US, Vietnam pledge to boost ties as Blinken visits Hanoi

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives for an official visit to Vietnam at Noi Bai international airport in Hanoi, on Friday night (April 14). - AFP

HANOI, April 15 (AP): Fifty years after the last US combat troops left South Vietnam, Secretary of State Antony Blinken looked on Saturday to strengthen America’s ties with its old foes in Hanoi as it seeks to counter China’s growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific.

Blinken and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh pledged to boost relations to new levels as they met just two weeks after the 50th anniversary of the US troop withdrawal that marked the end of America’s direct military involvement in Vietnam.