Obama Announces United States Will Lift Arms Ban on Vietnam
On Monday, President Obama announced that the United States will be lifting its decades-long ban on sales of military equipment to Vietnam, provoking criticisms that the president lost the necessary leverage to compel Vietnam to improve its human rights record. And while some experts contend that the lift is part of an effort to counter China’s growing strength in the region, President Obama claims it is simply intended to standardize relations between the United States and Vietnam.
“The decision to lift the ban was not based on China or any other considerations,” Obama claimed during a joint press conference with the Vietnamese president, Tran Dai Quang. “It was based on our desire to complete what has been a lengthy process of moving toward normalization with Vietnam.”
Quang said essentially the same thing: "Vietnam very much appreciates the U.S. decision to completely lift the ban on lethal...