by Vu Kim Chung
18-7-1999
It was the sort of statement one would have expected during the darkest days of the so-called "American War" as it is referred to in Vietnam. Its delivery in the middle of July 1999 during a visit by Communist Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu to Havana had observers perplexed - and a little concerned that, as one foreign diplomat put it, Vietnam is "withdrawing slowly into a shell of isolationism".
Amid a stream of mutual praise and assurances of continued solidarity, Mr Phieu and President Fidel Castro rounded on the West. They delivered a joint statement indicating a conviction that the future still holds all the threats of the past.
"Vietnam and Cuba are concerned about hegemonic forces that are manipulating the world economy in its globalisation process by imposing conditions upon small and developing countries," trumpeted the front pages of several state-controlled newspapers.
Mere rhetoric, perhaps, but in Vietnam meaning can often only be found in nuance and a strong sense of history invariably influences expectations for the future. The observation made by the two leaders, however, seems to be right on the mark. Indeed, hegemonic forces are manipulating the world economy to protect the interests of the world's mainly United States-based multinational corporate entities. Those who do not cooperate are forced to endure all manner of political and economic manipulation. If they resolve not to bend then they are attacked on some pretext. Kosovo is one such example. The continual badgering and attacks on Iraq are another.
While domestic and regional economic indicators warn of potentially difficult times ahead, signs are that the country's leadership is withdrawing deeper into the mentality of no compromise, which has seen Vietnam prevail through history against overwhelming odds. The calls for speedier economic reform from international donors and investors alike have, according to most accounts, been addressed only marginally.
Visiting US State Department officials, who urged greater human and religious freedoms, left the week ending July 16 with only a terse reminder Vietnam will not tolerate interference in its domestic affairs. During June, senior Vietnamese leaders have mounted a diplomatic offensive with traditional friends, seeking aid and trade in former communist and non-aligned countries. But while countries such as Cuba, North Korea, Russia and Sweden have been good, loyal friends, they do not have serious economic or diplomatic clout.
"It has to be said that when it comes to outside ideas, the leadership can be pretty stubborn. There is an attitude that Vietnam has survived hardship before and that it can do so again," one foreign diplomat said. "In some senses that's an admirable attitude. But economically at least, the genie is out of the bottle. Many people have had a taste of a better life and they will not be very happy if they are forced to return to austerity."