Vietnam urges United States to accelerate war legacy cooperation

The proposals were raised by General Phan Van Giang, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence, during a meeting in Hanoi on June 22 with Hung Cao, Acting Secretary of the US Navy, who is visiting Vietnam.

At the meeting, General Giang reaffirmed Vietnam’s commitment to prioritising cooperation in addressing war consequences in the spirit of breaking with the past and looking toward the future.

According to the Vietnamese defence minister, war legacy cooperation carries profound humanitarian significance, helping strengthen mutual trust, enhance understanding and provide a solid foundation for the sustainable development of Vietnam-US relations.

Referring to the Memorandum of Understanding on advancing cooperation in addressing war consequences signed by the two sides in October 2025, General Giang urged the United States to translate its commitments into concrete actions, including allocating an additional US$130 million for the dioxin remediation project at Bien Hoa Air Base.

He expressed hope that both sides would work closely to complete the project before 2030, contributing to the elimination of wartime environmental contamination and improving living conditions for local communities.

Expanding cooperation on missing personnel

General Giang also pledged to enhance cooperation and facilitate efforts to search for US military personnel listed as missing in action during the war.

At the same time, he requested that the United States increase the sharing of information, documents and personal artifacts related to missing Vietnamese servicemen and war victims. He also called for enhanced support in DNA analysis and forensic identification technologies to help accelerate efforts to locate, recover and identify the remains of Vietnamese martyrs.

According to the minister, such support would contribute to the successful implementation of Vietnam's nationwide 500-Day Campaign aimed at intensifying the search, recovery and identification of missing war martyrs.

Defence cooperation continues to expand

Beyond war legacy issues, the two sides reviewed recent developments in bilateral defence cooperation.

They shared the view that defence cooperation between Vietnam and the United States has continued to develop in a practical and effective manner, in line with the broader relationship between the two countries.

Current areas of cooperation include high-level exchanges, training, United Nations peacekeeping operations, cybersecurity, maritime security, military medicine, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

The Vietnamese Defence Minister expressed hope that both countries would further implement existing agreements while expanding cooperation in areas of mutual interest, including maritime security, defence industry collaboration, military service exchanges and human resource development.

For his part, Hung Cao welcomed the progress achieved in bilateral defence ties, particularly in maritime cooperation, and expressed support for further strengthening collaboration between the two defence ministries. He also voiced his desire to deepen Vietnam-US cooperation in the coming years.

On the occasion, General Phan Van Giang welcomed the US side’s decision to send defence officials and firms to the Vietnam International Defence Expo 2026 later this year, describing the event as an opportunity to strengthen exchanges and cooperation between the defense industries of both countries.

Vietnam seeks greater access to US archives to identify missing war dead

VOV.VN - Vietnam is stepping up cooperation with US partners to make more effective use of historical records in efforts to locate, recover and identify the remains of soldiers who are missing from past conflicts.