Pasalao

Anonymous wrote:

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Obama invites Vietnam president for rare trip

• Published: 11 Jul 2013 at 23.49
• Online news: Asia

US President Barack Obama will welcome his Vietnamese counterpart for a rare visit this month, seeking progress on trade and security issues despite concerns over the communist state's human rights record.

Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang, pictured September 8, 2012, has been invited to the White House

President Truong Tan Sang's visit, first reported by AFP on Wednesday, will be only the second by a Vietnamese head of state to Washington since the former adversaries normalized relations and comes as both governments see growing common interests.

"The president welcomes this opportunity to discuss with President Sang how to further strengthen our partnership on regional strategic issues and enhance our cooperation with Asean," a White House statement said.

"The president also looks forward to discussing human rights, emerging challenges such as climate change, and the importance of completing a high standard Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement."

The visit will take place on July 25.

Vietnam has been eager to expand military cooperation with the United States as Southeast Asian nations accuse a rising China of increasingly aggressive tactics to exert territorial disputes.

While tensions remain high between China and the Philippines, friction has appeared to ease between Beijing and Hanoi in the run-up to Obama's decision to invite Sang.

The Vietnamese president visited Beijing last month to discuss disputes. Chinese state media said that the historic rivals agreed to establish a hotline to resolve incidents involving fishing boats in the hotly contested South China Sea.

But the growing US relationship with Vietnam has faced sustained criticism on Capitol Hill, where critics accuse the administration of paying only lip service to calls on Vietnam to improve human rights.

Administration officials who testified before Congress last month said that Vietnam's human rights record was deteriorating, with the country holding more than 120 political prisoners and stepping up curbs on the Internet.

Obama has made Southeast Asia a priority, seeing an opportunity to build relations with a region that has posted high economic growth rates and is mostly friendly to the United States.

Since the start of his second term, Obama has met at the White House with the leaders of Singapore, Brunei and -- in a visit that would have been unthinkable before recent democratic reforms -- Myanmar.h

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 President Obama will not visit Laos because he has no business in Laos. Obama will go to Vietnam because Vitenamese government are kissing the United States ass for protection agianst Chinese aggresion in south China sea over spratly island which has billions and billions barrels of cruise oil  and natural gas. Laos don't have oil and don't have any thing that American need. Laos leaders only want to beg for the foreign aid money from Obama and China.This is not new , Loas have been begging for foreign aid for 4 decades.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Obama invites Vietnam president for rare trip

• Published: 11 Jul 2013 at 23.49
• Online news: Asia

US President Barack Obama will welcome his Vietnamese counterpart for a rare visit this month, seeking progress on trade and security issues despite concerns over the communist state's human rights record.

Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang, pictured September 8, 2012, has been invited to the White House

President Truong Tan Sang's visit, first reported by AFP on Wednesday, will be only the second by a Vietnamese head of state to Washington since the former adversaries normalized relations and comes as both governments see growing common interests.

"The president welcomes this opportunity to discuss with President Sang how to further strengthen our partnership on regional strategic issues and enhance our cooperation with Asean," a White House statement said.

"The president also looks forward to discussing human rights, emerging challenges such as climate change, and the importance of completing a high standard Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement."

The visit will take place on July 25.

Vietnam has been eager to expand military cooperation with the United States as Southeast Asian nations accuse a rising China of increasingly aggressive tactics to exert territorial disputes.

While tensions remain high between China and the Philippines, friction has appeared to ease between Beijing and Hanoi in the run-up to Obama's decision to invite Sang.

The Vietnamese president visited Beijing last month to discuss disputes. Chinese state media said that the historic rivals agreed to establish a hotline to resolve incidents involving fishing boats in the hotly contested South China Sea.

But the growing US relationship with Vietnam has faced sustained criticism on Capitol Hill, where critics accuse the administration of paying only lip service to calls on Vietnam to improve human rights.

Administration officials who testified before Congress last month said that Vietnam's human rights record was deteriorating, with the country holding more than 120 political prisoners and stepping up curbs on the Internet.

Obama has made Southeast Asia a priority, seeing an opportunity to build relations with a region that has posted high economic growth rates and is mostly friendly to the United States.

Since the start of his second term, Obama has met at the White House with the leaders of Singapore, Brunei and -- in a visit that would have been unthinkable before recent democratic reforms -- Myanmar.h

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 President Obama will not visit Laos because he has no business in Laos. Obama will go to Vietnam because Vitenamese government are kissing the United States ass for protection agianst Chinese aggresion in south China sea over spratly island which has billions and billions barrels of cruise oil  and natural gas. Laos don't have oil and don't have any thing that American need. Laos leaders only want to beg for the foreign aid money from Obama and China.This is not new , Loas have been begging for foreign aid for 4 decades.

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 Currently, Laos doesn't have any strategic importance that suits the immediate aim of the US to contain China expansion. On the other hand, Laos needs China for its ongoing economic development, like high speed train, potash exploration, etc...Laos should remain neutral vis-a-vis Vietnam and China. We need both of them but we don't want to be under their exploitation either. Big powers can be both beneficial and destructive, be it White or Yellow. It all depends on us to know how to play the right games with them.