The South China Sea dispute between China and Vietnam is not expected to become a sticking point during Xi’s meetings in Hanoi.

The US and Vietnam are expected to upgrade their partnership but there are limits to their ties, according to analysts.

The port call marks the third visit of a US aircraft carrier to Vietnam since the end of the Vietnam war, amid rising tensions in the South China Sea.

A strategic partnership with US would ‘help Vietnam improve its diplomatic position’ but analysts say Vietnam has long been nervous about provoking China.

Blinken’s trip is part of US efforts to upgrade diplomatic relations with Vietnam, which has been hesitant to formally upgrade ties over fears of alienating Beijing.

Vietnamese community in Ukraine back war effort, while those in Russia have sought to distance themselves from conflict despite support.

US Vice-President Kamala Harris said Washington wants a strategic partnership with Hanoi but even as Vietnam pushes back against Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea, experts say it’d be loathe to provoke its neighbour.

Ex-intelligence agent Pham Minh Chinh was a dark horse candidate to head the government, observers say, but they expect him to maintain good ties with Washington while not excessively alienating Beijing.

Analysts say China is likely to test Vietnam through maritime provocations if the energy ventures go ahead.

Robert O’Brien is expected to meet Vietnam’s PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc and national security officials in the Philippines, as part of a move aimed at cementing Trump’s legacy of countering Beijing in Asia, analysts say.

Among the mourning are Nguyen Dinh Gia, 57, who received a call warning of his son’s death and asking for his sympathy.

American producers wrestling with the US-China trade war are being forced to offload meat and fruit at knockdown prices in countries such as Vietnam. Shoppers are delighted but local farmers are struggling to compete.

The country ranks ahead of Thailand and Indonesia in English proficiency, even though a government initiative to make all students learn the language has fallen short.

Some 2 million civilians and 1.1 million North Vietnamese and Viet Cong fighters were killed in fighting between 1954 and 1975.

A high-level meeting raises speculation Pyongyang is looking to emulate Hanoi’s experience of mixing communism and economic reform

Trump’s trade war is boosting Vietnam by driving Chinese firms south, but the rising labour costs this has caused are a mixed blessing. What’s more, a greater Chinese presence could put Vietnam in Washington’s crosshairs.

Nguyen Phu Trong is the head of the Communist Party, the country’s president, and the head of its military – sound familiar?

From a navy captain bombing Hanoi to an esteemed friend of the country, the late senator mirrors America’s complex relationship with Vietnam. But there’s more to McCain’s appeal in Vietnam – he was years ahead of his peers in rooting for friendship.

Catholics make up just 7 per cent of Vietnam’s population, but play an outsize role in the nation’s underground dissident movement. In return, they say, churches are demolished, priests arrested and the religion smeared

The South China Sea dispute, along with memories of the 1979 border war, run deep in the Vietnamese national psyche, making SEZs viscerally unpopular.