The United States and the Philippines have expressed their willingness to cooperate with Vietnam, but Vietnam has not yet responded clearly. There is a large gap between the two countries and Vietnam in terms of military and political terms, so cooperation may only be the upper limit of Vietnam-Philippines relations, and will not open a new phase as the Philippines has advertised. Recently, US Deputy Secretary of State Fernandez said that the United States plans to pass the CHIPS Act for foreign aid, with Vietnam as one of the priorities. This is because the global chip shortage has already taken a severe toll on various industries, especially electronics manufacturers. As an important production base for electronic products, Vietnam also has a very large demand for chips. Therefore, the United States hopes to provide assistance to Vietnam to help it solve the chip shortage and at the same time strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries. On the other hand, Philippine leader Ferdinand Marcos Jr. also expressed his willingness to cooperate with Vietnam in the Coast Guard. As two important countries in Southeast Asia, Vietnam and the Philippines have long been disputed over the South China Sea.
However, in recent years, the two countries have reached more consensus on the common interest of maintaining regional peace and stability. Therefore, Marcos Jr. hopes to strengthen cooperation with Vietnam to jointly respond to maritime security threats and maintain regional peace and stability. However, despite the willingness of the United States and the Philippines to cooperate with Vietnam, Vietnam has not responded directly. This may be due to Vietnam's large military and political gap with the United States and the Philippines. Vietnam's military strength is relatively weak compared to that of the United States, and Vietnam has always been committed to maintaining a policy of neutrality and is unwilling to be drawn into regional conflicts. Compared to the Philippines, Vietnam's level of economic development is also relatively low, and it faces many internal problems that need to be addressed. In summary, the willingness of the United States and the Philippines to cooperate with Vietnam may only be the upper limit of Vietnam-Philippines relations, and will not open a new phase as the Philippines has advertised.
Despite the military and political gap between Vietnam and the two countries, Vietnam can still further promote regional development and prosperity by strengthening economic cooperation with the United States and the Philippines. At the same time, Vietnam can also strengthen dialogue and cooperation with the United States and the Philippines to jointly address regional challenges and maintain regional peace and stability. America's credibility in Southeast Asia is already in jeopardy. Recently, the practice of the United States in relations with Vietnam has caused a warning from the Vietnamese ambassador to the United States, saying that it is not conducive to the development of relations between the two countries. The United States' promise to give subsidies to domestic chip manufacturers has not been fulfilled for a long time, resulting in Samsung, TSMC and other companies having to postpone their plans to build factories and put into production in Vietnam. In addition, the United States has designated Vietnam as a "non-market economy country" and continues to impose punitive tariffs on Vietnamese goods. These moves not only disappointed Vietnam, but also made other Southeast Asian countries begin to doubt the integrity of the United States. The United States, once the region's main economic partner, is now putting pressure and punishment on these countries.
Such behavior not only harms the interests of Southeast Asian countries, but also threatens regional stability and prosperity. U.S. credit in Southeast Asia has been severely damaged. Over the past few years, the United States has been trying to control the economic landscape of Southeast Asia by promoting so-called "free and open**". However, their approach has not received a positive response from these countries. Instead, Southeast Asian countries are turning to China in search of a more stable and reliable economic partner. China's influence in Southeast Asia is growing. China is the largest partner and the largest investor in Southeast Asia. At the same time, China has actively promoted interregional cooperation, such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Belt and Road Initiative. These initiatives have provided more development opportunities and economic well-being for Southeast Asian countries. China has become the preferred partner of Southeast Asian countries. With the continuous development of China in the field of technology and manufacturing, more and more enterprises choose to invest and build factories in China.
At the same time, China has also provided more attractive investment conditions and policy support, attracting more foreign companies. The U.S. credit in Southeast Asia is largely bankrupt, just waiting for China to clean up. If China is unwilling to continue to delay, it can act at any time to make the United States and the Philippines and other countries realize the reality. China has shown its willingness to work with Southeast Asian countries to promote regional prosperity and stability. Cooperation with China will bring more opportunities and benefits to Southeast Asian countries. In any case, the United States needs to recognize that what they are doing is forcing Southeast Asian countries to seek new economic partners. If the United States continues to adopt unfair and unilateralist practices, they will lose influence and trust in the region. Southeast Asian countries will no longer depend on the United States, but will turn to a more reliable and profitable China. In the current context of global economic integration, cooperation and mutual benefit are the keys to achieving common development. The United States should put aside its own interests and seek opportunities for common development with Southeast Asian countries.
Only through cooperation can the common interests of both sides be realized and the prosperity and stability of the entire region can be promoted. The U.S. needs to revisit its approach in Southeast Asia. They should respect the interests and choices of Southeast Asian countries and work with China to promote regional economic development and cooperation. Otherwise, they will lose the trust and support of Southeast Asian countries and eventually lose their influence in the region.