Hanoi downplays U.S. rights focus

HANOI, Vietnam - American concerns over the arrests of dissidents and other human-rights abuses in Vietnam shouldn’t stand in the way of closer military and economic ties with the Southeast Asian nation, the country’s president said Tuesday ahead of talks in Washington with President Barack Obama.

President Truong Tan Sang’s remarks, made in emailed responses to questions by The Associated Press, are a sign of Vietnam’s desire to strengthen relations with the United States, a country with which it shares concerns over Chinese assertiveness in the region.

Sang’s trip to the U.S. is only the second such visit by a Vietnamese head of state since the former foes resumed relations in 1995. He will meet Thursday with Obama.

The U.S. is also seeking closer ties with Vietnam, part of its strategic “rebalancing” toward Asia, which is emerging as a vital partner for the sluggish economies of the West. But it wants to see the communist country release dissidents.