By Aaron Mehta
HAI PHONG, VIETNAM — The US will provide $18 million to Vietnam to help procure coast guard patrol vessels, a first step in what Secretary of Defense Ash Carter hopes is a growing military relationship between those two countries.
Carter's comments came shortly after he became the first US Secretary of Defense to board a Vietnamese military vessel, a Coast Guard ship in the port of Hai Phong.
"We need to modernize our partnerships," Carter said. "After 20 years there is more we can do… [to] enhance our capabilities and the capabilities of Vietnam."
The ships in question are from Louisiana-based Metal Shark, which provides a number of patrol boats to the US Coast Guard.
The move continues a theme of Carter's swing through Asia, which has focused heavily on building up maritime security capacity amongst partner nations concerned over rising Chinese aggression in the South China Sea.
The US Embassy in Vietnam held an industry day in April, with a number of American defense firms present, in hopes that it might spur interest from a Vietnamese military that is increasing ties with the Pentagon.
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