The package, which could be completed next year, aims to erode the new partnership between Washington and Hanoi through the sale of a fleet of North American F16 fighter jets
Joe Biden attends meetings in Vietnam September 10, 2023
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WASHINGTON (Portal) U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration is negotiating a deal with Vietnam for the largest arsenal transfer in history between the two former Cold War foes, two people close to the negotiations say, a move that could anger China and bypass Russia .
The package, which could be completed next year, is intended to saturate the new partnership between Washington and Hanoi with the sale of a fleet of North American F16 fighter jets, at a time when the Southeast Asian country’s confrontation with Beijing is underway in the South China Sea, said one of the sources.
The potential deal is still in its early stages, terms have yet to be agreed and may not materialize. However, these negotiations were one of the main topics of meetings between the two countries last month in Hanoi, New York and Washington.
The United States is considering offering special financial terms for the purchase of equipment that could help the Vietnamese move beyond the lowcost Russian weapons they have traditionally used, said the other source, who also did not want to be named.
Spokespeople for the White House and the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry did not respond to requests for comment. “We have a very productive and promising security relationship with the Vietnamese and we see their interest in some US systems, particularly those that can help them better monitor their maritime domain, perhaps transport aircraft and other platforms,” the North American agency said .
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“Part of what we’re doing internally as the U.S. government is being creative about how we can provide funding to Vietnam so that they can get things that are actually more useful,” he added.
A comprehensive military deal between the two countries could anger China, Vietnam’s largest neighbor, which is aware of the West’s isolation efforts. A longstanding territorial dispute between the Chinese and Vietnamese is growing in importance in the South China Sea, explaining why Vietnam wants to strengthen its maritime defenses.
“They are developing asymmetric defense capabilities, but they want to do so without provoking a response from China,” said Jeffrey Ordaniel, an associate professor of security at Tokyo International University and director of maritime security at the International Pacific Forum think tank. “It’s a frightening record.”
Ordaniel said Washington could redirect military resources from the Middle East to the IndoPacific region “so that partners like Vietnam, the Philippines and Taiwan can afford the weapons they need to resist China.”
The Biden administration is trying to balance geopolitical competition with China, including in the Pacific, while assuming some responsibility for managing relations between the superpowers.
The diplomatic shift represents a major shift nearly half a century after the end of the Vietnam War. Since embargoes were lifted in 2016, exports of U.S. defense materiel to the country have been limited to patrol ships and training aircraft, while Russia has kept around 80% of the country’s arsenal Country supplies.
Vietnam imports nearly $2 billion worth of arms a year, and Washington is optimistic it can absorb some of that share for the United States and its allies, particularly South Korea and India.