US to partly lift Vietnam arms export embargo

Officials say the move will help Hanoi beef up presence in South China Sea

The Obama administration said on Thursday that it is moving to partially lift a 30-year-old arms embargo against Vietnam.

US Secretary of State John Kerry told visiting Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh that his department "has taken steps to allow for the future transfer of maritime security-related defense articles to Vietnam", State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki said.

"This policy supports Vietnam's efforts to improve its maritime domain awareness," she told reporters at a daily news briefing.

Pressed further by reporters, she said Washington is lifting a ban on selling lethal weapons to its former foe.

In remarks delivered at the Asia Society in New York on Sept 24, Minh said the ban was "abnormal", saying Washington and Hanoi have normalized relations for nearly 20 years and set up a "comprehensive partnership" in 2013.

In their meeting, Kerry and Minh agreed on the importance of claimants "avoiding actions that threaten to escalate disputes and cause instability" in the South China Sea, where Vietnam and China are involved in territorial disputes, Psaki said.

Vietnamese Foreign Ministry deputy spokeswoman Tran Thi Bich Van said in a statement that Hanoi welcomes any step that aims to promote the Vietnam-US partnership.

Psaki told reporters the US will now allow sales of lethal maritime security capabilities and for surveillance on a case-by-case basis.

US officials said this could include both boats and air assets, particularly for Vietnam's coast guard.

The US introduced an embargo on arms sales to Vietnam in 1984.

Relations between the US and Vietnam were normalized in 1995, some 20 years after the end of the Vietnam War. Washington approved non-lethal arms sales in 2006, and ties have since deepened further, particularly as the Obama administration has sought to expand US engagement in Asia.

US Senator John McCain, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam, said, "Easing the lethal-arms ban on Vietnam for the purpose of maritime security will strengthen our defense cooperation in ways that benefit both countries."

US sources have said Washington could eventually sell Vietnam used US P-3 Orion surveillance planes built by Lockheed Martin Corp, which are being replaced by newer P-8A aircraft built by Boeing Co.

The State Department officials declined to name any specific weapons systems that could be under consideration or give a timetable for expected agreement on the first such deal. They said providing surplus US defense equipment to Vietnam could trim the cost, but Vietnam would need to contribute as well.

"This is a very important first step that will engender future cooperation," said one of the officials. "This policy revision enables us to ... provide Vietnam with the ability to defend itself in the context of its presence in the South China Sea."

Xinhua - AP - Reuters