Vietnam to create a memorial for foreign soldiers in the spirit of bamboo diplomacy
Vietnam has announced the construction of a park dedicated to the soldiers of Russia, China, Cuba, Laos, and Cambodia who backed the communist North during the war against the United States. This marks a turning point in its official historical narrative, which until now had emphasised nationalism and downplayed foreign assistance. The project is part of a strategic balancing act with the great powers – ideologically, Vietnam embraces China’s rhetoric, but economically, it must maintain access to the US market.
Hanoi (AsiaNews) – Vietnam has announced a new commemorative project that redefines the official narrative of the Vietnam War (1955-1975) between North Vietnam, supported by China and the Soviet Union, and South Vietnam, an ally of the United States.
A 3,000-square-metre park dedicated to soldiers from Russia, China, Cuba, Laos, and Cambodia will be built within the Vietnam Military History Museum in Hanoi.
Across Asia, memorials have always been used to convey a political message; in this case, it represents a significant historiographical revision after decades of Vietnam downplaying the role of foreign assistance to emphasise its nationalism.
Deputy Defence Minister Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien chaired a meeting on Saturday to speed up the construction of the memorial site. This is part of a series of activities to mark the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution of 19 August 1945, the uprising led by Ho Chi Minh and the Communist Party following Japan's surrender at the end of World War II.
The complex will feature a central bronze structure, symbolising the support and sacrifices of foreign military personnel. Individual monuments dedicated to military experts from each of the five countries are also planned, with the option of having them built by their respective countries or by Vietnam. All of this will be immersed in a green landscape.
For Vietnam, which is among the very few countries to have recently signed a trade deal with the United States, this represents a turning point, especially regarding relations with Russia (as a result of the war in Ukraine, the memorial will not include all soldiers from the former Soviet republics, but only from Russian) and with China, with which Vietnam has always had complicated and ambivalent relationship. One need only consider China’s interference in the South China Sea, which has generated strong tensions with all Southeast Asian countries.
Vietnam thus remains faithful to its "bamboo diplomacy", i.e. showing flexibility in balancing relations with all the major powers, and avoiding siding with one side or the other.
Since 2018, Vietnam has found itself entangled in the US-China trade war.
In fact, it benefits economically from the relocation of production chains from China, a practice known as "transshipment”; making it a transit point for Chinese goods designed to evade US tariffs. For this very reason, Hanoi knew it would be hit with very high tariffs from Washington.
Even before Trump's announcement in April (when the US president showed a list of countries with percentages of "reciprocal tariffs"), the Vietnamese government tried to make broad concessions to avoid tariffs.
The US takes in about a third of all Vietnamese exports, and high tariffs would have devastated key sectors such as textiles, footwear, electronics, and furniture, the pillars of the Vietnamese economy.
Faced with this prospect, the Vietnamese government, firmly controlled by Tô Lâm, General Secretary of the Communist Party, immediately embarked on intense diplomatic activity.
The agreement reached on 2 July cuts the initial tariffs from 46 per cent to 20 per cent, while that imposed on "transshipped" goods is 40 per cent.
Vietnam also agreed to reduce or eliminate its tariffs on goods originating from the United States, such as gas, automobiles, and agricultural products.
Even with a 20 per cent tariff, Vietnam remains competitive with the rest of the region and with countries that have yet to sit at the negotiating table with Washington.
Access to the US market remains crucial to its role as a manufacturing hub and to attract foreign direct investment, as well as to counterbalance China's strong influence.
.png)
