US President Barrack Obama has revoked the 41-year-old U.S. arms ban on Vietnam on Monday in an apparent move to enhance Hanoi's military defense against an increasingly assertive China. The American president made the historic announcement at a joint press conference in Hanoi alongside Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang.

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The U.S. President said that the decision is aimed at normalizing the relationship with former US enemy and removing any "lingering vestige of the Cold War." Obama's remark was in reference to the Vietnam War, which has had an adverse effect on the relationship between the two countries over last three decades.

However, the decision of the U.S. to revoke the arms ban on Vietnam is not unconditional. Obama said that every arms transaction would be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. The statement is largely seen as a hint that the implementation of 'removal of arms ban' will depend on Vietnam's crackdown on alleged human rights violations.         

U.S. officials and activists have been lobbying hard that any move to revoke arms ban must be subject to the Vietnam government's commitment to provide greater human rights freedom to its people. Vietnam's communist party faces constant international criticism for the detention of scores of political activists and dissident leaders every year.

Obama is likely to meet several dissident leaders during his historic three-day visit. The move is believed to be aimed at pressurizing the Vietnamese government to do more on human right issues.        

The U.S. had partially revoked the arms ban in 2014. However, Washington has not sold any arms to Vietnam since the partial revocation of the ban. Vietnam has been seeking complete revocation of the ban in order to keep apace with China amid Beijing's growing assertiveness in the South China Sea.

TagsVietnam, US and Vietnam, Obama, Obama's Vietnam Visit, china, South China Sea