Where former President Donald Trump deserves credit for strengthening the U.S. military’s capabilities, President Joe Biden deserves credit for his Indo-Pacific diplomacy.

Biden’s trip to Vietnam offers a case in point. That short visit was important in both symbolic and functional terms. The newly reached strategic partnership underlines America’s willingness to deal with autocratic regimes, even ones it not-too-long ago fought wars against, in order to counter a common, contemporary threat. In this case, China. Deeply popular in Vietnam, the U.S. is increasingly seen as a necessary partner that Hanoi must work with to defend its sovereignty.