Vietnam seeks US backing for additional US$130 million Bien Hoa dioxin cleanup

The proposal was made by Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army and Deputy Minister of National Defence, during his reception in Hanoi on August 5 for Admiral Samuel Paparo, Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM).

War legacy cooperation remains a priority

Cuong asserted that Vietnam regards the United States as one of its important partners and that bilateral defence cooperation has continued to expand across a wide range of areas, including war legacy remediation, dialogue and consultations, personnel training, United Nations peacekeeping, military medicine, defence industry cooperation, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

He stressed that Vietnam continues to prioritise cooperation in addressing the consequences of war in the spirit of breaking with the past and looking toward the future.

The Vietnamese General thanked USINDOPACOM for supporting a number of war legacy projects in Vietnam, including the construction of an explosive ordnance disposal training facility for the Vietnam National Mine Action Centre (VNMAC), which was inaugurated in March 2025.

He urged USINDOPACOM to continue supporting efforts to secure congressional approval for an additional US$130 million in funding for the Bien Hoa airbase dioxin remediation project, with the goal of completing the cleanup before 2031, providing a safer environment for local communities.

Expanding defence cooperation

Gen. Cuong said Vietnam hopes the two sides will continue implementing agreed areas of cooperation, including war legacy remediation, defence industry cooperation, exchanges among military services, military medicine and collaboration within ASEAN-led defence mechanisms, particularly expert working groups under the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus).

He also voiced Vietnam’s commitment to facilitating efforts to locate US service members missing in action (MIA) from the war. He at the same time called on the United States to provide additional information, documents and personal artifacts related to fallen Vietnamese soldiers.

The General proposed expanding cooperation in DNA identification technologies to support Vietnam's nationwide 500-day campaign to recover and identify the remains of fallen soldiers.

At the meeting, Cuong welcomed Admiral Paparo's participation in the second Vietnam International Defence Expo in 2024 and expressed hope that the US commander would attend the third edition of the exhibition, scheduled for December 2026. He also welcomed the United States' participation with modern defence equipment displays.

US reaffirms commitment

For his part, Admiral Paparo praised the positive development of Vietnam-US defence ties and reaffirmed Washington's respect for Vietnam's independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and its "Four No's" defence policy.

He expressed satisfaction with recent progress in bilateral defence cooperation and said the United States looks forward to expanding practical cooperation, particularly in war legacy remediation, MIA accounting, military training and military medicine.

Regarding war legacy issues, Paparo said the US woulc continue cooperation with Vietnam in unexploded ordnance clearance, information sharing, DNA identification technologies and Vietnam's 500-day campaign to locate and identify fallen soldiers’ remains.

Vietnam urges United States to accelerate war legacy cooperation

VOV.VN - Vietnam has called on the United States to further advance cooperation on addressing war legacy, including providing an additional US$130 million for the Bien Hoa dioxin remediation project and expanding support for the identification of Vietnamese personnel missing in action.