Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army and Deputy Minister of National Defence, received Admiral Samuel Paparo, Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM), in Hanoi on August 5.
During the meeting, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong underscored that Vietnam consistently regards the United States as one of its paramount partners. Defense cooperation between the two nations has yielded practical results across multiple domains, including war legacy remediation, dialogue and consultations, military training, UN peacekeeping missions, inter-service exchanges, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
Guided by the principle of "shelving the past, looking toward the future," Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong expressed gratitude to the US Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) for supporting post-war remediation projects in Vietnam. Notable achievements include the construction and inauguration of an explosive ordnance disposal training field for the Vietnam National Mine Action Center (VNMAC) in March 2025.
He called on the US Indo-Pacific Command to continue advocating with the US Congress, Government, and Department of Defense to secure an additional US$130 million in funding for the dioxin remediation project at Bien Hoa Air Base. The goal is to complete the cleanup before 2031, ensuring a safe living environment for local communities.
The Senior Lieutenant General affirmed that Vietnam will closely coordinate and create the most favorable conditions for searches concerning Americans Missing in Action (MIA). In return, he requested that the US step up the sharing of information, documents, and artifacts related to fallen Vietnamese soldiers, as well as assist in enhancing DNA identification capabilities for martyrs' remains. This support, he noted, will help advance the Government-launched "500-day-and-night campaign to step up the search, repatriation, and identification of fallen soldiers' remains."
Admiral Samuel Paparo spoke highly of the progress achieved under the Vietnam–US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in recent years, emphasizing that the United States respects Vietnam's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and its "Four No's" defense policy, including no military alliances; no siding with one country against another; no foreign military bases or use of Vietnamese territory to oppose another country; and no force or threat of force in international relations.
Expressing optimism for the future, Admiral Samuel Paparo hoped for deeper, more substantive defense cooperation. He reaffirmed the US commitment to actively collaborate with Vietnam on war legacy issues, including unexploded ordnance clearance, humanitarian aid, the exchange of MIA records, and DNA identification technology support.
Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong expressed high appreciation for Admiral Samuel Paparo’s attendance at the 2nd Vietnam International Defense Expo in 2024 and extended an invitation for the Admiral to return for the 3rd edition in December 2026. Vietnam welcomes the US to showcase modern defense equipment at the upcoming event, thereby contributing to the event's overall success.
