We need all the allies in Asia we can get to stand against the Chinese—and the Vietnamese, like the Koreans and Japanese, among others, of course have historical reason to fear them.
“... have historical reason to fear them.”
I served 2 tours in Vietnam. I’ve never feared them. I even rendered life saving aid to an enemy soldier who’d been shot 3 times. Of course it was off to a POW camp instead of dying.
Bottom line. I like the Vietnamese. I trust them more than I would trust the Saudis, Turks or some of the others our politicians call friends.