As Vietnam builds up to the 30th anniversary Saturday of Hanoi's victory over the US-backed government in Saigon, it is expected to avoid any provocative noises about its former enemy, the United States. Both sides want to forge constructive ties, analysts claim.

Ten years ago, while marking two decades after the war, the two countries got around to establishing diplomatic relations. In 2000, the ceremonies were marked with acerbic statements by Vietnam on the persisting ravages caused by Agent Orange, the defoliant used by US forces during the war.

But this year, Vietnam has no intention of invoking the war in vindictive terms. Hanoi-Washington ties are at their best yet.

``It has been increasingly better,'' said Adam Sitkoff, executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hanoi.

``There are small hiccups every so often. But a part of the maturity of the relations between two countries is for them to be able to disagree.''

The most vociferous Vietnamese veterans, who spoke of ``hellfires'' in store for the Americans before the US invasion of Iraq, are expected to be muzzled this week.

``Closer US-Vietnam relations are likely to mute anti-American rhetoric,'' said Carl Thayer, a Vietnam specialist at Johns Hopkins University in Washington. ``Vietnam also does not want to irritate the United States when it has so much to gain economically.''

Gradually, the scars from the war, during which 58,000 Americans and three million Vietnamese were killed, are healing.

``Thirty years have passed since the end of the war,'' said Vietnamese foreign ministry spokesman Le Dung.

``This is time to open up a new chapter in the relationship between Vietnam and the United States.''

Until the late 1990s, the main preoccupation in bilateral ties was the search for the bodies of Americans missing in action. Today, the two sides are focused on burgeoning trade ties.

Following the signing of a bilateral trade agreement in December 2000, two-way trade rocketed from US$1.5 billion (HK$11.7 billion) in 2001 to US$7 billion last year, according to the American Chamber of Commerce.

Moreover, Washington's approval is crucial for Hanoi's accession to the World Trade Organization. Vietnam hopes to join the body as soon as possible, but is aware it still needs to make significant concessions.

The United States notably wants Vietnam to open up several sectors to foreign investment and to overhaul its judiciary. Hanoi, analysts say, has no choice but to listen to Washington.

``On the economic plane, Vietnam today greatly needs the United States because it is under pressure to maintain its rapid economic growth,'' said a Vietnamese diplomat previously posted in Washington. ``It's undeniable.''

Economic issues are not the only blot on the landscape. Political problems raised by Washington loom large.

Vietnam was classified by the US State Department last year as one of the ``countries of particular concern'' in matters of religious freedom.

Highly active anti-Vietnam lobbies, including members of the Vietnamese diaspora, routinely attack the communist regime for its hard line on dissent or repression against ethnic minorities in the Central Highlands.

``There are differences in defining the issues,'' said US ambassador Michael Marine in Hanoi. ``We're going to have to spend time talking about these issues. We need to do that in a constructive way and we are doing it.''

The Vietnamese diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, concurred. ``The human rights issue is and will remain delicate, sensitive and even tense between the two countries in the years to come,'' he said.

The issue could well lead to US economic sanctions. And the ferocity of the debates between the two is among the few reminders of their past enmity.