Lingering memories: Vietnam, Hiroshima

Bun cha Huong Lien, an inexpensive street food shop in Hanoi, Vietnam, was made famous overnight on Monday with visits by two unexpected guests.

US President Barack Obama and CNN celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain were seen squeezing around a small table, enjoying cold local beer and grilled pork patties served in a bowl of fish sauce, along with vermicelli noodles, herbs and lettuce on the side.

By the time Obama was leaving the eatery, he was surrounded by crowds of Vietnamese greeting the president of a nation that was once Vietnam's bitter enemy.

On the same day, Obama, with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang standing at his side, unexpectedly announced the lifting of a longstanding arms embargo on Vietnam.

The news has been widely interpreted by Western media as a move to lure Vietnam from China into the US sphere or a move to counter the influence of a rising China, especially regarding maritime disputes in the South China Sea.

Obama said the decision to lift the arms ban was not based on China or any other considerations. "It was based on our desire to complete what has been a lengthy process of moving toward normalization with Vietnam," he said.

His words were met with suspicion from many Chinese experts studying China-US relations, who see any visit by Obama to the region as move to undermine China's interests.

Su Hao, a professor of Asia-Pacific studies at China Foreign Affairs University, told China Daily that it is obvious that the US aims to contain China by taking advantage of Hanoi's territorial disputes with Beijing. "Vietnam is also seeking support from countries outside the region to exert pressure on China over the disputes," Su said.

But reaction from China's foreign ministry was calm.

"As a neighbor to Vietnam, China is happy to see Vietnam develop normal relations with all countries including the US. And we hope this will be conducive to regional peace, stability and development," spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Tuesday.

Reconciliation

Kurt Campbell, chairman of the Asia Group and assistant-secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs from 2009 to 2013, had accompanied Obama on several Asian trips. He interpreted the trip to Vietnam and Hiroshima as not about China, but more about reconciliation with nations of two major wars.

"The World War II and the Vietnam War are two extraordinarily difficult issues that stir a lot of emotions in the US," he said.

It was Obama's first trip to Vietnam and to Hiroshima, where the US military dropped its first atomic bomb on Aug 6, 1945.

Campbell described it as an extremely difficult rebalancing act for Obama in many places.

"This can't be an apology tour. This can't be sort of resisting historical fact. It can't be sweeping under the table what transpired in Vietnam," he said.

While about 58,000 US military personnel died during the Vietnam War, the death toll of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians was estimated at 3 million.

It is believed that more than 1,600 US military servicemen never returned from that war. And their relatives have pushed Obama to demand Vietnam's help in accounting for them.

Tens of thousands of Vietnamese over three generations are still living with the effects of exposure to the herbicide Agent Orange, SkyNews quoted Vietnamese authorities as saying.

The peace memorial

Obama became the first sitting US president to pay a brief visit on Friday to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, also known as the Atomic Bomb Dome.

The two bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed 200,000 people, mostly civilians.

In surveys, most Japanese have not demanded an apology from Obama, citing that Japan started the war. Some worried that a demand for an apology might have forced Obama to cancel the trip.

Inside the US, veterans and military historians insisted that Obama should not apologize because dropping the bombs was necessary to shorten the war and forestall an invasion of the Japanese island of Kyushu, which could have led to many more US casualties.

Obama and other US officials have emphasized the importance of looking to the future. In his remarks at Hiroshima, he will continue to promote his 2009 vision of a nuclear free world.

Contact the writer at chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com