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Boeing ( BA ) among dozen US firms to attend Vietnam defence

talks on

March 18

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US advocacy group has drafted deal on aviation, crime

prevention

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SpaceX not joining business mission as Starlink talks on

hold,

group says

By Francesco Guarascio

HANOI, March 11 (Reuters) - A dozen U.S. firms will hold

meetings with Vietnam's public security and defence ministries

next week, when a U.S. business group aims to sign a deal to

facilitate the supply of gear to the country's police, the

organiser told Reuters.

The meetings, slated for March 18, are part of the dialogue

that led to an upgrade of ties in September during a visit to

Hanoi by President Joe Biden, as Washington seeks to gain

influence in the strategic Southeast Asian nation, which also

has ties to China.

The non-binding agreement could be signed on the sidelines

of the meetings and would make future deals easier, said Vu Tu

Thanh, a representative of the US-ASEAN Business Council (US

ABC), the advocacy group that organises the event. He noted that

the group has in past years signed similar pacts with other

Vietnamese ministries.

US ABC has discussed for months the memorandum of

understanding with Vietnam's Public Security Ministry, Thanh

said, noting that the deal would be between the ministry and US

ABC, with no direct involvement of the companies.

Thanh said aerospace and defence giant Boeing ( BA ) would

join the meetings, but did not disclose the full list of

participants and declined to say whether U.S. companies involved

in past defence talks would attend.

"Boeing ( BA ) will highlight the company's growing partnership

with Vietnam and opportunities to strengthen the country's

aerospace capabilities," Boeing ( BA ) told Reuters in an emailed

statement.

ATMO, a U.S.-based provider of AI-powdered meteorological

services to governments and militaries, will also join the

meetings, Thanh and the company said.

US ABC, whose members include several large U.S.

corporations, has sent a draft of the agreement to the public

security ministry, covering sectors where "our companies can

help", including for the provision of crime detection and

prevention technology, big data analysis, helicopters, aviation

services, and cybersecurity, Thanh said.

The details of the talks with the security forces of the

Communist-ruled country have not been previously revealed.

It is not clear whether the ministry would sign the

agreement, Thanh said. The ministry did not reply to a request

for comment.

Vietnam's parliament approved in June 2022 the establishment

of a mobile police unit to tackle crime, terrorism and riots,

and the unit needs additional equipment, including helicopters,

according to the government and the text of the 2022

legislation.

U.S. officials have publicly said Washington would be

willing to boost Vietnam's defence, especially in the South

China Sea, where it is often at odds with China over disputed

boundaries.

Support for the police could be more controversial. The

latest U.S. State Department's report on human rights in

Vietnam, released last year, warned of significant violations

and cited "credible reports that members of the security forces

committed numerous abuses".

Vietnam's foreign ministry has said the report was biased

and was based on inaccurate information.

SpaceX, which joined a large U.S. business delegation to

Vietnam last year, will not participate in next week's meetings,

after the company failed to get a licence for its satellite

communication and defence service Starlink in Vietnam, Thanh

said.

Reuters exclusively reported in February that SpaceX's talks

with Vietnam over Starlink had been put on hold. SpaceX did not

reply to a request for comment outside U.S. business hours.

The security workshops will open a week of meetings between

Vietnamese government officials and representatives from about

50 U.S. companies, part of a U.S. business mission to the

country, Thanh said.