Quietly, Vietnam hosts arms gathering attended by US companies as Obama mulls removal of weapons embargo
Vietnam has accelerated efforts to build a military deterrent and is the world’s eighth largest weapons importer, as neighbour China intensifies its push to fortify South China Sea islands
Vietnam hosts a defence symposium this week attended by top American arms manufacturers, ahead of a visit by US President Barack Obama later this month and as Washington weighs whether to lift an arms embargo on its former enemy.
Secrecy has surrounded the event staged by the communist country and attended by firms including Boeing and Lockheed Martin. It coincides with the biggest arms build-up in the country since the Vietnam war.
There has been no mention in state-controlled media and defence reporters are not covering the forum. Efforts to gain permission to attend have been unsuccessful and Vietnam’s defence ministry could not be reached for comment.
Vietnam has accelerated efforts to build a military deterrent and is the world’s eighth largest weapons importer, as neighbour China intensifies its push to fortify South China Sea islands it has either occupied or built from scratch.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute think tank, which tracks defence trade over five-year periods, Vietnam’s total arms imports during 2011-2015 represented a 699 per cent jump from 2006-2010.
