US lifts 40-year arms ban to boost Vietnam sea defense

[webfact]

US lifts 40-year arms ban to boost Vietnam sea defense
Washington, United States | AFP |

WASHINGTON: -- In a decision likely to anger China, the US is partly lifting a 40-year ban on arms sales to former foe Vietnam to help boost defenses in the tense South China Sea.

The historic easing of the ban in place since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975 will only apply to maritime equipment, State Department officials stressed, and comes amid warming ties and as Hanoi makes "modest" improvements to human rights.

"What's driving this is not a sudden desire to transfer military equipment to Vietnam writ large, but a specific need in the region," said one official, highlighting what he called Vietnam's lack of capacity in the disputed waters and America's own national security interests.

"It's useful in trying to deal with the territorial disputes in the South China Sea to bolster the capacity of our friends in the region to maintain a maritime presence in some capacity."

Some 40 percent of the world's seaborne trade passes through the sea which is claimed in part by Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia, as well as China and the Philippines.

Although the United States has not taken sides in the territorial disputes, it has warned Beijing against "destabilizing actions" amid a series of tense maritime incidents.

Earlier this year, Beijing placed an oil rig in waters also claimed by Vietnam, sparking deadly riots in the Southeast Asian nation.

Secretary of State John Kerry informed his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Binh Min during talks Thursday of Washington's move to adjust the current policy "to allow the transfer of defense equipment, including lethal defense equipment, for maritime security purposes only," a senior State Department official said.

Kerry later praised "the transformation" in Vietnam since the US normalized diplomatic relations two decades ago, calling it "nothing short of amazing."

"Vietnam has become a modern nation and an important partner of the United States. And (when) we talk to the young people in Vietnam you can feel the enthusiasm for the potential of the future," he told a US-ASEAN business council dinner.

- Not 'anti-China' -

A prohibition on sales of other kinds of lethal weapons, such as tanks, will stay in place as Washington pushes Hanoi to improve its human rights record.

"Vietnam will need to make additional progress on human rights for the United States to consider a full lift of the ban on lethal defense articles in the future," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement.

US officials denied the policy change was "anti-China" and insisted they had no specific sales to outline so far, but would consider each request from Hanoi on a case-by-case basis.

And they sought to allay any concerns from Beijing, saying it was purely a defensive measure.

"We're not talking about destabilizing systems, we're talking about defensive capabilities... These are not things that are going to tip the regional balance," a second State Department official said, also asking not to be named.

Any sales would be done in close consultation with the US Congress, and would be heavily focused on equipping the Vietnamese coast guard, the State Department officials said.

So far, Washington has only been allowed to sell unarmed patrol boats to the Vietnamese coastguard since a total ban on military sales was lifted in 2006. That could now change, for example, the officials said.

And they acknowledged that airborne defense systems would also be considered for sale if they included a maritime capacity.

"This policy supports Vietnam's efforts to improve its maritime domain awareness and maritime security capabilities," Psaki told reporters.

Officials said, however, that the easing of the ban did not mean all arms sales were now on the table to the communist-run authorities amid continuing concerns about rights such as freedom of expression and religion.

"It's not an indication that we are going to provide all lethal assistance now. It just simply says we can remove what has been a hinderance to our ability to provide legitimate maritime capacity," the second unnamed State Department official said.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2014-10-03

[TheWizardofRnR]

Well let us see , a Country we lost a War to ,we now will sell some weaponry to, or whatever it is we will sell them. North Korea has been taken off a list that allows USA to sell them stuff , that could be used in their ongoing Plot to destroy the USA......but CUBA after all these years of trying to collapse their Castro's Cuba Tourism & Torture Foundation for over Half-a - century , are still on our S**T -List !

That's what he gets for not attacking us and winning the War of Words ! It must still be revenge for Teddy Roosevelt's injury , charging up San Juan Hill......So it is ok to to business with Communist Asian Countries , just not ones in the Caribbean or S. American or Central American locations,

because tourists can travel to them easier? Is that this stupid Policy the USA has adopted , which does nothing to the Leaders but thoroughly creates a Nation of Innocent but controlled Citizens from much needed supplies of Medicines & such.....So , if you want to buy WAR supplies we will let you , but if you need Medical Aid , Die You Commies of Natural Causes & Diseases !

Edited October 5, 2014 by Scott

[quandow]

Seems like the U.S. is selling arms to everyone (including known enemies) while trying to stop sales to its own citizens. How upside-down is THAT?!?

[Somtamnication]

Thanks USA. Now 58000 heroes are now turning in their graves!

[Credo]

The Vietnamese are not a known enemy....they are an old enemy, but then so are the British.

Selling weapons to Vietnam to protect the South China Sea is a good move and should give China pause to think about it's expansionist agenda.

[willyumiii]

58000 heroes?

They died in a war created by the CIA that should have never been.

There was no North and South Vietnam...Only Vietnam.

The real heroes were those who realized the entire thing was an immoral hoax sold to the American public as saving a democracy that didn't exist .

The real heroes had the nerve to refuse to kill innocent South East Asians that posed no threat to Americans or the American way of life.

The real heroes are those who convinced to bring the war to an end.

America, a republic, not a democracy still has presidents ( Bush ) running around the world fighting to bring democracy to countries who do not want it.

Will they ever learn?

Foot note: The Vietnamese kicked America's butt with no weapons supplied by the U.S. selling them weapons wil be for benefit of the U.S. arms dealers.

As always, it is not about democracy or freedom, it's about money!

[slipperylobster]

forty years...enough said. Sometimes even old rivals can work together. It does not mean we are in love with each other.

[Scott]

The Vietnamese are a formidable adversary. I believe it was around 1978 that they had a little dust up with the Chinese along the border and the Chinese were defeated.

The Vietnamese make much better friends than they do enemies.

I would hardly consider the US and Vietnam to be enemies. There is a very huge Vietnamese population in the US.

[Seastallion]

The Vietnamese are not a known enemy....they are an old enemy, but then so are the British.

Selling weapons to Vietnam to protect the South China Sea is a good move and should give China pause to think about it's expansionist agenda.

I tend to disagree.

PI and Japan are closer allies to the US than VN. Japan and PI are also at odds with China over territorial waters.

If push comes to shove and war breaks out, the US will side with Taiwan, PI, and Japan.

VN, however, is closer to China diplomatically and geographically. If push came to shove, who do you think VN would side with?

And then, how do you think those "lethal defenses" would be deployed? A very simple deal with China for their sea territory claims would cement their allegiance.

[Seastallion]

58000 heroes?

They died in a war created by the CIA that should have never been.

There was no North and South Vietnam...Only Vietnam.

The real heroes were those who realized the entire thing was an immoral hoax sold to the American public as saving a democracy that didn't exist .

The real heroes had the nerve to refuse to kill innocent South East Asians that posed no threat to Americans or the American way of life.

The real heroes are those who convinced to bring the war to an end.

America, a republic, not a democracy still has presidents ( Bush ) running around the world fighting to bring democracy to countries who do not want it.

Will they ever learn?

Foot note: The Vietnamese kicked America's butt with no weapons supplied by the U.S. selling them weapons wil be for benefit of the U.S. arms dealers.

As always, it is not about democracy or freedom, it's about money!

I think you are right about money to arms dealers.

Perhaps this is a weather vane signalling that no big war is going to eventuate in the Middle East; those arms dealers need to get richer somehow.

[Scott]

The Vietnamese are not a known enemy....they are an old enemy, but then so are the British.

Selling weapons to Vietnam to protect the South China Sea is a good move and should give China pause to think about it's expansionist agenda.

I tend to disagree.

PI and Japan are closer allies to the US than VN. Japan and PI are also at odds with China over territorial waters.

If push comes to shove and war breaks out, the US will side with Taiwan, PI, and Japan.

VN, however, is closer to China diplomatically and geographically. If push came to shove, who do you think VN would side with?

And then, how do you think those "lethal defenses" would be deployed? A very simple deal with China for their sea territory claims would cement their allegiance.

The Vietnamese will side with the Vietnamese. They are quite independent in their thinking. They expelled the Chinese in large numbers and China was forced to send large ships to return the ethnic Chinese. There is little to no love between the Chinese and the Vietnamese.

Vietnam is part of ASEAN, if there is a conflict, Vietnam will need to side with PI over territorial disputes.

This whole exercise is to limit China's ability to bully the smaller nations.

[zydeco]

The Vietnamese are not a known enemy....they are an old enemy, but then so are the British.

Selling weapons to Vietnam to protect the South China Sea is a good move and should give China pause to think about it's expansionist agenda.

I tend to disagree.

PI and Japan are closer allies to the US than VN. Japan and PI are also at odds with China over territorial waters.

If push comes to shove and war breaks out, the US will side with Taiwan, PI, and Japan.

VN, however, is closer to China diplomatically and geographically. If push came to shove, who do you think VN would side with?

And then, how do you think those "lethal defenses" would be deployed? A very simple deal with China for their sea territory claims would cement their allegiance.

China is Vietnam's traditional, long term enemy. The US and Vietnam have a strategic common interest. It doesn't matter what government is in power. This reconciliation between the US and Vietnam was inevitable. Had the US displayed enough sense to side with the Vietnamese against the French in the late 1940s and early 1950s, a US-Vietnam alliance would be today right behind that with the Philippines and Japan. Vietnam is much more important to the US, for example, than is Thailand.

[LawrenceChee]

Vietnam is a formidable adversary indeed ...they have kicked everyone who have tried to invade them in their history books ranging from the Russians , Chinese , Cambodians and USA and they done it with resolute force and loyalty to their own identity. Indeed a military force to reckon with

I have visited vietnam on numerous occasions and have good friends there and their viewpoints is absolute when it comes to their sovereignty and identity

They may have some similar customs in Tet as like Chinese New Year and marriage stuff ...but from an identity point there is no mistaking a Vietnamese.

Eventually I can foresee a truce between all the nations for the islands if it's ever churns out anything useful ...for now the claims on the rocky patchy is based on possible resources and once it's confirmed in some latter years , I would assume there will be a peaceful resolution to the sharing of profits

The pipe from Indonesia could well end there as a mid way point as well

[zydeco]

Vietnamese archaeologists have announced the discovery of ancient Vietnamese artifacts in the Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago.

Recent excavations in the archipelago -- Spratly Island, Namyit Island, Pearson Reef, and Sand Cay -- in June yielded Vietnamese pottery shards that dated back to between the 13th and 19th centuries, archaeologists said.

Bui Van Liem, deputy director of the Vietnam Institute of Archaeology, said: “The results of the June explorations strengthened those of our explorations in Truong Sa in 1993, 1994, and 1999. They prove that Vietnamese people operated in the archipelago in the past.”

“The artifacts contribute to support Vietnam’s assertion of sovereignty over the Truong Sa archipelago,” said Liem.

http://www.thanhniennews.com/politics/ancient-vietnamese-artifacts-found-in-spratlys-31580.html