During his visit to Vietnam, President Joe Biden paid a visit to the John Sidney McCain III Memorial to honor his late friend and colleague, Sen. John McCain. McCain’s plane was shot down over Hanoi in 1967 during the Vietnam War. President Biden arrived in Vietnam after attending the G20 summit in India and met with Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and other Vietnamese leaders during his two-day visit to Hanoi. Before leaving, President Biden visited the memorial in downtown Hanoi, where he touched the wreath and bowed his head. He described McCain as a good friend and left one of his command coins at the memorial before saluting.
John McCain, who was a Navy lieutenant commander at the time, was shot down over Hanoi in 1967 and became a prisoner of war until 1973. He passed away in 2018 at the age of 81 from a malignant brain tumor.
During President Biden’s visit, a new partnership between the United States and Vietnam was announced, elevating the relationship to the highest level called “comprehensive strategic partner.” This partnership sends a strong message to China, and currently, only China, Russia, India, and South Korea have reached this level of partnership with Vietnam. President Biden described the visit as historic and praised the transformation of relations between the two countries.
The leaders also addressed the disputed South China Sea and warned against the threat or use of force. In addition to his meeting with Communist Party leader Trong, President Biden also met with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and President Vo Van Thuong. They discussed business, economic ties, Vietnam’s goal of becoming a high-income nation by 2045, and technology cooperation. Both countries agreed to deepen cooperation in critical and emerging technologies, including semiconductor supply chains.
President Biden emphasized the importance of stability in the Indo-Pacific and stated that the purpose of his trip to Vietnam was not about containing China. He concluded his meetings in Hanoi and departed for Alaska, where he will participate in a 9/11 commemoration with military families.