President Obama visits Vietnam: Will the US completely lift the arms embargo?

According to The Diplomat, the US may completely lift the embargo on lethal weapons to Vietnam, during President Barack Obama's upcoming visit here.

Historic step

As Mr. Obama prepares to visit Vietnam next month, the complete lifting of the embargo is being discussed by both sides, Vnexpress newspaper quoted a source from The Diplomat as saying.

US defense officials have remained quiet about the move, in part because fully lifting the ban on lethal weapons sales would require a policy decision from the US State Department, after interagency discussions and congressional consultation.

Even if the embargo is fully lifted, it could take time for the two sides to finalize major defense contracts and transfers, depending on other factors, Vietnamese and U.S. officials familiar with the defense relationship said. One factor could be that Vietnam has to get used to U.S. procurement procedures, which are quite different from those of traditional defense partners like Russia.

Delegation of officers of the Vietnam People's Navy visited the US P-3C Orion aircraft.

What weapons is Vietnam interested in?

According to many experts, initially, the US may not sell advanced weapons (aircraft, warships, artillery, tanks) to Vietnam. However, lifting the embargo on lethal weapons could help Vietnam buy spare parts and components to restore and maintain US-made weapons that our army captured after 1975.

Currently, there are still hundreds of M113s actively serving in the Vietnam People's Army despite difficulties in obtaining spare parts. If the embargo is lifted, our army will have the conditions to ensure better combat operations for the M113, as well as upgrade them to adapt to modern warfare.

In terms of air force equipment, Vietnam can purchase spare parts or order upgrades for the UH-1 multi-purpose helicopters that are currently limited in the Vietnam People's Air Force (about 12-15 units). In addition, according to some documents, our air force is still keeping many other UH-1s and waiting for the day to restore them to operation.

In terms of naval equipment, Vietnam can hope that the US will agree to provide modern P-3 Orion anti-submarine patrol aircraft. Previously, speaking at the International Security and Defense Exhibition (LAAD 2013) in Brazil, Director of the Maritime Patrol Program Clay Fearnow said.

The Vietnamese Navy is interested in purchasing six surplus P-3 Orion anti-submarine patrol aircraft (not used by the US) to protect its nearly 3,500km coastline and 1,396,299km2 exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

“The Vietnamese Navy has expressed interest in the P-3 and the US government will support the development of this deal,” said Mr. Fearnow. According to Mr. Fearnow, Lockheed Martin Corporation also “advised” Vietnam to choose the latest variant of the P-3C Orion. Because they are more advanced and have lower flight hours.

Although there is no further information about this yet, we have the right to hope that after the US officially lifts the embargo on lethal weapons, Vietnam can buy P-3 Orion to contribute to enhancing its patrol capabilities and protecting its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

According to Infonet