US Secretary of War makes official visit to Vietnam

Photo caption — General and Minister of National Defense Phan Van Giang welcomes US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. Photo: Trong Duc/VNA

On the afternoon of November 2, at the headquarters of the Ministry of National Defense (Hanoi), General Phan Van Giang, Politburo member, Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission, Minister of National Defense of Vietnam, presided over the welcoming ceremony for Mr. Pete Hegseth, Secretary of War (formerly known as the Ministry of Defense) of the United States and members of the delegation.

Immediately after the welcoming ceremony, the two sides held talks. General Phan Van Giang emphasized that this visit to Vietnam by US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is of great significance, taking place at a time when the two countries are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations (1995 - 2025), contributing to further promoting the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for peace , cooperation and sustainable development between Vietnam and the United States, as well as bilateral defense cooperation.

The two sides agreed that over the past time, Vietnam - US defense cooperation has been implemented in accordance with the direction of the two countries' senior leaders, the two Ministries, as well as signed documents and agreements, including the Memorandum of Understanding on promoting bilateral defense cooperation (2011) and the Update of the Vietnam - US Joint Vision Statement on Defense Cooperation (2024), achieving many positive and outstanding results in the following areas: Exchange of delegations and contacts at all levels, especially high-level; dialogue - consultation mechanisms are maintained periodically and rotated in each country; cooperation in training, United Nations peacekeeping, military medicine, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief; cooperation in military and service branches; defense industry continues to be promoted; coordination in regional multilateral mechanisms, especially the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM+).

The Minister of National Defense of Vietnam sincerely thanks the US Department of War for maintaining support for English language training and specialized training, including United Nations peacekeeping for Vietnamese military personnel through courses, training, conferences and seminars at home and abroad. The equipment and infrastructure supported by the United States have significantly contributed to improving Vietnam's capacity to participate in United Nations peacekeeping operations.

General Phan Van Giang emphasized that in recent times, cooperation in overcoming war consequences continues to be a bright spot, with strong commitments from senior leaders of the two countries, specifically on three contents.

Firstly, cooperation in overcoming the consequences of bombs, mines and toxic chemicals after the war continues to be implemented. The Vietnamese Minister of National Defense highly appreciated the US announcement of a new aid package worth 130 million USD for the Dioxin Contamination Treatment Project at Bien Hoa Airport, increasing the total amount of non-refundable aid from the US Government from 300 million USD to 430 million USD. Notably, on October 31, 2025, Deputy Minister of National Defense Hoang Xuan Chien, on behalf of the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense, and US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Evans Knapper, on behalf of the US Department of War and the US Department of State , signed a Memorandum of Understanding on enhancing cooperation in overcoming the consequences of war. This is an important milestone, creating a solid foundation for the two sides to continue promoting cooperation in this field.

Second, the search for US soldiers missing in action (MIA) in the Vietnam War has been carried out effectively. To date, after 160 joint operations, Vietnam has returned to the United States a total of 994 boxes containing remains, of which the United States announced that it had concluded the identification of 740 cases. This is the result of the efforts of both countries over the past 50 years.

Third, regarding the search for Vietnamese soldiers who died, were missing, or went missing during the war, Vietnam highly appreciates the information and documents related to Vietnamese soldiers provided by the United States, as well as the United States' support in improving the capacity to identify war remains. Since the two sides signed the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in this field in July 2021, the competent agencies of the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense have verified 44/45 sets of information files received from the United States and are currently continuing to actively carry out the search.

Minister Phan Van Giang hopes that the United States will continue to support the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense in training and fostering high-quality human resources; and share experiences in the field of cyber security. Vietnam is ready to invite US officers to study Vietnamese and participate in the International Defense Officials course in Vietnam.

Regarding cooperation in overcoming the consequences of war, General Phan Van Giang proposed that the United States continue to support Vietnam in improving its capacity to overcome the consequences of bombs, mines, and toxic chemicals after the war; complete internal procedures to ensure that non-refundable aid funds are implemented as agreed, including an additional budget of 130 million USD for the Dioxin Contamination Treatment Project at Bien Hoa Airport. At the same time, continue to cooperate in searching for Vietnamese soldiers who died, were missing, or went missing during the war. Vietnam pledged to continue to closely coordinate and create the most favorable conditions for MIA activities, to ensure that the efforts of both sides to accelerate the search work with the highest efficiency.

Minister Phan Van Giang also appreciated the US sending high-ranking defense officials and modern defense equipment to participate in the Vietnam International Defense Exhibition 2024, contributing to the overall success of the event. Informing that the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense plans to continue organizing the 3rd Vietnam International Defense Exhibition at the end of 2026, General Phan Van Giang hopes that Secretary Pete Hegseth, leaders of the US Department of War and US defense enterprises will continue to support and participate.

Thanking Vietnam for its warm welcome, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth stated that this visit affirms the importance of the bilateral defense relationship between the two sides, in line with the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for peace, cooperation and sustainable development.

Emphasizing that cooperation in overcoming war consequences continues to be a top priority in the overall defense cooperation between Vietnam and the United States, contributing to building trust between the two countries, the two armies and the two peoples, the US Secretary of War affirmed that the United States supports a peaceful and prosperous Vietnam, promotes the Vietnam - US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, and contributes to maintaining peace and stability in the region and the world.

On this occasion, Minister Pete Hegseth sincerely thanked the Ministry of National Defense and Vietnam for their active support and assistance in searching for US soldiers missing in action during the Vietnam War (MIA).

At the talks, the two sides shared the world and regional situation and issues of mutual concern. In the coming time, to continue promoting defense cooperation, on the basis of signed documents and agreements, the two sides agreed to focus on a number of contents such as: Exchange of delegations at all levels, continuing to effectively implement existing dialogue and consultation mechanisms; cooperation in overcoming the consequences of war; cooperation between military branches, defense industry, training, military medicine, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, cyber security, United Nations peacekeeping; continuing coordination in multilateral defense mechanisms, especially within the framework of ADMM+...

At the end of the talks, the two sides exchanged war relics.