Two people with knowledge of the talks told the Reuters news agency that US defense companies and high-ranking Vietnamese government officials have discussed providing military equipment, such as helicopters and drones. This is a new indication that the country may reduce its reliance on Russian arms.
According to the US-ASEAN Business Council, the industry group that arranged the meetings, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, Textron, and IM Systems Group met with the officials on the sidelines of the country’s first large-scale arms fair last week.
The Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defence was said to have been involved in the weapons discussions, according to a source who was there.
The Southeast Asian nation is looking for new suppliers and the Ukraine conflict is putting pressure on Russia’s capabilities, which was Vietnam’s main military partner for decades. The preliminary talks may not result in any deals.
Russia has also been subjected to stringent sanctions as a result of the military assault, which Moscow refers to as a “special operation.”
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According to Nguyen The Phuong, a military expert, and researcher at the University of New South Wales, “This marks the beginning of a more open-minded Vietnam People’s Army to US weapons and a willingness to engage deeper with the US in defense as a whole.”
Military arrangements with the US face numerous possible obstacles, including that Washington could impede arms deals over common liberties; concerns regarding the effect on the tense relations between China and Hanoi; high prices; and whether systems made in the United States can work with Vietnam’s old weapons, analysts said.
According to the person who attended the meetings, the companies offered a variety of military equipment and had “promising” discussions about non-lethal equipment, such as internal security helicopters, drones, radars, and other systems for air, sea, and space surveillance.
The foreign and defense ministries of Vietnam did not respond to a request for comment.
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Deals with suppliers from Israel, India
A second person with knowledge of the situation stated that discussions regarding drones and helicopters began prior to the arms fair and included additional weapons.
At the event, Lockheed Martin displayed fighter and military transport aircraft. The company declined to comment.
Questions were referred to Vietnam’s Defense Ministry by a Boeing spokesperson. IM Systems Group, Textron, and Raytheon did not respond to inquiries for comment.
Nearly 50 years after the end of the Vietnam War, the discussions show that the United States of America is making more and more efforts to gain influence with Hanoi.
Russia has supplied approximately 80% of Vietnam’s arsenal since the arms embargo was lifted in 2016. US defense exports to Vietnam have been limited to coastguard ships and trainer aircraft.
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In the midst of intermittent tensions with China, the arms fair attracted dozens of defense companies from 30 nations, all of whom were vying for a piece of the estimated $2 billion Vietnam spends annually on arms imports.
Due to the confidential nature of the discussions, both sources stated that Lockheed Martin and Vietnam had separate discussions regarding a new communication and defense satellite that could replace one of the two from the US company that Hanoi currently operates.
Although Ambassador Marc Knapper stated that the United States was prepared to discuss any military item Vietnam might wish to acquire, the US embassy in Hanoi declined to comment.
Two relatively small naval cutters and two T-6 Texan trainer aircraft have already been provided by the US military, and another 10 will be delivered by 2027. Additionally, it has promised to deliver Boeing ScanEagle reconnaissance drones, but none have yet been delivered.
Vietnam, according to sources and analysts, is also thinking about making deals with suppliers from India, Israel, Europe, and Northeast Asian nations. Israel has been Russia’s second-largest weapon supplier to Vietnam over the past ten years.
Source: Reuters
