Visiting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Frank A. Rose has said he will do his utmost in advancing defense cooperation between Hanoi and Washington. Assistant Secretary Rose, who is in charge of arms control, verification and compliance, made the promise during his meeting with Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Defense Nguyen Chi Vinh in Hanoi on Monday, according to the Vietnamese government portal. Such cooperation will be centered on dealing with post-war consequences and collaborating on maritime security, military medicine, and UN peacekeeping activities, Assistant Secretary Rose said. On July 7, Deputy Minister Vinh and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs David Shear co-chaired a ceremony to sign the memorandum of understanding on UN peacekeeping cooperation in Washington, D.C. The MoU aims to boost bilateral defense collaboration through UN peacekeeping activities, such as exchanging and sharing experience and skills in UN missions, enhancing the capability of each soldier and their units in pre-deployment training, giving assistance in technical equipment to UN peacekeeping forces, disbursing the support package for the building of the Vietnam Peacekeeping Center, and other activities. At yesterday’s meeting, Deputy Minister Vinh laid emphasis on the role of the U.S. in the region and said Hanoi expects to further cooperate with Washington based on the respect for the UN Charter, international law as well as each nation’s political system, independence, sovereignty and integrity. He expressed his appreciation of the U.S. having partially lifted its ban on the sale of lethal weapons to Vietnam in association with maritime security. Vietnam wishes that the U.S. will totally remove the ban soon, as a contribution to the promotion of the comprehensive partnership between the two countries, Deputy Minister Vinh said. 

The Vietnamese military official suggested the two sides continue strengthen cooperation in the spirit of their comprehensive partnership established in 2013, the Memorandum of Understanding on Boosting Bilateral National Defense signed in 2011, and the 2015 Joint Vision Statement on Defense Relations. The host and guest also praised the results gained during the five-day visit to the U.S., from July 6 to 10, by Vietnam’s Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. The visit created a new momentum for the relations between the two nations at a time when they are celebrating the 20thanniversary of normalized diplomatic ties.

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