Vietnam celebrates 50th anniversary of end of war: ‘Now it’s time for peace’

Shades of red covered Ho Chi Minh City as thousands of people poured onto the streets to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the end of its war with the US, as the Communist country aimed to grow its economy and foster peace.

Celebrations on 30 April culminated in a grand parade in Ho Chi Minh City with thousands of marching troops and an air show featuring Russian-made fighter jets and helicopters.

Vietnamese nationals waved the red flag with a yellow star and sang patriotic songs to commemorate the historic day when the war-torn country reunified in 1975 after North Vietnam's tanks smashed through the iron gates of the presidential compound and seized Saigon, subsequently renaming it after the North's founding leader.

"It was a victory of faith," and also of "justice over tyranny," said To Lam, Vietnam's Communist party chief and the country's top leader. “Vietnam is one, the Vietnamese people are one. Rivers may dry up, mountains may erode, but that truth will never change.

“In a spirit of closing the past, respecting differences, aiming for the future, the whole party, the people and the army vow to make Vietnam become a country of peace, unity, prosperity and development,” he added.

The fall of Saigon, about two years after Washington withdrew its last combat troops from the country, marked the end of a 20-year conflict that killed some 3 million Vietnamese and nearly 60,000 Americans, many of them young soldiers conscripted into the military.

Thousands camped overnight on the streets of the former South Vietnamese capital to get the best vantage point for the parade. “Now it’s time for peace,” said spectator Nguyen Thi Hue, a city resident. “Peace is the dream that everyone in the world wants.”

About 13,000 people, including troops, militias, veterans and local citizens took part in the parade. The route followed the main boulevard leading to the Independence Palace before branching into city streets.

Chinese, Laotian and Cambodian troops marched behind Vietnamese army formations, with some reportedly wearing uniforms similar to what was worn by northern Vietnamese troops during the war.

Sitting next to Vietnam’s leader were Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen and Laotian Communist Party general secretary Thongloun Sisoulith.

A video of Chinese troops singing the iconic “As if uncle Ho were with us on Victory Day” during a rehearsal was shared widely on social media. Chinese leader Xi Jinping had visited Vietnam earlier in the month in a bid to present the country as a force for stability in contrast with Donald Trump.

Vietnam and the US normalised diplomatic relations in 1995 and deepened ties in 2023 during a visit to Hanoi by former US president Joe Biden.

"The United States and Vietnam have a robust bilateral relationship that we are committed to deepening and broadening," a spokesperson for the US mission in Vietnam said on Wednesday.

That bond, however, is being tested by the threat of crippling 46 per cent tariffs on Vietnamese goods, one of the highest that Mr Trump announced as part of his "reciprocal tariff" package imposed on dozens of countries.

The tariffs have been paused for 90 days until July and talks are underway. But if confirmed, they could undermine Vietnam's export-led growth that has attracted large foreign investments. Washington sent Susan Burns, its consul general in Ho Chi Minh City, to represent the country at the parade.

Vietnamese officials say the relationship with the US is anchored in American efforts to address war legacies such as Agent Orange contamination and unexploded ordnance in the countryside that still threaten lives. The future of those projects is now at risk because of the Trump administration’s broad cuts to the US Agency for International Development.

China has sought to fill the day by nurturing closer relations with Vietnam despite a complex history involving several conflicts and a rivalry in the disputed South China Sea.