Ambassador, thank you for coming.
One can't have anything but the utmost respect for the Vietnamese. You suffered a horrendous war with the Americans, and shortly thereafter, I believe it was in 1976, there was a border skirmish with the Chinese as well. We certainly view you as a tenacious and a fierce country.
I'm curious. When I think about the geopolitical situation in southeast Asia, is it important for you to have this trade agreement to hedge yourself from an increasingly expansionist mainland China? Is that part of the importance of this agreement as well?