Obama ponders decision on lifting Vietnam arms ban
VOV.VN - US President Barack Obama is considering lifting the arms embargo as the key issue amid preparations for his trip to Vietnam later this month to bolster ties between Washington and Hanoi, say US government officials.
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| Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel |
It is not entirely clear whether Obama is leaning for or against ending the embargo ahead of his trip, one that will make him the third consecutive US president to visit Vietnam.
However, it is plain that Obama considers the full removal of the ban, something that Vietnam has long sought, a monumental leap in normalizing relations— a process that began some 21 years ago, said Mr Russell.
Obama eased the moratorium on lethal arms sales to Vietnam in October 2014, allowing shipments of defensive maritime equipment to help Hanoi build up its deterrent to China's pursuit of its meritless claims in the East Sea.
Boosting defence cooperation with Vietnam in particular and the Asia-Pacific region in general has long been a centrepiece and the major thrust of Obama's strategic "pivot" toward Asia foreign policy, said Mr Russell.
One of the important factors that would make a lift of the ban possible would be assurances for Vietnam’s continued forward momentum in meeting universal human rights standards and progress in important legal reform, Russel told reporters.
Obama has the power to lift the embargo without the approval of the US congress, but his administration would still hope for support from Republican US Senator John McCain, a decorated former prisoner of war in North Vietnam who backed the 2014 partial lifting.
The debate within the US administration is coming to a head amid preparations for Obama's trip to Vietnam later this month to fortify ties between the US and Vietnam, former wartime enemies who are increasingly partners against China's growing territorial assertiveness in the East Sea.
However, if Obama opts against removing the ban entirely for now, a most likely option would be to create a working task force between the two sides to map out the most viable path toward doing so.
