Large arms transfer in history between ex-Cold War adversaries
US may transfer arms package to Vietnam, including F-16 fighter jets. The Biden administration is in talks with Vietnam over an agreement for the largest arms transfer in history between the ex-Cold War adversaries, according to two people familiar with a deal that could irk China, Azernews reports.
The deal is still in its early stages, with exact terms yet to be worked out, and may not come together. But it was a key topic of Vietnamese-US official talks in Hanoi, New York and Washington over the past month.
Spokespersons for the White House and Vietnamese foreign ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
"Part of what we're working on internally as the U.S. government is being creative about how we could try to provide better financing options to Vietnam to get them things that might be really useful to them."
A major U.S.-Vietnam arms deal could aggravate China, Vietnam's larger neighbor, which is wary of Western efforts to box in Beijing. A long-simmering territorial dispute between Vietnam and China is heating up in the South China Sea and explains why Vietnam is looking to build up maritime defenses.
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