The strong partnership between the United States and Vietnam is a testament to reconciliation between bitter enemies. As the United States seeks to expand its partnerships in the Indo-Pacific, what lessons should it draw from this key bilateral relationship?

There is a certain level of restraint, but there is also a lingering distrust.

Even as the Vietnamese government has kept diplomatic channels with Beijing open, it has also sought to assert and advocate for its own sovereignty and rights by diversifying its diplomatic partnerships and strengthening its own capabilities.