Over the past years, cooperation in overcoming the consequences of war has been a bright spot in the Vietnam-US relationship and has been strongly committed to by the senior leaders of both countries, considering it a priority in the bilateral relationship. On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, overcoming the consequences of war was once again mentioned as the foundation for Vietnam and the US to put the past behind them, opening up a peaceful future full of potential for cooperation and development.
On April 21, 2025, a special event took place in Hanoi when the Department of Social Policy/General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People's Army - Office of the National Steering Committee for Searching, Collecting and Identifying Martyrs' Remains (Office of National Steering Committee 515) coordinated with the US Embassy in Hanoi, the Ash Center of Harvard University (USA), the Department of Foreign Affairs ( Ministry of National Defense ) and relevant authorities to organize a handover ceremony of a number of war relics, including notebooks, diaries, personal letters... of Vietnamese martyrs and veterans. And on July 10, 2025, in Hanoi, the inauguration ceremony of an advanced DNA laboratory located at the DNA Identification Center of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) was held with funding from the US Government. The establishment of this DNA laboratory is a breakthrough in identifying the remains of Vietnamese soldiers missing in action during the war, helping Vietnamese scientists solve complex challenges in identifying severely decomposed remains, bringing hope to families who have waited for decades.
The two events mentioned above took place within less than 3 months, demonstrating the effective and increasingly expanding cooperation between Vietnam and the United States in the field of overcoming the consequences of war.
In fact, the war aftermath recovery activities in Vietnam began decades ago, before the two countries established diplomatic relations. After the Vietnam Agency for Missing Persons (Vietnam MIA Agency) was established on February 9, 1973, from then until 1988, Vietnam unilaterally searched for and handed over to the United States 302 remains of American soldiers. And since 1988, the two countries have begun to organize joint search activities. Vietnam's goodwill and active and effective cooperation have been highly appreciated by the US Government, Congress, Department of Defense, the US MIA Families Federation and US veterans organizations, and have contributed to promoting cooperation between the two countries in activities to overcome the consequences of war in Vietnam such as: Mine clearance, dioxin detoxification, support for people with disabilities affected by Agent Orange, searching for information on Vietnamese soldiers who died, were lost, or went missing during the war, and returning war relics between the two countries...
From the first contacts between the two countries on the MIA issue in the early 1980s to later, when the two countries established diplomatic relations, then upgraded the relationship to a comprehensive partnership and recently a comprehensive strategic partnership, cooperation in overcoming the consequences of war has contributed to laying the foundation for the Vietnam-US relationship, so that the two countries can gradually expand cooperation to many other fields such as politics, diplomacy, defense, security, trade, culture, people-to-people exchange... The cooperation activities between the two countries in this field not only demonstrate a profound humanitarian spirit, contributing to alleviating the pain of war but also helping to build strategic trust, making the Vietnam-US relationship a model in international relations.
MIA activities in particular and overcoming the consequences of war in Vietnam in the coming time will face many challenges, especially the challenge of time. Because the war has been over for a long time, many witnesses have passed away, information and clues are gradually decreasing, even exhausted. Besides, the crime scene is at risk of being lost due to weather and natural conditions. However, through recent high-level exchanges and contacts, the leaders of the two countries and the two Ministries of Defense have committed to continue promoting cooperation in this deeply humane and humanitarian field.
Assessing the development of Vietnam-US diplomatic relations over the past 30 years, on July 11, on the Facebook page of the US Embassy in Hanoi, Ambassador Marc E. Knapper emphasized: “In just 3 decades, our two countries have transformed from healing the wounds of war to becoming reliable partners, cooperating in many areas such as trade, education, health, energy and security.”
Ambassador E. Knapper also mentioned the hope for peace, security and prosperity for both Vietnam and the United States in the next 30 years. In the journey towards those goals, cooperation in overcoming the consequences of war will certainly continue to play an extremely important role.
Source: https://baolangson.vn/tu-han-gan-vet-thuong-chien-tranh-den-moi-quan-he-hinh-mau-5052962.html
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