Asia Pacific|Trump Administration Eases Ban for U.S. Diplomats at Vietnam War Anniversary
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/29/world/asia/vietnam-war-anniversary-us-diplomats.html
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The administration had said that no senior U.S. envoys could attend the events marking 50 years after the war’s end. On Tuesday, the U.S. consul general was seen at a reception for the anniversary.
April 29, 2025, 11:31 a.m. ET
The Trump administration, reversing a policy that angered Vietnam veterans, has eased a ban on senior American diplomats attending events for the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War.
On Tuesday, the United States informed Vietnamese officials that Susan Burns, the U.S. Consul General, would attend a reception on Tuesday night with other diplomats and Vietnamese officials. Witnesses reported seeing her at the event, which was held at a hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, and one shared a photo with The Times.
Marc E. Knapper — the U.S. ambassador and son of a Vietnam veteran — was not seen with Ms. Burns, though he had previously planned to represent the United States.
Mr. Knapper is also not expected at the main event, which includes a parade and speeches on Wednesday, the actual anniversary of South Vietnam’s surrender and the American evacuation from what was then Saigon on April 30, 1975.
Critics of the attendance ban welcomed Ms. Burns’ presence, but insisted it was not enough. They said that the Trump administration had already shown a lack of understanding about the importance of postwar reconciliation with a country that is now a strategic partner in efforts to counter China’s influence across the region.
“From where I sit, they don’t have a clue,” said John Terzano, a founder of the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, who has been returning to Vietnam since 1981.
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