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The U.S. Signals New Interest in Vietnam

May 27, 2016 | 18:43 GMT

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The U.S. Signals New Interest in Vietnam

Just over 41 years after Vietnam defeated the United States and its allies, the White House is moving to dispense with another vestige of Cold War-era policy in the service of emerging strategic needs. On May 23, while standing beneath a bust of revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi, U.S. President Barack Obama announced that Washington would lift its longstanding ban on weapons sales or transfers to Vietnam.

Vietnam is a singularly important party in the dispute over the South China Sea, so Washington is keen to help develop the country into a more robust check on China's maritime expansion. But lifting the ban will not drastically alter the security landscape in the region. Cost constraints and political divisions in Hanoi will curb Vietnam's appetite for advanced U.S. weaponry, and the country will continue to rely on its traditional military partners. Nonetheless, the decision will ease suspicions of U.S. intentions in Hanoi and lay the groundwork for stronger military ties, supporting Washington's broader strategy in the region.

Washington hopes the move will encourage military cooperation in other areas, such as joint maritime drills. During Obama's visit, Vietnam agreed to allow the Pentagon to establish equipment depots in the country for humanitarian and disaster relief operations. Above all, Washington wants greater access to Cam Ranh Bay and other strategic ports on the South China Sea. (The U.S. Navy is allowed only one visit to Vietnamese ports per year, while Russian ships have long enjoyed privileged access to Cam Ranh Bay.) Hanoi will not let any country establish a permanent military base in Vietnam, but it has slowly opened Cam Ranh Bay to foreign warships for training missions and resupply. Japan, Singapore and France have already made use of the new permission this year.

For Washington, maintaining the arms ban as leverage on human rights would have deepened Vietnamese suspicions while doing little to compel Hanoi to reform. However seriously the U.S. should prioritize human rights issues, the ban placed a limit on both economic and military cooperation at a pivotal time for both the new crop of Vietnamese leaders and the broader strategic landscape.