US announces partial lifting of arms embargo on Vietnam

According to AFP and Reuters, on October 2, in an announcement after a meeting between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh, the US State Department said Washington had partially lifted the arms embargo imposed on Vietnam for nearly four decades.

Foreign press reports that the P3C Orion reconnaissance aircraft could be one of the first maritime security equipment that the US wants to sell to Vietnam. (Photo: airliner.net)

“The Secretary informed Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh that the State Department has taken steps to allow future transfers of maritime security-related defense articles to Vietnam,” said department spokeswoman Jen Psaki.

In a separate briefing, State Department officials said any specific arms sales to Vietnam would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The decision followed some progress by Vietnam on human rights issues, including the release of 11 political prisoners. The officials also cautioned that further easing of the embargo would require further action from Vietnam.

These officials also emphasized that Washington will focus on providing defense systems to Vietnam and "this is not an anti-China action"./.

According to Vietnamplus