US seeks to broaden Vietnam defence ties as trade talks drag on

HANOI – The US seeks to expand and deepen its defence relationship with Vietnam, according to Washington’s top envoy to the nation, as the two sides continue to hammer out details of a trade deal.

“I think defence trade you’re going to see is increasingly a major feature of our two countries’ ties,” US Ambassador Marc Knapper said in Hanoi on Dec 13.

“We share an interest in a free and open South China Sea, we share an interest in peace and stability and prosperity in this region, and expect that to continue,” he said.

Guided-missile cruiser USS Robert Smalls and assault ship USS Tripoli docked in Danang port this week, bringing about 2,300 sailors and marines to the city as part of routine US 7th Fleet operations, amid heightened focus on freedom of navigation and regional security in the contested waters of the South China Sea.

“I think we’re going to see more ship visits in the coming year, and I think we’re just going to continue to see greater opportunities for our military leaders,” Mr Knapper said on the sidelines of a repatriation ceremony.

Vietnam’s leaders have repeatedly signalled plans to buy more big-ticket American items, including defence and national security equipment, to narrow a trade surplus with the US that in 2024 reached US$123.5 billion (S$159.57 billion).

The imbalance was a source of tension with US President Donald Trump, who initially imposed a 46 per cent “reciprocal” tariff on Vietnamese imports,

later reduced to 20 per cent

.

The two sides are still working to finalise a trade deal but under a framework announced in October by the White House, Hanoi will provide preferential market access for nearly all US industrial and agricultural exports to Vietnam, while the US will offer zero tariffs on some selected products. 

Crucial specifics are still undetermined, including how the US will define “transshipped” goods, which are subject to a 40 per cent tariff.

Washington is seeking to prevent Chinese goods from avoiding levies by exporting to the US through Vietnam.

Defence cooperation between the two nations has deepened since they elevated their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during then-President Joe Biden’s 2023 visit.

In June, the US transferred its third high-endurance cutter to the Vietnam Coast Guard.

Washington also provided small patrol boats to support Vietnam’s maritime law enforcement as part of a US$12.5 million assistance package announced last December. 

At Dec 13’s repatriation event, the possible remains of a US service member missing in action from the war in Vietnam were handed over, underscoring the ongoing remediation efforts 50 years since the end of a conflict that killed an estimated 3 million Vietnamese and more than 58,000 American troops. 

“It’s not lost on the US government and its people, particularly the MIA families, that 10 years before normalisation, 10 years after the war, it was Vietnam who initiated this cooperation on helping America find its missing,” Mr Kelly McKeague, director of the Defence POW/MIA Accounting Agency, said at the ceremony at Gia Lam Airport. 

“The remains that were repatriated today were recovered by a Vietnamese unilateral team,” Mr McKeague said, after the US government shutdown halted American deployment.

“That’s why we’re here, it’s because of Vietnam’s determination, their commitment, and their resilience of these unilateral chains,” he added. BLOOMBERG