By Nguyen Quy   November 19, 2020 | 11:46 am GMT+7 VNExpressNational security adviser Robert O’Brien speaks to the media outside the White House in Washington, U.S., November 17, 2020. Photo by Reuters/Leah Millis.

U.S. national security adviser Robert O’Brien left Thursday for Vietnam and the Philippines to discuss regional security cooperation, the White House National Security Council said.

He would meet leaders in both countries “to reaffirm the strength of our bilateral relationships,” it tweeted on Thursday.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswomen Le Thi Thu Hang said at a press meet the same day that O’Brien will be in Vietnam from Friday to Sunday for high-level meetings to discuss bilateral relations and regional and international issues that concern both Vietnam and the U.S.

Two weeks ago U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Hanoi where he affirmed his nation’s continued support for a strong, prosperous and independent Vietnam.

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Peter Martin November 16, 2020, 9:38 PM GMT+7 Bloomberg

•  World could slide into catastrophe like World War I: Kissinger
•  Says Biden, Xi should agree not to resort to military conflict

Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said the incoming Biden administration should move quickly to restore lines of communication with China that frayed during the Trump years or risk a crisis that could escalate into military conflict.

“Unless there is some basis for some cooperative action, the world will slide into a catastrophe comparable to World War I,” Kissinger said during the opening session of the Bloomberg New Economy Forum. He said military technologies available today would make such a crisis “even more difficult to control” than those of earlier eras.

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