US Senator McCain wants to arm Vietnam in case of 'crisis' with China

CNA/kk ^ | 30 May 2015 | Jack Board

[Berlin_Freeper]

US Republican Senator John McCain has called for the gradual removal of the country's lethal arms embargo on Vietnam "as soon as possible".

Senator McCain made the remarks on Saturday (May 30) on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, arguing that Vietnam needs to be given the means to further deter "assertive behaviour" by Beijing in the South China Sea.

"We'd like to see them have great capability, particularly with weapons that are defensive in nature, that could be used in the case of a crisis situation between Vietnam and China," he said.

[redfreedom]

It would be fitting that McCain appoint Jane Fonda as being in charge of giving Vietnam weapons. Maybe they could both just pack up and move there.

[22202NOVA]

We armed them in 1975.

[Flintlock]

Our senator from North Vietnam strikes again.

[ThanhPhero]

This time he is right. Viet Nam has been trying to be a US protectorate since the first thawing of relations. China provided some arms in the war that Russia bought and China was not particularly happy about. After and the Americans were gone China refused to provide any more aid to Viet Nam which is a major reason that Collectivism in the country failed so definitively and quickly. When the Communists discoverd that they were going to starve right along with the people because China would not send rice, they gave the fields back to the people and Viet Nam went from starvation to exporting large amounts of Rice and coffee to the world and all sorts of fruits and vegetables to Chna. Clinton and bush constantly pressured the VN government to ease up on repression and things just got better and better. In many respects the Vietnamese have more walking-around freedom than Americans have. Buying and selling and what one can do with one's land are far freer than such things are in America.
The Communists there are CINOs, Communists in name only, now. A few of the old bureaucrats are still believers but they are ineffective. The old anti-American propaganda is still on the radio but the same broadcast that repeats the old pro forma stuff segues right into praise for the American warship visiting at Da Namg. The people genuinely love Americans and the rulers keep chasing frustrated after a functioning alliance even as they are worried about the current direction of Amerian policy and they, all of them, genuinely fear China.

Vietnam is perfectly located to partner with the USA to counter China in the East Sea if America would move to defend its own interests in keeping the sea lanes open and in containing China. McCain is right this time. Stopped clocks and all that.

[COBOL2Java]

What does that say about the US Senators who elected him to be Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee?

About as much as the US Senators who elected backstabber SOB McConnell to be Majority Leader

[Diogenesis]

When creating the IRS and Benghazi Atrocities
were not enough
for the Arizona Senator (undocumented D)...

[McGruff]

McCain. The person that started WW-III the history books will say.

[bert]

Regarding arming states in precarious positions, I would prefer spending the treasure in Arizona arming that state against the ongoing invasion from Mexico

[outofsalt]

"The reason VietNam fell to the communists is because the majority of the population didn’t give a damn one way or the other."

And now the US is falling too, via the ballot box and for the same reason.

[Moorings]

Stupidity. Vietnam is not going to fight with us or for us. We don't have that kind of relationship with Vietnam.

Same as countries like India. At best they are going to play neutral when there is a conflict. Let us not get delusional.

[Vermont Lt]

How much of that money finds its way to Phoenix for this fool.

[BeadCounter]

You have China and then, the other countries over there, Japan is already trying to forge deeper relations with the Philippines. Then there is Viet Nam and the other countries as well, somehow they would be the coalition I’d think China would be dealing with first. They are the ones China would be directly in confrontation with.

[mac_truck]

US Senator McCain wants to arm [fill in name of country] in case of 'crisis' with [fill in name of country].

He's a loon...

[Wuli]

McCain was turned into a Vietnamese “Manchurian Candidate” during his stay at the Hanoi Hilton.

[crosdaddy]

No doubt about it

[McGruff]

John McCain's foreign policy in a nutshell.