US ambassador to Vietnam says US arms manufacturers could help boost Vietnam's military capabilities

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — U.S. weapons manufacturers could work with Vietnamese counterparts to help build up Vietnam's armed forces, the U.S. ambassador to the southeast Asian country said on Thursday.

“Our goal is to ensure that Vietnam has what it needs to defend its interests at sea, in the air, on the ground and in cyberspace,” U.S. Ambassador Marc Knapper said at an international arms expo in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi.

The expo, held at Hanoi’s Gia Lam airport, brings together 250 exhibitors including geopolitical rivals including the U.S., China, Russia, Ukraine, Israel and Iran.

U.S. exhibitors include Boeing and Textron Aviation. China is present with Norinco and Gaodu International Trade. Iran’s defense ministry pavilion isn't far from booths set up by Israeli companies Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries. A number of Russian firms are also in attendance along with Ukraine’s Motor Sich.

Vietnam has been trying to increase its domestic arms manufacturing while reducing its reliance on Russia for weapon imports.

In 2022, Russia made up around 60% of all of Vietnam's military purchases, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. But Vietnam's longstanding efforts to diversify its imports have been accelerated by the war in Ukraine. It has also been trying to boost its own capacity to make arms and displayed indigenously-made military equipment at the expo.

A key driver for Vietnam is the escalating tensions in the South China Sea, a key trade and security route. It is a flashpoint in Asia and a fault line in the U.S.-China regional rivalry. Vietnam has been critical of China’s increasingly hostile actions in the disputed waters. Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries have overlapping claims in the busy sea passage.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hailed the event as a “message of peace, cooperation and development." He was later given a tour of a military plane made by U.S. firm Lockheed Martin.

A woman walks past stalls set up by Russian firms at the Vietnam International Defense Expo held in Hanoi, Vietnam, Thursday, Dec.19, 2024. (AP Photo/Aniruddha Ghosal)

Iran's Defense ministry pavilion at the Vietnam International Defense Expo held in Hanoi, Vietnam, Thursday, Dec.19, 2024. (AP Photo/Aniruddha Ghosal)

Military plane made by U.S.-firm Lockheed Martin at the Vietnam International Defense Expo held in Hanoi, Vietnam, Thursday, Dec.19, 2024. (AP Photo/Aniruddha Ghosal)

A man takes a photograph of China's NORINCO stall at the Vietnam International Defense Expo held in Hanoi, Vietnam, Thursday, Dec.19, 2024. (AP Photo/Aniruddha Ghosal)

Two men in Vietnamese military uniform talk to each other next to a stall by Vietnamese state-owned firm Viettel at the Vietnam International Defense Expo held in Hanoi, Vietnam, Thursday, Dec.19, 2024. (AP Photo/Aniruddha Ghosal)

FILE - A man walks past a Lockheed Martin logo as he walks through a section of the company's chalet bridging a road at Farnborough International Airshow in Farnborough, southern England, July 19, 2006. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 25, 2011, file photo, is the Boeing Company logo on the property in El Segundo, Calif. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A gas cylinder explosion early Sunday after a wedding reception at a home in Pakistan’s capital killed at least eight people, including the bride and groom, police and officials said.

The blast occurred as guests who had gathered to celebrate the couple were sleeping at the house, causing part of the house to collapse, according to the Islamabad police. Seven people were injured.

In a statement, police said the explosion occurred in a residential area in the heart of the city. A government administrator, Sahibzada Yousaf, said authorities were alerted about the blast early Sunday and officers are still investigating. He said some nearby homes were also damaged.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief over the loss of lives and offered condolences to the victims’ families, according to a statement from his office. He directed health authorities to ensure the injured receive the best possible treatment and ordered a full investigation.

Many Pakistani households rely on liquefied petroleum gas cylinders because of low natural gas pressure, and such cylinders have been linked to deadly accidents caused by gas leaks. Police said investigations were ongoing.

Government officials survey the damage of a home caused by a gas cylinder explosion hours after a wedding reception, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ehsan Shahzad)