The United States must prioritize the protection of human rights in Vietnam in its dealings with Hanoi, a group of senior lawmakers said in a letter sent this week to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Signed by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Ben Cardin and senators Chris Coons, Chris Van Hollen and Jeff Merkley, all of whom are Democrats, the letter urges Blinken to “integrate” human rights into “all aspects” of America’s budding ties with Hanoi.
“We urge you to impress upon Vietnamese officials that genuine progress in human rights will enable a deeper economic, trade, and security relationship with the United States,” says the letter, which is dated Wednesday and questions Hanoi’s recent rights record.
In particular, Blinken must voice his opposition to Vietnam’s purported “Directive 24,” which “portends further crackdowns,” it says.
The alleged directive, which was uncovered by the Illinois-based Vietnamese human rights group Project 88 in February, says "all forms of international cooperation" by Vietnamese citizens should be treated as potential national security threats and punished harshly.
It has been criticized by civil society groups who say the instructions effectively criminalize activism, including by monitoring the overseas travel of activists and banning any independent organizations.
The directive was reportedly issued two months before U.S. President Joe Biden's high-profile trip to Hanoi late last year, when he upgraded diplomatic ties with Vietnam to the highest possible level amid surging bilateral trade and shared concerns about China's rising influence.
During the trip, Biden described the United States and Vietnam as “critical partners” in a “critical time” for international relations.
‘An important reminder’
Human rights observers praised the letter, telling Radio Free Asia the Biden administration seemed to be more willing to overlook abuses in Vietnam because it was a partner in the U.S. rivalry with China.
Josef Benedict, a researcher with the global civil society alliance CIVICUS, said he believed the letter to Blinken was an “an important reminder” not to let short-term strategic interests cloud the U.S. commitment to supporting human rights around the world.
“The Vietnamese government has failed to undertake any meaningful reforms since the partnership [with Biden] was signed in September 2023,” he said, “and we continue to see a systematic crackdown on civic freedoms and the jailing of human rights defenders, including environmental activists and journalists, on trumped-up charges.”
Vietnam's government has recently come under fire for its treatment of political prisoners, including for holding environmental activist Nguyen Duc Hung in solitary confinement for 18 months and for denying food to activist and environmental lawyer Dang Dinh Bach for two weeks.
Vietnam Human Rights Network executive director Nguyen Ba Tung said Hanoi valued its relationship with Washington enough that U.S. officials would be listened to if they demanded changes in Vietnam.
“In my opinion, if the U.S. attaches human rights requirements to negotiations, the human rights situation [in Vietnam] will be improved because the Vietnamese government won’t make progress until they are under economic and financial pressure,” he said.
The United States could use economic and trade leverage to force Vietnam to improve its human rights record, he said, given that America is Vietnam’s second-largest trade partner after China.
In 2023, two-way trade stood at almost US$111 billion.
RFA bloggers included
In their letter, the four U.S. senators expressed particular concerns over the imprisonment of numerous human rights activists, journalists and environmentalists, including Nguyen Vu Binh and RFA bloggers Nguyen Lan Thang, Nguyen Tuong Thuy and Truong Duy Nhat.
According to the letter, advancing human rights in Vietnam would help to build meaningful ties between the people of the two nations, with the Vietnamese people appreciating U.S. support for their rights.
The wife of one of the political prisoners, who asked not to be named for fear for her safety, told RFA she was “thankful” to the senators and said she hoped Blinken would pressure Hanoi to free the prisoners.
“My husband and other prisoners of conscience are innocent,” she said, adding that the prisoners named in the letter had only “exercised their human rights to build Vietnam towards a country of freedom, civilization, fairness, and sustainable development.”
Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the U.S. State Department both did not respond to requests for comment from RFA.