The United States will allow the sale of lethal equipment and weaponry to Vietnam for maritime defense purposes, the State Department announced Thursday.

The executive decision, which ends an overall ban on lethal weapon sales to that country and which has been in place since the end of the Vietnam War, begins immediately.

It also comes at a time of growing tensions in the South China Sea, including a situation over the summer where China set up an oil rig in waters claimed by Vietnam.

The definition of what maritime security assets are is nebulous and will be decided on a case-by-case basis, as are all potential sales of military equipment. That will ensure the U.S. maintains control and prevents Vietnamese military forces from gaining assets that could be used to quell internal dissent.

It also leaves wiggle room for Vietnam to procure aviation assets, State Department officials said. The country is likely to have an interest in helicopters or planes that can be used for maritime surveillance, opening up the possibility of Vietnam pursuing a range of platforms, from prop planes like the A-29 Super Tucano to Boeing's large P-8 maritime surveillance aircraft.

However, immediate sales are not expected. A State Department official, speaking on background to reporters, said Vietnam does not have any equipment on order at this moment.

Officials told reporters the decision is the result of increased cooperation between the U.S. and Vietnam, including Vietnam's improvements in the human rights arena. That includes the release of 11 political prisoners over the last year and improved religious freedoms within the country.

However, they acknowledged that China's growing aggression in the region also played a part in putting the focus on maritime assets.

"In very broad terms, it's partly in response to the realization that there is a lack of maritime capacity in the region and it is useful to fill that gap," one official said. "And certainly, the need for that has become more apparent over the last year or two. But it is not in response to a specific action or crisis at the moment.

"This is not an anti-China move. This is not something where we would feel we had to alert China to. This is really a move on the continuum of things we've been talking about to help countries build maritime capacity."

The officials stressed that the definition of what could be transferred is limited, and emphasized that the State Department will continue to monitor Vietnam's human rights situation.

"Just because we've shifted the nonlethal policy is not an indication we're going to provide all lethal assistance," a second official said. "I don't want you to get the sense the floodgates are opening."

Aaron Mehta was deputy editor and senior Pentagon correspondent for Defense News, covering policy, strategy and acquisition at the highest levels of the Defense Department and its international partners.

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