Obama recently lifted the arms embargo against Vietnam - what would Vietnam want to buy from the USA? As I understand it, most of their current warships, warplanes, etc. are Russian-made, so commonality would be an issue.
I’m guessing lifting the arms embargo is a first step towards offering them military aid, which will have to be spent on arms from US companies. Vietnam doesn’t like China, they’re a natural ally in the asia-pacific to help contain China. Arm Vietnam and let them push back against China’s take over of the South China Sea. Lot safer than the US directly doing it.
Well, yes - I was asking what specifically they wanted - LCS? SH-60? RGM-84? etc.
If I was Vietnam I’d want surface based anti-ship missile systems, Surface to air missile systems and the accompanying radar integration systems. Deploy them on the islands that Vietnam controls in the South China Sea as a credible deterrent. I have no idea if the US equivalents are better / cheaper than the Russian equivalents, I’m guessing they are more expensive so it would all come down to military assistance deals.
Apart from that I’m sure Vietnam would love to get some F-35’s but I’m guessing those are maybe not on the approved list.
They actually have a lot of US weapons as well from the war, but obviously these are pretty old at this point and they probably haven’t been able to get parts for them. However, I think the Vietnamese are looking for things like radar and sonar systems to use in surveillance in the South China Sea to keep an eye on what China is doing. They are also looking at some smaller patrol type craft from what I understand. US Naval hardware is pretty good, and as coremelt said this might be the first step in getting them on the US military aide program, where we give them money that they can spend on arms. They seem to be wanting some sort of defense treaty with the US (as ironic as that might seem), and if they get that then they would be eligible (assuming they get their human rights house in order) for funding in the same way Iraq, Egypt, Israel and a number of other countries are.
The fact that they have a lot of Russian made systems or Chinese built Russian designs is probably a big driver for them to be able to acquire US weapons and systems btw…after all, almost everything China has is either a direct knock off of Russian equipment or an extrapolation from Russian equipment roots. Very little of what China is doing is their own innovation…heck, much of their defense budget goes towards modernizing their ancient Russian crap and making it more suitable for their soldiers today or basically building knock offs of those old Russian systems/weapons.
Since this involves speculation, let’s move it to IMHO.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
Most of the old South Vietnamese military equipment was disposed of after liberation; the exceptions were some M113’s which were brand new when captured.
Actually, they use some of our old M-114 towed artillery pieces, as well as some of our jeeps and trucks (though the numbers are pretty small on all of these things). They also have some of our old MBTs in storage, though I doubt they would ever be used. Some of our hand guns and rifles are in use as well, in small quantities. As I said, though, it’s probably been difficult for them to get spare parts and replacements, though some of this stuff is so old that it’s probably on the secondary or even tertiary markets by now so you could get them even if not directly from the US.
I don’t think the Arty pieces and tanks have ever not been in storage. After 1975, the *North *Vietnamese military had a major RIF, never mind the politically suspect Southerners who were (mostly) sent home or to re-education camps. They no longer had the inclination nor need to keep large amounts of military equipment without its supporting infrastructure or trained personnel.
It’s not Ironic at all considering that both Germany and Japan have defense treaties with the US. And there’s the fact that China invaded Vietnam in 1979 and then of course China is trying to take many islands that Vietnam claims.
This is part of it. And the lifting of the arms embargo opens the door for a renewed US military presence in Vietnam. It is not so much about what Vietnam wants but what the US wants.