HANOI –
Companies from Iran, Israel, China, Russia and the United States will showcase military equipment at an arms expo in Hanoi in December, Vietnam’s defense ministry said on Tuesday, a rare case of geopolitical rivals exhibiting their wares together.
Communist-run Vietnam has for years been seeking to diversify its military supplies to reduce its decadelong reliance on Russia, and has discussed potential procurement deals with multiple countries trying to leverage its flexible diplomacy of good relations with great powers.
At the defense expo to be held in the capital Hanoi on Dec. 19-22, nearly 200 companies from 27 countries have already reserved booths, the ministry said in a statement, including firms from China and Iran, which had not attended Vietnam’s first international military fair in 2022.