam’s catfish and shrimps. They do not see that it is the advantage of the Vietnamese farmers, not due to the support of the Vietnamese Government to the businesses. Such claims have also affected the bilateral relationship. As for economic ties, the US should consider thoroughly before applying any sanctions.
- Reporter: So, what should be the lessons learnt after 20 years of diplomatic relations?- Ambassador Le Van Bang: I found three issues here. First, both sides have their own strategic interests, and the differences have sometimes tensed the relationship. Second is the Vietnam War syndrome. And the third is the US syndrome. If we can deal with those three issues well, the relationship between the two countries could experience much better development.
– Reporter : Thank you very much!Interviewed by Ngoc Ha Translated by Huu Duong
Đăng ký: VietNam News
