On Thursday, in attempts to help Vietnam’s maritime security, the ban on lethal weapon sales was partially lifted. This move has been made 40 years after the end of the Vietnam War.

In a briefing, Jen Psaki, State Department spokeswoman said, “The State Department has taken steps to allow for the future transfer of maritime security-related defense articles to Vietnam,”

In a separate briefing, it was revealed that sales of certain weapons would be evaluated and managed on individual requests. While officials were hush hush on the specificity of the weapon systems available, it was revealed that they do include airborne systems as well as ships. The main focus in this case is to help the Vietnamese patrol and defend the South China Sea.

An official announced that this positive move could help future co-operation between Vietnam and the US, also stating “What this policy revision enables us to do is provide Vietnam the ability to defend itself in the context of its presence in the South China Sea.”

This decision was not made lightly and was done so in light of the progress made by Vietnam on the Human Rights front. Six political prisoners are set to be released, and another five will be granted amnesty. This is a small, yet important step for Vietnamese relations. In order for it to further develop, to the point of further easing the arms embargo, additional progress would need to be made on the human rights front.

Officials were sure to confirm that this move was not an anti-china one and reiterated that this was done so in efforts to provide Vietnam with defensive systems.