HANOI: President Barack Obama lifted a half-century-old ban on selling arms to Vietnam during his maiden visit to the communist country. In a step to tighten ties between both the countries, the leader announced the full removal of the embargo at a news conference where he expressed desire to reward what he called, a modest progress on human rights in the one-party state.
"At this stage, both sides have established a level of trust and cooperation, including between our militaries, that is reflective of common interests and mutual respect. This change will ensure that Vietnam has access to the equipment it needs to defend itself and removes a lingering vestige of the Cold War," Obama said. His trip comes at a time when China moves to strengthen its claims to the disputed territory in the South China Sea.
In a joint news conference in Hanoi with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang, Obama said that the removal of the ban on lethal weapons was part of a deeper defense cooperation with the country and dismissed suggestions it was aimed at countering China's growing strength in the region. "Instead, it was the desire to continue normalizing relations between the United States and Vietnam and to do away with a ban "based on ideological division between our two countries."
China lauded the lifting of a U.S. arms embargo, saying it hoped "normal and friendly" relations between the U.S. and Vietnam are conducive to regional stability. A spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said bans are a product of the Cold War and shouldn't have existed. China itself remains under a weapons embargo imposed by the U.S. and European Union following 1989's bloody military crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations centered on Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
No Apology for Hiroshima: Obama
Obama said he will not apologise to Japan over the 1945 US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, stating that improving mutual ties will be the focus of his upcoming trip to the country. In an answer to question issued by Japanese national broadcaster NHK he said, "No, because I think that it's important to recognise that in the midst of war, leaders make all kinds of decisions. But I know, as somebody who has now sat in this position for the last seven and half years, that every leader makes very difficult decisions, particularly during wartime."
