Rebalancing going nowhere

In a joint statement issued during US President Barack Obama's visit to Vietnam, the two countries vowed to strengthen their security and defense cooperation, and the US announced it was lifting its decades-long ban on weapons sales to Vietnam and promised to help boost the Asian country's military maritime power.

These moves are aimed at increasing the US' military presence in the Asia-Pacific and elevating its capability to intervene in regional security affairs.

To elevate the US' capability to communicate and coordinate with Asia-Pacific countries is part of Obama's "rebalancing to the Asia-Pacific" strategy. During his visit to Japan, Obama visited Hiroshima, making him the first sitting US president to visit one of two Japanese cities the US dropped an atomic bomb on during World War II. The visit was viewed as a goodwill gesture made to Japan and a step toward closer ties with Japan. However, Obama's visit to Hiroshima upset the Republic of Korea and others.