13th Vietnam - US Defense Policy Dialogue: Cooperation for Peace and Development

On May 8, in Hanoi, the 13th Vietnam - US Defense Policy Dialogue took place under the co-chair of Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien, member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Minister of National Defense of Vietnam and Mr. John Noh, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense of the United States.

Speaking at the dialogue, Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien said: Over the past time, the defense cooperation between the two countries has been actively and effectively implemented on the basis of signed documents and agreements and the direction of high-ranking leaders. Cooperation has been prominent in the fields of: delegation exchanges, contacts at all levels (especially high-level), dialogue and consultation mechanisms, training, military medicine, defense industry, United Nations peacekeeping , consultation and mutual support at multilateral forums, especially within the framework of the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting Plus (ADMM+)...

Cooperation in overcoming the consequences of war is an area that both sides attach importance to and strongly promote. Vietnam highly appreciates the US’s announcement of a non-refundable aid package worth 130 million USD for the dioxin remediation project at Bien Hoa airport, raising the total support from 300 million USD to 430 million USD.

Programs to support people with disabilities affected by Agent Orange continue to be expanded; the search for missing US servicemen (MIA) has been effectively implemented. Since the previous dialogue, the two sides have coordinated to conduct four joint and unilateral excavations, returning eight boxes of remains suspected to be related to US servicemen. Since August 2024, with the support of Harvard University, the two sides have organized the return of 43 sets of documents and war relics related to Vietnamese soldiers to the relatives of martyrs and veterans.

The 13th Vietnam - US Defense Policy Dialogue. (Photo: People's Army Newspaper)

Regarding the future cooperation orientation, Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien proposed that the two sides continue to promote delegation exchanges at all levels, effectively maintain existing dialogue and consultation mechanisms, expand cooperation in training, military medicine, peacekeeping, and support each other at multilateral forums. The Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense also welcomed US military personnel to study Vietnamese at the Academy of Military Science and participate in the International Defense Officials Class at the National Defense Academy.

Mr. John Noh, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense of the United States, emphasized the importance of this Defense Policy Dialogue in the context that the two countries are making efforts to effectively implement the contents agreed upon in the Joint Vision Statement on Defense Cooperation, signed in September 2024.

He affirmed that the United States supports a strong, independent and powerful Vietnam, and highly appreciates the results of cooperation achieved in overcoming the consequences of war. This is a testament to the goodwill and desire of the United States to promote peaceful cooperation with Vietnam. In addition, the United States highly appreciates Vietnam's increasingly prominent role in the region, expressing its desire to strengthen cooperation with countries, including Vietnam, to contribute to peace, stability and common development in the region as well as the world.

During the dialogue, the two sides also discussed the world and regional situation and security issues of mutual concern. Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien reaffirmed Vietnam's "four no's" defense policy and its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation and development; and persistently resolving disputes and disagreements by peaceful means on the basis of international law.

Regarding the East Sea issue, Vietnam maintains a consistent stance that it is necessary to comply with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982); fully implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and promote the signing of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) in a practical and effective manner.

Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien (right) and Mr. John Noh signed the minutes of the 13th Vietnam - US Defense Policy Dialogue. (Photo: People's Army Newspaper)

At the end of the Dialogue, the two sides signed the Minutes of the 13th Vietnam-US Defense Policy Dialogue and handed over war relics; and presented a letter from the Vietnamese Minister of National Defense to the US Secretary of Defense. In the letter, the Vietnamese Minister of National Defense highly appreciated the development of bilateral defense cooperation in recent times, and at the same time requested the US Department of Defense to support and influence to facilitate the negotiation process of trade and tariffs in accordance with the interests of the two countries.

Source: https://thoidai.com.vn/doi-thoai-chinh-sach-quoc-phong-viet-nam-hoa-ky-lan-thu-13-hop-tac-vi-hoa-binh-va-phat-trien-213327.html