HANOI: US Secretary of State John Kerry began his farewell tour in Vietnam Friday, giving a final push for Washington’s so-called Asia pivot before President-elect Donald Trump takes office next week. The former naval officer won a Silver Star for his service during the Vietnam War after beaching his patrol boat and storming ashore to shoot dead a Viet Cong ambusher in Ca Mau province in 1969. Kerry later came to see the war as a mistake and after his return from combat campaigned for peace. “Kerry’s visit underscores the importance of Vietnam in the US-Asia policy,” Netherlands-based Vietnam analyst Jonathan London told Agence France-Presse. Trump’s tough talk on rebalancing global trade and vow to scrap the TPP has clouded the future of that policy.

Source: Manila Times January 13, 2017 09:13 UTC