Chinese defence firms to join Vietnam arms fair as military ties grow

Chinese defence firms will participate in an arms fair in Vietnam next month, a Vietnamese defence official said on Friday, a possible sign of deepening military ties between the two neighbours. 

Vietnam will hold an international defence exposition in Hanoi from Dec. 19-22, two years after it organised its first-ever military fair. The Southeast Asian nation seeks to boost domestic production as well as diversify their sources of military hardware, which have been heavily drawn from Russia for decades. 

Chinese firms will be among the roughly 140 companies exhibiting equipment at the expo, defence ministry official Le Ngoc Than told a press conference. It is unclear which and how many Chinese companies will be in attendance. 

No Chinese gear was on display at the 2022 exposition. 

"China's participation in the Vietnamese military expo is an important sign of new security cooperation between the two countries," said Nguyen The Phuong, an expert on Vietnam security at the University of New South Wales, Australia. 

The two Communist neighbours have repeatedly said in recent months that they want to boost security and defence industry ties, and signed preliminary agreements on the matter. 

The Vietnamese and Chinese militaries also regularly exchange high-level visits and their respective coast guards have held joint patrols in the Gulf of Tonkin. 

The two countries are close economic partners but have long been embroiled in maritime disputes in the South China Sea, where they have overlapping claims. They also fought a brief border war in 1979. 

Military expositions can pave the way for defence deals, analysts told Reuters. 

"If and when agreement is reached, it will likely be restricted to non-war fighting equipment and capabilities such as logistics, aviation transport and military medicine," said Carl Thayer, a senior expert on Vietnam at the Australian Defence Force Academy. 

"Vietnam cannot rely on China for big ticket military weapons for its army, navy and air defence-air force because of the risk that China would suspend any agreements and resupply at a time of tensions," Thayer added. 

The expo will host companies from 27 countries, including the U.S., Russia and France. A foreign security official added that Iranian firms could also attend.