A contingent of 118 Chinese People’s Liberation Army soldiers marched through the streets of Ho Chi Minh City on Friday as part of the rehearsal for a massive military parade on Wednesday to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the war in Vietnam.
Even though suspicions of China are quite prevalent among the Vietnamese public, this 118-member PLA honor guard was enthusiastically greeted by the crowds on the street, with some female spectators even screaming out “husband” (老公) as the soldiers passed.
The Chinese soldiers are among a group of foreign military forces that will take part in the April 30th festivities, including troops from Laos and Cambodia. U.S. embassy staff have reportedly been ordered to avoid participating in this week’s official commemoration ceremonies.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? The anniversay of the fall of Saigon comes at a delicate time in Vietnam’s relations with both the U.S. and China. The presence of the PLA soldiers in Ho Chi Minh City is widely seen as a strong goodwill gesture from Beijing, while Hanoi’s ties with Washington appear increasingly fraught over the prospect of tariffs that could ravage large swathes of the Vietnamese economy.
