RUSSIA - March 1 - Putin In Hanoi.

Pres. Putin in Hanoi signs a "strategic partnership" agreement with Vietnamese Pres. Tran Duc Luong, wins for Russia oil exploration rights on a 98-sq km block in Vietnam's rich continental shelf in the South China Sea and opens talks to sell state-of-the-art weapons and defence equipment to Hanoi (an important Moscow goal as it tries to re-invigorate its extensive military industries). Accompanying Putin, FM Ivanov points to Pres. Bush's omission of "national" when he told Congress this week that Washington is committed to building missile defences. He says: "Nuance is very important. We particularly paid attention to the fact that President George Bush did not mention the term 'national' when speaking about the missile defence system in Congress. If that reflects the beginning of a correction of the plans to deploy a territorial missile defence system by the United States, we can only welcome that". He adds that if this is the case, "it would be possible to co-operate" on "regional missile defence systems" with Europe, Asia and, of course, Russia.

(His megaphone diplomacy is a surprising diversion from Putin's first visit to the capital of an old Soviet ally that is fitfully trying to open its economy and catch up with the development boom in Asia. From the Russian perspective, Putin had a very good first day on the second leg of an Asian tour that started in South Korea, although his motorcades through the bicycle-clogged streets of the Vietnamese capital attracted far less interest than former Pres. Bill Clinton, whose arrival in Hanoi last November drew enthusiastic crowds). Putin says in a joint press conference: "Vietnam needs not just to maintain its existing weapons bought from the Soviet Union and Russia, but also needs modern weapons. Vietnam wants and can afford to buy new weapons". But he adds that Russia would comply with international accord that prevent the sale of some technologies, such as long-range ballistic missiles. (One has only to taxi down the runway of Hanoi's international airport, surrounded by fields of lush green rice shoots this time of year, to see the Soviet-era MiG-23 fighters, no longer serviced by Soviet and Chinese technicians, standing idle under concrete canopies and degraded by neglect and shifting national priorities towards economic development.

Vietnam, which has clashed with China and other neighbours over disputed claims to the Spratly Islands area of the South China Sea, is believed by Russian officials to want to maintain sufficient military punch to defend its economic interests in the region. One topic not on the agenda during Putin's visit apparently is the future of Russia's naval presence at Cam Ranh Bay, the sprawling naval base built by the US in what used to be South Vietnam. The rent-free lease, signed with the Soviet Union in 1979 after Vietnam had invaded Cambodia with Soviet backing, expires in 2004. Vietnam has indicated it would ask for hefty rental payments under any new lease. Deputy FM Alexander Losyukov said last week he expected "long and difficult talks" on the Cam Ranh Bay lease in the future. At the same time, it remains unclear whether Putin, who is engaged in a difficult struggle to reduce the size and improve the performance of the Russian military, is as willing to bear the costs, as his Soviet predecessors were, to maintain far-flung bases that in the past projected Soviet and Russian military power far from its shores.

Putin also succeeded on March 1 in drafting a joint statement with Vietnam opposing any US plans to erect a regional missile defence system in Asia to protect American and allied military forces. "The deployment of closed-theatre missile defence systems of the bloc style in Asia and the Pacific could impact negatively on the stability and security in the region and lead to a new arms race". The US and Japan have been exploring of erecting a regional missile shield that would protect Japan and American forces in the Pacific from North Korea's ballistic missile programme. China also fears that such a system would be directed at diminishing the effectiveness of its modest strategic missile force of about 20 ICBMs.

In Seoul this week, Putin and Pres. Kim Dae Jung agreed to redouble their efforts to convince Kim Jong Il, the North Korean leader, to abandon his ballistic missile programme. Russian officials say they discussed the prospect of working with Vietnam to construct its first nuclear power station to generate electricity. Moscow also offered financing to build a series of hydroelectric dams. The question of Vietnam's Soviet-era debt of $11 bn was also finally put to rest on March 1. Last September, Moscow agreed to forgive 85% of the war-era credits and Putin's aides say the debt has been further reduced to $1.5 bn, which is to be paid back over 23 years, although most of the amount is expected to be repaid in barter shipments of coffee and rice).