Page 9 - VIETNAM DEFENCE EXPO 2024 - Day 1 | GBP

Cuong and Vietnam’s Communist Party the Pentagon, the State Department and thus giving a fillip to Vietnam’s plans to
leader To Lam. According to a statement Congress. Any major arms deal with the develop an indigenous defence industry.
released by China’s defence ministry, US will also adversely impact Vietnam’s
Zhang expressed Beijing’s willingness growing relationship with China. In 2023, South Korea achieved a ma-
to deepen relations with Hanoi, including jor milestone by becoming one of the
the promotion of a healthy and stable Advantage South Korea? top 10 arms exporters in the world,
development of military relations. The selling US$14 billion worth of defence
two countries have also signed pre- With Russia’s arms exports taking a hit technology to 12 countries. Its defence
liminary agreements as part of their because of the ongoing conflict with firms now sell products to customers
decision to boost security and defence Ukraine and Vietnam likely to choose in multiple regions, from Australia to
industry ties. The presence of Chinese an equidistance policy with regards to countries in Southeast Asia, the Middle
defence companies at the ongoing fair its defence ties with the US and China, East and Europe. The types of weapons
is a sign of the growing relationship the door is open for other arms suppli- systems exported, which includes tanks,
between the two countries; Chinese ers to step in and fill the gap. Although howitzers, warplanes, Multiple Rocket
gear was not on display at the 2022 defence firms in European countries are Launcher Systems, armoured vehicles,
exposition. keen to sell weapons to Vietnam, the and offshore patrol vessels, doubled
country is likely to instead turns towards from 6 to 12 in 2023. The country, which
Although US-made arms are in high de- South Korea, which has emerged in ranked 31st among arms suppliers in
2000, has now set itself an even more
mand for their quality and long shelf life, recent years as a major arms supplier. ambitious goal of becoming the world’s
defence analysts do not expect Vietnam fourth-largest arms exporter by 2027.
to sign any major defence contract with In addition to South Korean defence
Washington in the near future. They equipment being technologically ad- “Maritime security and air defence is
cite three major reasons - high price vanced and less expensive compared where Vietnam has the biggest need,
of US-manufactured equipment, the to its Western equivalents, the country but I would expect Vietnam would
fact that US arms are not interopera- has earned a reputation for manufac- start with maritime security first, as
ble with Russian supplied equipment, turing defence equipment quicker than this dovetails with U.S. expectations,”
and the lengthy approval process for most other countries. Another factor says Alexander Vuving, professor at the
military sales in the US that involves that works in favour of South Korea is Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for
getting the nod from the White House, that it is willing to transfer technology, Security Studies in Hawaii.

VIET NAM INTERNATIONAL DEFENCE EXPO 2024 DECEMBER-19-2024 9