US' rebalancing will lose its market

US President Barack Obama has merely half a year to go before leaving office, and to consolidate his administration's strategy of rebalancing to the Asia-Pacific before leaving office, he is visiting Vietnam and will attend the G7 Summit in Japan.

Obama will be the third US president to visit Vietnam since the Vietnam War ended in 1975. While it is commendable that these two former foes turn their animosity to friendship, Washington is inspired by its geostrategic intent and wants Vietnam to be part of its rebalancing strategy.

At present, the US is deeply upset by China's rapid rise. To sustain its regional leadership, it has not only dispatched its bombers and destroyers to challenge China, it has also been strengthening its alliances and partnerships. Vietnam is seen as being useful to the US' strategic plan, and Obama may announce the lifting of the decades' long arms embargo that the US has imposed against this former adversary.