Cooperation and Struggle Between Vietnam and the United States: Impediments to Improved U.S.-Vietnam Relations

The relationship between the United States and Vietnam began when Prince Nguyen Phuc Canh worked with Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary American Ambassador Thomas Jefferson in 1787. The United States, however, later invaded Vietnam, causing a bloody conflict unlike any in human history from 1954 to 1975. Then, in 1995, a shared sense of humanity and morality motivated the two countries to attempt to form a comprehensive partnership that they achieved in 2013, and they have been working to refine their approach toward collaborating together ever since. In this partnership, there is a need to uncover and resolve a few mysteries. This article’s objective is to analyze the fundamentals of both cooperation and conflict in this historical partnership – human rights (including for prisoners of war and those missing in action), military security, policy reform in Vietnam, and financial gains for Vietnam and the United States. However, differences in political institutions, interests and values, and aims for the relationship have all become points of contention since normalization of bilateral relations in 1995.