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Barack Obama to lift US arms embargo on Vietnam Barack Obama to lift US arms embargo on Vietnam
(about 1 hour later)
President Barack Obama has announced the US is fully lifting its embargo on sales of lethal weapons to Vietnam, its one-time enemy.President Barack Obama has announced the US is fully lifting its embargo on sales of lethal weapons to Vietnam, its one-time enemy.
Speaking during a visit to communist Vietnam and talks with its leaders, Mr Obama said the move removed a "lingering vestige of the Cold War".Speaking during a visit to communist Vietnam and talks with its leaders, Mr Obama said the move removed a "lingering vestige of the Cold War".
He said both sides had "developed a level of trust and co-operation". The US is trying to bolster its relationship with its Pacific allies, as China asserts territorial claims.
Mr Obama's visit comes amid warming ties, as the US seeks to build its relationship with its Pacific allies. But Mr Obama said the embargo decision was not related to US policy on China.
Vietnam had been arguing for an end to the arms embargo, which had been in place for decades. It was partially lifted in 2014. "It's based on our desire to complete what has been a lengthy process of moving towards normalisation with Vietnam," he said in Hanoi.
Mr Obama said it was "clear from this visit that both our peoples are eager for an even closer relationship". Vietnam is one of several countries in the region involved in maritime disputes with China. The US insists on the right to freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.
His visit comes 41 years after the end of the Vietnam War in which the US sought to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam. In 2014, a row over a Chinese oil rig near the Paracel islands led to clashes between Chinese and Vietnamese vessels and anti-China riots in Vietnam.
White House officials had indicated the arms ban, in force since 1984, would be lifted only if human rights in Vietnam improved.
"Sales will need to still meet strict requirements, including those related to human rights, but this change will ensure that Vietnam has access to the equipment it needs to defend itself," Mr Obama said after talks with President Tran Dai Quang.
Vietnam had been arguing for an end to the embargo, which was partially lifted in 2014.
Mr Obama's visit comes 41 years after the end of the Vietnam War in which the US sought to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam.
Several million Vietnamese - civilians, communist fighters and South Vietnamese soldiers - were killed, as well as more than 58,000 US soldiers.Several million Vietnamese - civilians, communist fighters and South Vietnamese soldiers - were killed, as well as more than 58,000 US soldiers.
By the end of the war in 1975, the communists had gained control of the entire country.By the end of the war in 1975, the communists had gained control of the entire country.
The lifting of the embargo is seen as allowing Vietnam to bolster its defences at a time of territorial disputes with its neighbour China, which was unhappy with a partial relaxation of the ban in 2014. While in Vietnam, Mr Obama is expected to meet dissidents and make the case for Vietnam to remove obstacles to the US-led Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade deal.
However, Mr Obama said the lifting of the ban was not based on China but part of a long-term normalisation of ties with Vietnam. The US president flies later to Japan for a summit of the G7 industrialised nations. His visit will include a tour of Hiroshima, where the world's first deliberate nuclear attack was carried out in 1945 by the US, killing at least 140,000 people.
White House officials had indicated the ban would be lifted only if there was an improvement in human rights in Vietnam. In a separate move, Vietnamese officials have removed the accreditation of the BBC's Jonathan Head in Hanoi after accusing him of conducting an unauthorised interview - something he denies.
The BBC's Jonathan Head in Hanoi says that consideration appears to have been put aside and the lifting of the embargo is basically putting to bed all the lingering issues from the Vietnam War.