The Case for Recognition

By Christopher Ogden

Washington's decision to open a dialogue with Vietnam about Cambodia suggests that the U.S. may finally be ready to jettison the psychological baggage that has so burdened attitudes toward Hanoi and contorted the policies of the Carter, Reagan and Bush administrations in Southeast Asia. But a case can be made that it doesn't go far enough because it fails to address the critical question of relations with Vietnam itself.

The Bush Administration believes it is taking a political and diplomatic risk by reaching out to Hanoi at all. But the President knew he was running out of ways to prevent the Khmer Rouge from gunning their way back into power in Phnom Penh, and he no longer needs to treat Vietnam as an extension of the cold war.

Washington's refusal to deal with Hanoi since 1975, when the last helicopter lifted off the roof of the Saigon embassy, was designed to isolate the country when it was bent on expanding its sway over its Southeast Asian neighbors. But when Vietnam withdrew the bulk of its army of occupation from Cambodia last September, it removed the last major barrier to recognition. As Senator John Kerry, the Massachusetts Democrat who was once national coordinator of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, noted last week, "A month after Tiananmen Square, we talked to the leaders of China; we talked to Pinochet, South Africa, Ceausescu, the Soviet Union even when it was the 'evil empire.' " The U.S.'s willingness to work with Germany and Japan right after World War II is what helped them grow into the democratic nations they are today.

The arguments are compelling for wasting no more time in establishing normal relations. Vietnam is a tough country, but the threat it once posed to U.S. interests has largely dissipated. "Economic development is Vietnam's preoccupation, not military adventurism," says former Secretary of State Edmund Muskie. The U.S., by returning to Southeast Asia and helping set it aright, could do much to bring Vietnam into the booming Pacific Rim economy. Given Vietnam's potential, the U.S. would probably be doing itself a favor by not ceding all the investment and market opportunities to others.

At the least, there is a humanitarian case for renewing relations. Direct talks about refugees, who are still streaming out of Vietnam, could only help. More than 10,000 Amerasians fathered by American G.I.s and ostracized in Vietnam might find life easier.

Bush's new policy could prove an instrument for pounding a hole in the wall Washington has built between itself and Hanoi. But full relations might allow the U.S. to quicken the kind of development in Southeast Asia that is transforming Eastern Europe.