Did america getting its ass kicked mean friendship? I hear alot that vietnam likes america more than china which doesnt sit right with me is that actually true, also they like america but hate the french? I heard vietnam be called the mexico of asia. Maybe its my own personal left wing bias but I literally cannot see any reason why vietnam would respect america and hate china.
"Vietnam is closer to the US than China" is just Western cope like how Putler would run out of missiles. In truth, Vietnam try to be neutral to both countries, which means de facto being closer to China than US because they shares a land border with China while the US is separated from Vietnam by an ocean.
This, the core of Vietnamese foreign policy is "never get drawn into a foreign war again"