Vietnam, US prioritise cooperation on war legacy remediation

Expressing his joy to welcome Giang on his first official visit to the US as the Defence Minister of Vietnam, Austin highly valued the cooperation outcomes achieved between Vietnam and the US since the establishment of diplomatic relations, saying that the two countries' upgrade of bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership provides a strong foundation for the future of Vietnam – US ties in general and defence cooperation between in particular.

At the talks between Minister of National Defence General Phan Van Giang and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin (Photo: VNA)

Austin emphasised the importance of cooperation on war legacy remediation in the two countries' relationship, affirming that the US government and Department of Defense will continue to cooperate and support Vietnam in this area.

He expressed his thanks to Vietnam for fulfilling its commitment to assisting in searching US servicemen missing in action (MIAs) from the war in Vietnam.

Giang affirmed that Vietnam wishes to develop cooperation with the US based on the two sides' legitimate interests, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and global.

During the talks, the two ministers said that bilateral defence cooperation has continued to be actively implemented and recorded tangible results in areas such as delegation exchanges, dialogue - consultation, war legacy remediation, the search for MIAs from the war in Vietnam, training, military medicine, UN peacekeeping, and humanitarian assistance/disaster relief.

Vietnam highly valued the support and commitment of the US government and people to addressing post-war consequences, notably through increased funding for the dioxin remediation at Bien Hoa airport project; support for Vietnamese people affected by Agent Orange/Dioxin; provision of war evidence records of Vietnamese soldiers who laid down their lives or were missing in the war. Vietnam has also closely cooperated with the US side to effectively carry out joint MIA search operations.

Regarding future cooperation, the two sides agreed to promote high-level exchanges and maintain existing dialogue and consultation mechanisms to strengthen mutual understanding and trust, as well as to identify areas of cooperation that align with each side’s demand and capability.

The ministers emphasised continuing to prioritise cooperation on war legacy remediation, focusing on accelerating the dioxin contamination cleanup at Bien Hoa airport, addressing unexploded ordnance consequences, and providing information, documentation, and DNA testing technology to assist in locating and collecting Vietnamese soldiers' remains.

The two sides agreed to further expand and deepen cooperation in areas such as UN peacekeeping, training, military medicine, search and rescue, humanitarian assistance/disaster relief, and mutual consultation and support in regional and international multilateral forums, especially within the framework of the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM+) on the basis of respecting ASEAN's centrality and principles of consensus.

They expressed their belief that in the coming time, cooperation between the two defence ministries will continue to develop, for the benefit of each country, for peace, stability and development in the region and the world, contributing to promoting the Vietnam - US comprehensive strategic partnership for peace, cooperation and sustainable development.

On this occasion, Giang invited US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and leaders of the ministry and defence industry enterprises to Vietnam to attend the 2nd Vietnam International Defence Expo scheduled for this December in Hanoi.

At the end of the talks, the two ministers signed the updated Vietnam-US Joint Vision Statement on defence cooperation, marking a new milestone in the bilateral defence ties, thereby contributing to the two countries’ relationship and peace, stability and development in the region and the world.

Giang and Austin handed over each other several remembrance and information related to Vietnamese soldiers and US servicemen who went missing during the war.

On the afternoon of the same day, during a meeting with Senator Chris Van Hollen, Minister Giang expressed his pleasure to meet the Senator again since he and the US congressional delegation visited Vietnam in April 2023. The minister affirmed that the Government, the Ministry of National Defence, and people of Vietnam always value the contributions of generations of US Senators in laying the foundation and promoting the relationship between the two countries, as well as supporting Vietnam in overcoming post-war consequences, especially late Senator John McCain and Senator Patrick Leahy.

Giang expressed his hope that the US Congress will continue to increase resources to handle all dioxin-contaminated soil at Bien Hoa airbase as well as help the thorough cleanup of dioxin-contaminated soil at Phu Cat airport, and support Vietnam in overcoming the consequences of bombs and mines left over from the war as well as consequences of dioxin in Vietnam.

He proposed the two sides coordinate to effectively implement the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in searching for, collecting and identifying the remains of Vietnamese martyrs who laid down or went missing during the war signed in 2021, and said his ministry is committed to continuing to coordinate closely with the US to effectively implement the cooperation programme on searching MIAs.

For his part, Senator Van Hollen emphasised that he will continue to promote cooperation with Vietnam, particularly paying special attention to dealing with the consequences of the war.