Arms deals with Vietnam
China is claiming much more of the South China Sea by building artificial islands and placing weapons systems on them. That has spurred other nations in the area to do the same, including Vietnam. It looks like Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter is visiting our former adversary to finalize some arms deals for defensive weapons in light of the Chinese expansion, according to the Associated Press.
Last October the U.S. partially lifted its ban on weapons sales to Vietnam to boost the country’s ability to defend itself in the South China Sea. Only the sale of lethal maritime security and surveillance capabilities are allowed on a case-by-case basis, including boats and air assets based on an evaluation of Vietnam’s needs. But to date no weapons have flowed to Vietnam.
U.S. Sen. John McCain said Saturday that the U.S. should gradually lift the weapons ban on Vietnam, amid heightened tensions with China over the reclamation projects.
It’s almost funny that it was Nixon’s relations with China that brought North Vietnam to the negotiation table to end US involvement in the war in Vietnam, and now we’re arming Vietnam to get some control over Chinese expansion, and it was Chinese troops that bled to stop Vietnamese incursions into Laos in the late 70s and put an end to the “Domino Effect” that US troops went to Vietnam to stop in the 60s.
So, are you confused? You’re not the only one. From Bloomberg;
Some older members of the Vietnamese Politburo, who recall the U.S. as the enemy, are skeptical of a complete turnabout. And while Vietnam is wary of Chinese domination, China remains its top trading partner and an important source of capital.
“This is a piece of complex systems engineering,” said Dean Cheng, an Asian affairs specialist at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. “There are many, many moving parts, not just China and the U.S.,” he said. “The whole area is very much in flux.”
Neither the White House, nor John McCain, are keen on tying humans rights issues to the arms deals with Vietnam, unlike Jimmy Carter or Ronald Reagan who would have made it a key point instead.
Category: Big Pentagon, Foreign Policy
Lot a dead Americans fixin’ to roll over in their graves.
Don’t anybody throw away their jungle fatigues! The way things are shaping up on this, you just might get some use out of them yet.
Free Tibet*
*(with purchase of another Tibet of equal or greater value)
LMAO!!! I totally stealing that one ChipNASA!
Is it time to find a pickle suit and boonie hat at the surplus store, or should one wait?
So we’re going to fulfill the arms deal we bailed on 40 years ago.
Oh, here we go again.
Maybe we’re just going to upgrade their Hueys, M113s and F5s…..
Having served there I have my own feelings about the Vietnamese government. I think they are as corrupt now, or more so, than they were then. The high ranks and government officials lining their pockets and off shore accounts with American aid dollars. They are still a communist regime. No matter they are trying out some capitalism because they can’t self sustain themselves. But if we start moving arms and money their way, it will be the same as when we left. Ex Vietnamese government officials and military officers suddenly appearing in America as refugees with their pockets again lined with our money. If China decides they want Vietnam, what the hell are we going to do about it? Reenter another Vietnam war but this time against Chinese forces? Escalated until the Chinese are striking our troops and off shore fleets with their latest and greatest. Good, bad or not, there are a SHIT LOAD of Chinese troops available to die. Think the overrun by human waves of Chinese troops in Korea. At the rate this administration has decimated our military, we do not have the resources to fight ISIS, AQ, the Taliban AND a full fledged campaign in Southeast Asia again. At this rate, this is not shaping up to end well…for us.
The last time China tried to fight Vietnam, they got their asses handed to them. They can take care of themselves that way.
The “human wave” attacks in Korea are a myth. The ChiComs had developed some very effective ways to employ non-mechanized infantry against a modern army fighting the Japanese. These worked fairly well against the first defenders in Korea who were mostly short-timers about to retire. China also had a very large number of combat vets in their ranks. Once the professionals showed up the tactics didn’t work nearly as well.
The myth arose due to the confusion created by the ChiCom surprise attack along with mangled reporting at the time, giving an impression that the assaults were similar to Japanese “Banzai” attacks in the Pacific. It wasn’t too long before the grunts started making jokes, like “how many human waves are in a Chinese platoon?”
As for old hostilities, anyone out there still nursing a grudge against Japan or Germany? Spain? The American South?
…Ok, progressives still hate the South, but besides that… 😉
If you are talking about he 1979 conflict, China did exactly what it wanted to do. They deployed only 200,000 soldiers and went just as far as they wanted
The entire purpose was to pressure the Vietnamese into stopping their incursions in Cambodia.
They got the attention of the West and the Soviets. The Chinese lost 62,000 casulaties and Vietnam lost over 100,000, plus the Chinese stripped everything as they withdrew.
After six weeks the Chinese declared that they had “opened the road to Hanoi” if they wished tio attack and they withdrew.
The lead story and its picture deserve a comment. The gook officer’s face says, “Oh please, let’s get this over with real quick. I’m about to let loose another fish head and rice fart” While the American suit is leaning in saying, “Anybody seen my miniature horse? His name is Hoof Hearted”
I read this sentence “It looks like Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter”
…as “Secretary of Defense Ashton Kutcher”
I’m over my shock now.
This may relate to this topic. Heard it on the radio.
Ask The Vietnamese About War, And They Think China, Not The U.S.
That’s true. We don’t have a 1,000+ year history with the Vietnamese. China does.