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DW
7 days ago
- Business
- DW
Is Vietnam courting Trump family with luxury golf course? – DW – 05/28/2025
A luxury golf resort owned by US President Donald Trump's family has swiftly received preferential treatment from Hanoi. The move comes as Vietnam faces high tariffs from the Trump administration. Ground was broken on May 21 for a $1.5 billion luxury golf resort in northern Vietnam owned by US President Donald Trump's family business. Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization, presided over the ceremony. Days later, Eric Trump traveled to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's economic powerhouse, to finalize an agreement for a luxury hotel development in an upscale district of the rapidly expanding city. Reports indicate that the Vietnamese government expedited approvals and potentially violated domestic regulations to favor the Trump Organization. The deals come as Vietnam faces a 46% tariff threatened by the Trump administration on April 2. Although these punitive "reciprocal tariffs" have been postponed until July, Vietnam remains under pressure, especially considering its substantial $123 billion trade surplus with the United States. Vietnam ranks among the most trade-dependent countries globally, with exports to the US alone accounting for approximately 30% of its GDP, according to official data. "Hanoi understands that for the Trump Administration, what is public is private, and the best way to curry favor is to do deals with the Trump family," Zachary Abuza, a professor at the National War College in Washington, told DW. Relations with Vietnam were positive in the early years of Trump's first term. Former Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc was one of the first world leaders to meet Trump at the White House in 2017, and Hanoi was later chosen to host the high-profile but unsuccessful summit between Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un. However, Trump's stance shifted drastically in 2019 when he accused Vietnam of being the "worst abuser" in trade relations with the US, launching investigations into alleged unfair practices. These measures were only reversed after President Joe Biden took office. Eric Trump and Vietnamese officials attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the Trump International Hung Yen Image: dpa/picture alliance Vietnam fast-tracks Trump's luxury golf resort Although officially a private venture, the Vietnamese government significantly facilitated the Trump Organization's golf resort plans. In mid-March, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met Charles James Boyd Bowman, head of the Trump Organization's projects in Vietnam, and promised to "conduct a thorough review to fast-track the project." He called on the Trump Organisation to "position Vietnam as a business base and expand its investment footprint in the country," according to Vietnamese media reports. Vietnam has indeed delivered on its promise, achieving record-breaking speed for regulatory approval, Abuza noted. Typically, projects of this scale take years; this one reached groundbreaking within three months of initial filings. In March, Hanoi also gave permission for SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, Trump's efficiency tsar, to launch its Starlink satellite internet service on a trial basis. Earlier this week, the New York Times newspaper revealed a letter from Vietnamese officials that explicitly stated that the project required support from senior members of the Vietnamese government because it was "receiving special attention from the Trump administration and President Donald Trump personally." According to the New York Times' report, the Vietnamese government has "ignored its own laws" by granting concessions to the Trump Organization that are "more generous than what even the most connected locals receive." Moreover, the entire project runs counter to the housing master plan of Hung Yen province, where it is located, and potentially the state's environmental and safety regulations. According to the aforementioned letter by Vietnamese government officials, the groundbreaking event was also brought forward to avoid "missing the window to capitalize on the support of the Donald Trump administration." Vietnam's strategic hedging The initial agreement for the golf course was signed last September, two months before Trump won the US presidential elections. "Although the specifics leading up to the deal are not known, one plausible theory is that a real estate project of this scale could not have proceeded without the backing of the Vietnamese government," Hoang Thi Ha, a senior fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, wrote last month in an article for the institute's Fulcrum analysis website . She added that state backing "could have been a way for Vietnam to hedge its interests with Trump even before the US presidential election outcome was known." Moreover, the golf resort's location is significant. Hung Yen is just outside Hanoi and is the home province of To Lam, the communist party's general secretary. In early 2024, the incumbent and powerful general secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, passed away. In his place, To Lam, previously the public security minister and Trong's enforcer, quickly consolidated power. Lam became state president and then party chief, breaking the separation of powers norm of Vietnamese politics and leading some commentators to wonder whether he had dictatorial plans. He later relinquished the presidency. Since last year, To Lam has purged various ministries and appointed officials or personal friends from Hung Yen province in their place. Business and politics "There's little doubt that Hanoi has rolled out the red carpet for Trump-affiliated businesses in recent months," Khac Giang Nguyen, a visiting fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, told DW. "It's a calculated, transactional move, with hopes that favourable treatment for Trump's business interests might buy some goodwill in Washington amid the ongoing trade negotiations," he added. The White House maintains that President Trump's trade discussions are entirely separate from his family's business dealings. Vietnam has actively sought to mitigate tariff threats, pledging earlier to reduce all duties on US imports and increase purchases of American goods. Khac Giang Nguyen said Hanoi's dealings with the Trump Organization reflect a strategic balancing act designed to navigate complex political and economic pressures. However, the analyst said this is not a "sustainable strategy," and that in the long run, "Vietnam's real test will be finding a stable way to balance the competing demands of Washington and Beijing, rather than relying on quick fixes." US-China tensions test ties between ASEAN members To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Edited by: Wesley Rahn
Yomiuri Shimbun
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Trump's Politics of Resentment, Victim Narrative Make America Less Great
Kagefumi Ueno Among the characteristics of U.S. President Donald Trump, what particularly perplexes me is his obsessive use of popular resentment for his own political purposes. Trump has repeatedly alleged that the United States is a victim exploited by foreign countries, be they allies or non-allies. 'For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike,' Trump said on April 2 when he announced sweeping tariffs including 10% global levies plus often far higher duties on a country by country basis. This type of politics of resentment was foreseen over a decade ago by Michael J. Mazarr, who was then a professor at the National War College of the United States. In his article titled 'The Age of Grievance: How to Play Resentment Politics' in Foreign Affairs in July 2014, Mazarr said that the world should be prepared for the arrival of an age of grievance in which the dynamics of international politics are no longer shaped only by geopolitical factors. Equally important are such psychological factors as anger, grievance and a sense of alienation, he argued. He also said that political leaders have become keener to rebuild identity and to demand redemption in line with the seriousness of humiliations collectively incurred. Mazarr referred to Russia and China as the major players of resentment politics. He also commented that jihadist groups successfully expanded their spheres of influence by capitalizing on people's grievances in the Middle East. His account looks as though it foretold Russian President Vladimir Putin's current aggression against Ukraine, which started eight years later. Putin has tried to justify the outrageous assault by portraying Russia as the victim, having long been menaced by Western powers. It was natural that Mazarr did not describe the United States as a victim, as the nation is an unquestionable winner in the world economy. The global market dominance of American tech giants is a case in point. One could argue that the United States has even acted as a bully on a number of occasions in history. It repeatedly meddled in the domestic politics of Latin American nations such as Guatemala, Cuba, Chile and El Salvador during the Cold War. Its interventionist approach was again evident in its destructive wars in Vietnam and Iraq. Trump's threats to retake the Panama Canal, acquire Greenland and take over Gaza, and his efforts to force Ukraine to accept his deal with Moscow, can be traced back to this historic pattern. His order to impose sanctions against the International Criminal Court also appears to show his 'might-is-right' stance. Indeed, the United States has been in a privileged position as the issuer of the key international currency, the U.S. dollar. Being a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council is yet another source of its power. Against this backdrop, the United States has been an apparent hegemon, and therefore Trump's repeated descriptions of the United States as a victim are perplexing and sound unacceptably phony. Trump erroneously ascribes many of the nation's domestic problems to what he alleges to be ploys by foreign nations. The president claims that tariffs are needed because Americans — particularly those in 'Rust Belt' states that have experienced industrial decline, such as Pennsylvania and Michigan — are being victimized by a number of exporting countries. For sure, parts of the United States have lagged in the transition toward a technology-driven economy, but U.S. tech giants have been bringing huge wealth to the country. The problem is that wealth in the United States is not fairly shared across regions or sectors. It must be the responsibility of the U.S. government — not China or other exporters — to solve this largely domestic issue. Trump often uses this type of victim narrative to address security issues as well. Demonstrating his dissatisfaction with the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, the president said on April 10: 'We pay hundreds of billions of dollars to defend [Japan], but … they don't pay anything.' This statement is factually wrong. Japan provides bases to the United States based on the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty and pays hundreds of billions of yen every year to support the stationing of U.S. forces in Japan. The comment sounds as if Trump was suggesting Washington had been forced to defend Japan. How could the mightiest nation on earth be forced to do anything against its will? The U.S. policy of deploying its military forces worldwide has always been its independent and strategic decision to project its own power globally and to shape the world order in line with its own national interest. If Trump believes otherwise, he defames his predecessors and his own nation. Trump is shrewd enough to capitalize on people's grudges. This wrongheaded political approach was decisive in winning the throne again. Even so, a victim mentality makes American diplomacy utterly untrustworthy and unhealthy. What I don't want to see in the coming years is him making America less great. Ueno is a civilization essayist and a former Japanese ambassador to Guatemala (2001-04) and the Holy See (2006-10).
Malay Mail
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Half a century on, Vietnam commemorates fall of Saigon with grand display
HO CHI MINH CITY, May 1 — Vietnam mounted its biggest-ever celebration of the fall of Saigon on its 50th anniversary yesterday, including Chinese troops for the first time after Xi Jinping visited to portray Beijing as a more reliable partner than Washington. A lotus-shaped float carrying a portrait of revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh was near the front of the parade in the city renamed after him, AFP journalists saw, and fighter jets and helicopters carry flags flew overhead. Thousands of people — many wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the Vietnamese flag — including families with young children and the elderly stayed out overnight in the streets, sharing food and waiting for the display. The celebrations come half a century after tanks of communist North Vietnam crashed through the gates of the city's presidential palace, defeating the US-backed South and delivering a painful blow to American moral and military prestige. 'I am proud of having contributed to liberating the south,' said 75-year-old veteran Tran Van Truong who had travelled — dressed in full military uniform — from the capital Hanoi to see the parade. 'But what's gone is gone, I have no hatred for those from the other side of the battle,' Truong told AFP. 'We should join hands to celebrate the end of the war.' Soldiers march during a parade marking the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War in Ho Chi Minh City on April 30, 2025. — AFP pic Around 13,000 people, including veterans, soldiers and members of the public, were to march down Ho Chi Minh City's Le Duan Street, a major thoroughfare which leads to the Independence Palace. For the first time, more than 300 soldiers from China, Laos and Cambodia took part in the spectacle. More than 300,000 Chinese troops were involved in the bloody conflict, according to state media, providing crucial anti-aircraft defence support and helping with logistics and supplies. But this year is the first time Chinese soldiers have ever been part of large-scale commemorations. Only four years after the end of the Vietnam War, China itself invaded the country, only to be pushed back by Hanoi's troops. 'I think Hanoi is signalling to China that they recognise China's historical contribution,' said Zach Abuza, a professor at the National War College in Washington who focuses on Southeast Asian politics. 'It's also another way for them to signal: 'Don't think our foreign policy is lurching towards the Americans.'' Spectators watch soldiers march in a parade marking the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War in Ho Chi Minh City April 30, 2025. — AFP pic After years of fighting that ended on April 30, 1975, the United States and Vietnam have rebuilt ties to become strong trade partners. But Hanoi also follows a 'bamboo diplomacy' approach, striving to stay on good terms with both Beijing and Washington. 'We owe our success... to huge support from the Soviet Union, China... and solidarity from Laos and Cambodia,' top party leader To Lam said in a speech before the parade. He also credited 'progressive people all over the world including American people'. The celebrations come after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Hanoi this month. Beijing is trying to position itself as a stable alternative to Washington as Vietnam confronts a threatened 46 per cent US tariff and American foreign aid cuts that could jeopardise war legacy programmes. Soldiers march during a parade marking the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War in Ho Chi Minh City on April 30, 2025. — AFP pic Reconciliation, excitement After a war that eviscerated much of Vietnam, killing millions of its people as well as 58,000 US servicemen, the North's victory expanded communist rule over the whole country. Thousands of Vietnamese who worked for the Southern government fled, while others stayed and were forced into re-education camps. For many years the victory formed the basis of the Communist Party's legitimacy, before its authority became entwined with economic growth and improved living standards. In an article published Sunday on the government's news portal, To Lam put an unusual emphasis on reconciliation. Spectators watch as soldiers take part in a parade to mark the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War in Ho Chi Minh City April 30, 2025. — AFP pic He said Vietnamese people must rid themselves of 'hatred, separation or division... so that future generations no longer have to experience war'. Most of the population was born after the conflict's end, but many young people appeared excited on Tuesday night as music blared through the streets and huge crowds began to form. Social media users have been anticipating the parade for days after widespread coverage of rehearsals in the media, which is entirely controlled by the state. Thang Dang, 19, a physical education student at a university in Ho Chi Minh City, was among 250 of his classmates taking part in the parade, carrying Vietnamese national and Communist Party hammer and sickle flags. 'I will tell my future children about this event,' he said ahead of the start. 'I am so proud and my family is so proud too.' — AFP
NDTV
30-04-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Vietnam Marks 50 Years Of Fall Of Saigon With Grand Parade
Vietnam mounted its biggest-ever celebration of the fall of Saigon on its 50th anniversary Wednesday, including Chinese troops for the first time after Xi Jinping visited to portray Beijing as a more reliable partner than Washington. Fighter jets and helicopters carrying flags flew overhead, state TV images showed, with a float carrying a portrait of founding leader Ho Chi Minh as part of a march in the city renamed after him. Thousands of people -- many wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the Vietnamese flag -- including families with young children and the elderly stayed out overnight in the streets, sharing food and waiting for the display. The celebrations come half a century after tanks of communist North Vietnam crashed through the gates of the city's presidential palace, defeating the US-backed South and delivering a painful blow to American moral and military prestige. "I am proud of having contributed to liberating the south," said 75-year-old veteran Tran Van Truong who had travelled -- dressed in full military uniform -- from the capital Hanoi to see the parade. "But what's gone is gone, I have no hatred for those from the other side of the battle," Truong told AFP. "We should join hands to celebrate the end of the war." Around 13,000 people, including veterans, soldiers and members of the public, were to march down Ho Chi Minh City's Le Duan Street, a major thoroughfare which leads to the Independence Palace. For the first time, more than 300 soldiers from China, Laos and Cambodia were taking part in the spectacle. More than 300,000 Chinese troops were involved in the bloody conflict, according to state media, providing crucial anti-aircraft defence support and helping with logistics and supplies. But this year is the first time Chinese soldiers have ever been part of large-scale commemorations. Only four years after the end of the Vietnam War, China itself invaded the country, only to be pushed back by Hanoi's troops. "I think Hanoi is signalling to China that they recognise China's historical contribution," said Zach Abuza, a professor at the National War College in Washington who focuses on Southeast Asian politics. "It's also another way for them to signal: 'Don't think our foreign policy is lurching towards the Americans.'" After years of fighting that ended on April 30, 1975, the United States and Vietnam have rebuilt ties to become strong trade partners. But Hanoi also follows a "bamboo diplomacy" approach, striving to stay on good terms with both Beijing and Washington. The celebrations come after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Hanoi this month. Beijing is trying to position itself as a stable alternative to Washington as Vietnam confronts a threatened 46 percent US tariff and American foreign aid cuts that could jeopardise war legacy programmes. Reconciliation, excitement After a war that eviscerated much of Vietnam, killing millions of its people as well as 58,000 US servicemen, the North's victory expanded communist rule over the whole country. Thousands of Vietnamese who worked for the Southern government fled, while others stayed and were forced into re-education camps. For many years the victory formed the basis of the Communist Party's legitimacy, before its authority became entwined with economic growth and improved living standards. In an article published Sunday on the government's news portal, the party's top leader To Lam put an unusual emphasis on reconciliation. He said Vietnamese people must rid themselves of "hatred, separation or division... so that future generations no longer have to experience war". Most of the population was born after the conflict's end, but many young people appeared excited on Tuesday night as music from a celebratory concert blared through the streets and huge crowds began to form. Social media users have been anticipating the parade for days after widespread coverage of rehearsals in the media, which is entirely controlled by the state in Vietnam. Thang Dang, 19, a physical education student at a university in Ho Chi Minh City, was among 250 of his classmates taking part in the parade, carrying Vietnamese national and Communist Party hammer and sickle flags. "I will tell my future children about this event," he said ahead of the start. "I am so proud and my family is so proud too."
Al Jazeera
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Vietnam celebrates 50 years since end of war with US
Thousands of Vietnamese have waved red flags and sang patriotic songs as a grand military parade held in Ho Chi Minh City concluded Vietnam's 50th anniversary celebrations of the end of war with the United States. Wednesday's event commemorated the first act of the country's reunification on April 30, 1975, when communist-run North Vietnam seized Saigon, the capital of the US-backed South, renamed Ho Chi Minh City shortly after the war in honour of the North's founding leader. A lotus-shaped float carrying a portrait of Ho Chi Minh was near the front of the parade as fighter jets and helicopters carrying red flags flew overhead. Al Jazeera's Tony Cheng, reporting from the city, said thousands of people stayed in the streets overnight to get the best vantage point for the parade, which was 'a day of sombre reflection but also a day of celebration'. 'I am proud of having contributed to liberating the south,' said 75-year-old veteran Tran Van Truong who had travelled – dressed in full military uniform – from the capital, Hanoi, to see the parade. 'But what's gone is gone, I have no hatred for those from the other side of the battle,' Truong told the AFP news agency. 'We should join hands to celebrate the end of the war.' For the first time, more than 300 soldiers from China, Laos and Cambodia also took part in the spectacle. More than 300,000 Chinese soldiers were involved in the bloody conflict, according to state media, providing crucial anti-aircraft defence support and helping with logistics and supplies. 'I think Hanoi is signalling to China that they recognise China's historical contribution,' said Zach Abuza, a professor at the National War College in Washington who focuses on Southeast Asian politics. 'It's also another way for them to signal: 'Don't think our foreign policy is lurching towards the Americans.'' This year marks the 30-year anniversary of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and the US. In 2023, Vietnam upgraded its relations with the US to that of a comprehensive strategic partner, the highest diplomatic status it gives to any country and the same level of relations as China and Russia. There are new signs of strain in the relationship with Washington, however, with President Donald Trump's imposition of heavy tariffs and the cancellation of much foreign aid, which has affected war remediation efforts in Vietnam. Agent Orange contamination and unexploded ordnance in the countryside still threaten lives. The future of those projects is now at risk because of the Trump administration's broad cuts to USAID.
