The United States will provide $12.5 million to Vietnam to enhance its maritime law enforcement capabilities and combat illegal fishing, the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi said.
The assistance includes support for Vietnamese maritime law enforcement agencies, the donation of small boats and development of training facilities.
Vietnam is among several Southeast Asian nations that have accused People’s Republic of China (PRC) vessels of encroaching into their territorial waters in the South China Sea. The incursions have prompted skirmishes involving fishing boats, coast guard vessels and other law enforcement ships.
“The United States supports a Free and Open Indo-Pacific and a strong, prosperous, independent, and resilient Vietnam,” the U.S. Embassy stated in December 2024.
The assistance comes just weeks after the U.S. delivered five Beechcraft T-6C Texan II military training aircraft to an air base in Phan Thiet in southeast Vietnam. The planes are the first in a planned delivery of 12 T-6Cs, Vietnam’s first direct purchase of crewed aircraft from the U.S. since Washington approved arms sales to Hanoi in 2016.
In 2019, the U.S. announced its first military equipment transfer to Vietnam, supplying six ScanEagle surveillance and reconnaissance drones.
Delivery of the T-6Cs is a milestone in the bilateral defense relationship and “demonstrates the U.S. commitment to partner with Vietnam as it develops self-reliant defense capabilities in accordance with the U.S.-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,” the U.S. Embassy stated.
“This aircraft is useful materiel which supports Vietnamese military pilots in complementing, enhancing the capability of training, interoperability, meeting the requirements of training military pilots, mission readiness, homeland protection,” Lt. Gen. Nguyen Van Hien, commander of Vietnam’s Air Defence – Air Force said at the handover ceremony, also attended by U.S. Ambassador Marc Knapper and Gen. Kevin B. Schneider, commander of U.S. Pacific Air Forces.
Van Hien said Vietnam is committed to collaborating with the U.S. in using the aircraft “in the most effective manner” to serve as a basis for training and assigning tasks.
