Vietnam commemorated on Wednesday the quincentenary of the cessation of hostilities with the United States and the subsequent genesis of its modern nation-state, marking the occasion with a military procession and reaffirming its commitment to a pacific future.

The fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, marked the cessation of a Vietnam bifurcated between a communist North and an American-aligned South, with the nation's paramount leader declaring to the throngs that the preceding decades had witnessed a protracted, albeit gradual, move towards reunification.

In the assertion of Tô Lâm, General Secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party, "Every Vietnamese individual constitutes a progeny of Vietnam, inherently entitled to the unfettered latitude to reside, labour, and strive for felicity and amity within this sovereign state."

He appended, "In the spirit of consigning the past to oblivion, venerating divergence, and contemplating the forthcoming epoch, the Party, populace, and military all collectively pledge their unwavering commitment to forging Vietnam into a nation characterized by tranquility, cohesion, affluence, and advancement."

In the former capital of South Vietnam (subsequently rechristened Ho Chi Minh City following its capitulation to North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces), thousands of individuals bivouacked nocturnally along the thoroughfares, vying for the most advantageous vantage points for the ensuing parade. Numerous attendees remained ensconced on the pavements throughout the afternoon, indulging in alfresco repasts whilst anticipating the crepuscular exhibition of drones and pyrotechnics.

The urban landscape was ubiquitous with the sanguine and gold colours of the Vietnamese flag, emblazoned on banners fluttering from buildings, painted on the visages of ebullient teenagers, and incorporated into the attire of individuals who had journeyed from the breadth of the nation.

"Hitherto, this juncture represents a propitious epoch for amity," articulated Nguyen Thi Hue, a local inhabitant among the spectators. "Amity, a desideratum ardently coveted by all denizens across the global panorama."

One float bore the legendary Lac bird, a symbol deeply interwoven with the Vietnamese national identity, whilst another displayed a meticulously rendered portrait of Ho Chi Minh.

Marching in the vanguard's wake, detachments of Chinese, Laotian, and Cambodian soldiery, some attired in uniforms evocative of those donned by North Vietnamese troops during the conflict, advanced in formation behind the echelons of the Vietnamese military; meanwhile, helicopters trailing national colours and jet aircraft swooped low in the vicinity of the North Vietnamese tank that had spectacularly breached the gates of Independence Palace on the war's culminating day.

Thronging the thoroughfares and plazas barricaded and festooned with gargantuan video displays, the populace stood utterly mesmerized by the spectacle, brandishing mobile phones and wide-eyed, they waved and vociferously cheered the marching soldiery, whilst those sequestered within their abodes remained riveted to their television sets.

Concomitantly seated alongside the Vietnamese leader were Hun Sen, the former Cambodian Premier, and Thongloun Sisoulith, the General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party.

Tô Lâm asserted that the fall of Saigon, surpassing the triumph over the United States and South Vietnam, represented a "resplendent watershed event" that consummated a protracted thirty-year struggle for independence, which commenced with the campaign to extirpate French colonial forces.

He posited that Vietnam's contemporary global standing derived from the multifaceted solidarity extended by the Soviet Union, China, Laos, and Cambodia, coupled with the backing of purportedly "progressive" factions worldwide, including within the United States itself.

According to Nguyen Khac Giang, an analyst at Singapore's ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute, this year's emphasis on clemency, rather than solely military triumph, mirrored contemporary Vietnam's manoeuvring within the protean global economic and geopolitical landscape. He further averred that the Vietnam War constituted a cornerstone in positioning the Communist Party's legitimacy, not merely through martial victory but as an emblem of national unification. Nevertheless, To Lam's pronouncements underscored the persistent incompletion of reconciliation.

「戦争は依然としてベトナムの統一と未解決の分断という、その根幹をなす二律背反を規定している」とザン氏は述べた。

To Phạm Ngọc Sơn, a veteran of the struggle for communist ideals, it is axiomatic that only amity and concord prevail between the United States and Vietnam in the present epoch.

「戦争はずっと昔のことです」と、かつてホーチミン・トレイル沿いに北から南へ部隊や物資を輸送した元軍用トラック運転手である69歳の彼は述懐した。このトレイルは、北ベトナムが極秘裏に利用した兵站上の大動脈であった。

The current year is also concomitant with the tercentenary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the United States.

In 2023, Vietnam elevated its relationship with the United States to a comprehensive strategic partnership, the zenith of diplomatic statuses accorded by the US to any nation, thereby aligning its standing with that of China and Russia.

However, the imposition of onerous tariffs and the cessation of considerable foreign aid by the Trump administration have engendered nascent tensions in relations with Washington, thereby impeding Vietnam's efforts at rectifying war-inflicted damage.

Vietnamese authorities articulate that the bedrock of their rapport with the United States is firmly anchored in America's concerted endeavours to address the enduring vestiges of war, encompassing the pervasive contamination wrought by Agent Orange and the persistent existential threat posed by unexploded ordnance which continues to imperil rural populations.

The future viability of these projects has been imperilled by the Trump administration's precipitous budgetary curtailments to USAID.

Furthermore, Vietnam, an economy heavily reliant on exports, is exposed to heightened risks within a global economy already rendered precarious by the Trump administration's protectionist tariff policies.

Vietnam, subject to the most onerous level of reciprocal tariffs at 46%, has prompted Huong Le Thu of the International Crisis Group to voice profound scepticism regarding America's strategic objectives in Asia, characterizing them with a "significant question mark."

She articulated that the intricate relationship with Washington had served as an indispensable counterbalance to the significantly larger and more formidable neighbouring power, China.

Vietnam stands as one of the nations embroiled in direct confrontations with China over divergent maritime claims in the South China Sea, a predicament it shares with archipelagic states like the Philippines.

Focusing on economic competition while eschewing strategic rivalry intimates a potential diminishment in the salience of Vietnam and other Southeast Asian nations to the United States.

He posited that this would prove instrumental in shaping the nascent administration's strategic panoramic apprehension of the Indo-Pacific theatre, thereby dictating the geopolitical positioning of states such as Vietnam within this intricate framework.

In Washington, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce on Tuesday remained tight-lipped regarding reports that the Trump administration was counseling diplomats to eschew the commemorative event, stating unequivocally, "We will not engage in any discourse concerning the propositions under consideration."

Notwithstanding confirmation from the Hanoi embassy regarding the attendance of the United States Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, Susan Burns, the conspicuous absence of the U.S. Ambassador, Marc E. Knapper, was duly noted at the event.

Approximately 13,000 participants, comprising military personnel, militia, veterans, and local civilians, partook in the parade. The procession's trajectory meandered from the main thoroughfare towards Independence Palace, subsequently diverging into the city's labyrinthine alleys before traversing past the American Consulate.

A video depicting Chinese soldiers rehearsing, intoning a symbolic song suggesting the presence of "Uncle Ho Chi Minh, as if he were with us on the day of victory," was disseminated extensively across social media platforms; this dissemination occurred concurrently with Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit to Vietnam at the commencement of the month, a visit evidently calculated to project China as a force for stability, starkly contrasting with the prevailing dynamic under the Trump administration.