Vietnam prepared for possible war against ‘belligerent’ US, secret paper shows

A year after Vietnam elevated its relations with Washington to the highest diplomatic level, an internal document shows its military was taking steps to prepare for a possible American “war of aggression” and considered the United States a “belligerent” power, according to a report released on Tuesday.More than just exposing Hanoi’s duality in approach towards the US, the document confirms a deep-seated fear of external forces fomenting an uprising against the communist leadership in a “colour revolution”, like the 2004 Orange Revolution in Ukraine, or the 1986 Yellow Revolution in the Philippines.Other internal documents that The 88 Project, a human rights organisation focused on human rights abuses in Vietnam, cited in its analysis point to similar concerns over US motives in Vietnam.“There’s a consensus here across the government and across different ministries,” said Ben Swanton, co-director of The 88 Project and the report’s author. “This isn’t just some kind of fringe element or paranoid element within the party or within the government.”US president Joe Biden raises a toast during a State Luncheon with Vietnam president Vo Van Thuong in Hanoi on September 11, 2023. Photo: APThe original Vietnamese document titled “The 2nd US Invasion Plan” was completed by the Ministry of Defence in August 2024. It suggests that in seeking “its objective of strengthening deterrence against China, the US and its allies are ready to apply unconventional forms of warfare and military intervention and even conduct large-scale invasions against countries and territories that ‘deviate from its orbit’”.While noting that “currently there is little risk of a war against Vietnam”, the Vietnamese planners write that “due to the US’ belligerent nature we need to be vigilant to prevent the US and its allies from ‘creating a pretext’ to launch an invasion of our country”.