More than a dozen of defense companies, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin Corp. andHoneywell, were invited to attend a symposium in Vietnam last month when Hanoi has sought to modernize its defense capacity amid rising Chinese aggressiveness in the East Sea, Vietnam’s state media reported, citing information from Bloomberg.

The symposium was held about six months after Washington declared its partial removal of lethal weapon embargo imposed over Vietnam since 1985 due to its poor human rights records. The U.S. is considering the full lift of the ban, unveiled Ambassador Ted Osius earlier this year.

Boeing has capabilities in mobility and intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance platforms that may meet Vietnam’s modernization needs, said Boeing spokesman Jay Krishnan.

… Vietnam, which has long relied on Russia for weapons, is unlikely to become a major U.S. client, said Collin Koh, an associate research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. Vietnam is not going to want to jeopardize its relationship with Russia which is supplying six Kilo-class submarines and other weapons for the communist nation, he said.