US lifts arms ban on old foe Vietnam as China tensions simmer
HANOI- The United States announced a complete end to its arms embargo on Vietnam on Monday, a historic step that draws a line under the two countries' old enmity and underscores their shared concerns about China's growing military clout.
The move came during President Barack Obama's first visit to Hanoi, which his hosts described as the arrival of a warm spring and a new chapter in relations between two countries that were at war four decades ago.
Obama, the third US president to visit Vietnam since diplomatic relations were restored in 1995, has made a strategic 'rebalance' towards Asia a centerpiece of his foreign policy.
