By MATTHEW PENNINGTON, Associated Press
Updated 3:45 pm, Tuesday, June 17, 2014
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama‘s nominee to become the next U.S. ambassador to Vietnam said Tuesday it may be time for Washington to consider lifting a ban on the sale and transfer of lethal weapons to the former American enemy.
Ted Osius told his Senate confirmation hearing that the U.S. has made clear to the nation’s authoritarian government that the ban can’t be lifted without significant progress on human rights.
But he said there has been progress in three or four of the nine areas where the U.S. is looking for improvements, including on labor rights, treatment of people with disabilities, allowing more space for civil society and for churches to operate.
Read more: http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1535738/us-envoy-nominee-vietnam-ted-osius-open-lifting-arms-ban
