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. Kerry’s visit to Vietnam, his fourth trip to the communist country as America’s top diplomat, is both political and deeply personal. 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 AFP.

Source: Manila Times January 13, 2017 12:04 UTC