I think that the US State Department blew out of proportion the fact that Vietnam sided with the USSR in the First Cold War and not the PRC (which were technically allies of the US at that moment) and the spat over the Spratly Islands. Sure they do have disagreements but to believe that Vietnam will seriously be used as a pawn against China is absolutely moronic.

Edit: There’s also talk that China is trying to strike a partnership agreement of sorts with the Taliban administration in Afghanistan and US American spooks are seriously trying to be like “Hey, buddy, remember the good times we had together? Yeah, you don’t want to do business with China, they’re evil!”…