Vietnam, Anxious to Counter Balance China, Reaches Out to US

Since the Sino-Vietnamese War in 1979, when they fought a bloody three week border war has been worried about its northern border. Both sides claimed victory, however given the little mention China makes of this war and Vietnam's claim of a major victory, I would venture that Vietnam outclassed the Chinese with their battle hardened troops and inflicted most of the casualties. Both sides may have lost as much as 1/3 to 1/2 of their initial committed ground force in the conflict. I think China has been reluctant to push it's military since then and has been working on modernizing it's forces.
As China modernizes there army, Vietnam will have a much harder time defending it's border. So its interest in developing its relationship with the US, acquiring its technology to replace its aging Russian equipment is Vietnam's best hope to maintain its borders.
U.S. Upbeat After Vietnam Talks - Los Angeles Times

U.S. officials had been careful not to raise expectations ahead of Rumsfeld's visit here, particularly given Vietnam's occasionally tense relations with its northern neighbor, China. But after meetings with Defense Ministry officials and Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, Pentagon officials emerged upbeat, saying Hanoi appeared eager to deepen defense cooperation despite the possibility of antagonizing Beijing. "Both sides agreed we wanted to expand things," a Pentagon official involved in the talks said.


Eleven years after the U.S. and Vietnam normalized diplomatic relations, bilateral defense cooperation remains extremely limited. For example, a U.S. Navy destroyer is scheduled to arrive in Vietnam next month, the fourth U.S. naval ship to make a port call in four years, and two Vietnamese officers will arrive in Texas this month for English-language training. As a result, the moves agreed to during Rumsfeld's visit were small steps. But the defense secretary characterized them as important, particularly alongside a recently signed trade deal and progress toward Vietnam's membership in the World Trade Organization.