(June 6th, 2016) Roger Cohen, a foreign-affairs columnist for The New York Times, writes:
“The best way to kick Vietnamese aspirations in the teeth, turn the country sour on the United States, and undermine the stabilizing American role in Asia, would be for Congress to fail to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership, President Obama’s signature trade agreement with 11 Pacific Rim countries, including Vietnam but not China.
“If TPP falls apart, China wins. It’s as simple as that. Nonratification would signal that Beijing gets to dictate policy in the region {of Southeast Asia}, and the attempt to integrate Vietnam comprehensively in a rules-based international economy fails.’’ Hit this link to read his entire column on this subject.