Obama’s decision to sell arms to Vietnam is seen as a warning to China.
Obama’s decision to sell arms puts U.S. into Asian dispute
HANOI, Vietnam — If President Barack Obama’s decision to sell arms to Vietnam after 40 years was meant to signal a final end to Cold War tensions, it also inserted the U.S. more forcefully into a new Asian dispute.
Analysts said it served as a warning to China, which has been angering neighbors such as Vietnam with aggressive moves around the South China Sea, the vital shipping lanes that serve as the lifeline of the region.
“This is really a warning shot fired across the bow of China’s forward maritime policy,” said Orville Schell, director of the Center on U.S.-China relations at the Asia Society.
“It provides Vietnam a hedge against China’s increased assertiveness in the South China Sea,” added Murray Hiebert, deputy director and senior fellow of the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. China’s reaction was cool. “As a neighbor to Vietnam, China is happy to see Vietnam develop normal relations with all countries, including the U.S. And we hope this would be conducive to regional peace, stability and development,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying.
Vietnam has not given the U.S. a specific wish list, but experts say Hanoi could be looking for warships, missiles and radar, surveillance and communications equipment. Examples such as Lockheed’s P-3 Orion and C-130 Hercules or Boeing’s P-8 Poseidon could help track Chinese ships and submarines.
In return, Vietnam responded with a promise of more sweeping access to its strategically valuable ports for the U.S. Navy.
Obama said at a news conference with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang that the decision was not about China but rather one “based on our desire to complete what has been a lengthy process toward moving toward normalization with Vietnam.”
“This change will ensure that Vietnam has access to the equipment it needs to defend itself and removes a lingering vestige of the Cold War,” he said. “It also underscores the commitment of the United States to a fully normalized relationship with Vietnam, including strong defense ties with Vietnam and this region for the long term.”
The U.S. has not sold lethal weapons to Vietnam since communists took control of the country at the end of the Vietnam War, which left nearly 60,000 Americans dead. President Ronald Reagan officially prohibited arms sales in 1984.
“Vietnam very much appreciates the U.S. decision to completely lift the ban on lethal weapon sales to Vietnam, which is clear proof that both countries have completely normalized the relations,” Quang said.
In a word of caution, however, Quang said later at a luncheon that “the wounds of the war have not been fully healed in both countries.”
Moreover, many analysts in the U.S. and elsewhere remain alarmed about human rights abuses in Vietnam and fear that Obama gave away important leverage on that front.
“President Obama has rewarded Vietnam even though they have done little to earn it: The government has not repealed any repressive laws, nor released any significant number of political prisoners, nor made any substantial pledges,” said John Sifton, Asia policy director of Human Rights Watch.