HANOI: United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is set to meet Vietnamese senior officials on Sunday (Nov 2) as he visits Hanoi amid prolonged talks over Washington’s potential supply of military equipment to its former foe, including transport planes and helicopters.
Hegseth is expected to arrive in the Vietnamese capital early on Sunday afternoon after a series of meetings in Malaysia with his Asian counterparts, according to a Vietnamese official briefed on the trip.
Hegseth was expected to meet Vietnam’s Communist Party chief To Lam, President Luong Cuong and Defence Minister Phan Van Giang, the official said.
Talks on US arms supplies are expected to dominate the agenda, according to the official and another Vietnamese source briefed on the matter.
Both mentioned Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules military transport planes among the items to be discussed. A US official also confirmed C-130s would come up in the talks.
One of the Vietnamese sources said the supply of US helicopters could also be discussed, specifically Lockheed Martin S-92s and Boeing Chinooks.
The three sources declined to be named as the information was not public. They all said it was not clear whether any deal or announcement would be made on Sunday.
Boeing deferred questions on the matter to the Vietnamese and US governments.
Vietnam’s government, the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin did not respond to requests for comment outside business hours.