Vietnam seeks to reduce dependence on Russian weapons and is open to talks with American defense contractors
World News: US defense companies have held a meeting with Vietnam regarding plenty of helicopters, drones, and other defense items. However, there has been no talk of finalizing any deal in this meeting. Significantly, till now Vietnam is dependent on Russia for defense materials. In such a situation, this meeting with American defense firms is considered very important.
Highlights
⏩ America offers to buy defense materials for Vietnam
⏩ US defense companies hold meeting with Vietnamese officials
⏩ Vietnam still depends on Russia for arms
Hanoi: US defense firms and Vietnam’s top government officials have discussed the supply of military gear, including helicopters and drones. Two sources with knowledge of the talks told Reuters that there are signs that Vietnam may reduce its dependence on Russian weapons. US defense companies Lockheed Martin (LMT.N), Boeing (BA.N), Raytheon (RTX.N), Textron (TXT.N), and IM Systems Group met with Vietnamese officials last week, according to the US-Asian Business Council. Of.
It was told that these were preliminary talks. In which no deal has been done yet. However, the South East Asian nation is on the lookout for new suppliers. The Ukraine conflict has strained the capabilities of Russia, Vietnam’s main military partner for decades.
Challenge before Vietnam
According to Reuters, Nguyen The Phuong, a military expert, and researcher at New South University, said, “This is the beginning of the Vietnam People’s Army being more open to American weapons, and willing to engage more deeply with the US in defense.”
Military affairs experts said that there are many potential obstacles in front of Vietnam in the military deal with America. Including concerns about the impact on Hanoi’s strained relations with China, high arms prices, as well as the larger question of whether US-made systems can be integrated with Vietnam’s older weapons.
Vietnam kept silent
A person attending the meeting told Reuters the companies offered a variety of military gear and also discussed non-lethal equipment. Which included helicopters for internal security, as well as drones, radars, and other systems to monitor air, sea, and space systems. Vietnam’s Ministry of Defense and Foreign Affairs has not given any statement on this whole issue.
A second person familiar with the matter said that talks on drones and helicopters began before the arms fair and included more weapons. Defense company Lockheed Martin, displayed fighter and military transport aircraft at the event. Although Martin has not commented yet. Apart from this, Boeing, Raytheon, Textron, and IM Systems Group have also not given any statement.
Israel second biggest seller
Separately, Lockheed Martin was also reported to have discussed new communication and defense satellite with Vietnam. The US embassy in Hanoi declined to comment on the whole matter, but Ambassador Mark Knapper has said the US is ready to discuss any military item Vietnam wants to acquire. Military affairs experts said Vietnam is also considering deals with suppliers from Israel, India, and European and Northeast Asian countries. In the past decade, Israel has been the second largest seller of arms to Vietnam after Russia.
