Hanoi (VNA) – The political, securityand defence dialogue serves as an effective channel for information exchangehelping promote Vietnam-US relations, said participants at the 10th annualpolitical, security and defence dialogue in Washington DC, the US, on March 25.

The event was co-chaired by Vietnamese DeputyForeign Minister Bui Thanh Son and US Under Secretary of State for Arms Controland International Security Andrea Thompson. It also saw the presence of otherofficials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Public Securityand the Ministry of National Defence of Vietnam, along with the Department ofState, the Department of Defence, the Department of Homeland Security and theAgency for International Development of the US.

Son and Thompson spoke highly of the substantiveand extensive developments in Vietnam-US relations recently, includingbilateral meetings between the countries’ leaders during President DonaldTrump’s stay in Hanoi for the second summit with the Democratic People’sRepublic of Korea (DPRK) last February.

They agreed to continue working together to prepare for mutual visits,including those by high-ranking delegations, in the time ahead.

The two sides applauded strides in defencecooperation, especially the two visits to Vietnam by then US Secretary ofDefence James Mattis in 2018, the first visit to Vietnam by a US aircraftcarrier since the war’s end, and the completion of the environmentalremediation of dioxin contamination at Vietnam’s Da Nang airport.

They agreed to continue implementing cooperationfields under the countries’ 2011 memorandum of understanding on defencecooperation and the 2015 joint vision statement on defence relations, includingmaritime security, unexploded ordnance clearance, the remediation of dioxincontamination at Bien Hoa airport, support for Agent Orange/dioxin victims, andsearch for Vietnamese soldiers missing in actions.

Regarding security cooperation, the officialsexpressed their delight at the collaboration between the Vietnamese Ministry ofPublic Security and relevant agencies of the US in cyber security and fightinghuman trafficking, drug trafficking, and trans-national crimes. They affirmedthat the two countries will promote ties through various measures, includingincreasing delegation exchanges, building capacity, training skills, andorganising specialised workshops.

In terms of regional and international issues,Under Secretary of State Thompson repeated the US’s thanks to Vietnam forhosting the second US-DPRK summit, affirming her country has attachedimportance to Vietnam’s role in working together with the internationalcommunity towards denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.

At the event, the officials also discussed otherinternational and regional affairs of shared concern, including the East Seaissue. 

The US reiterated its commitment to ensuring afree and open Indo-Pacific region. It re-affirmed the stance of supportingpeace, stability, cooperation, unimpeded trade, and freedom, security andsafety of navigation and aviation. It called on all parties concerned to fullyand effectively carry out the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the EastSea and work towards the finalisation of a substantive and effective Code ofConduct in the waters.

The US also highly valued Vietnam’s efforts inthe United Nations’ peacekeeping operations, affirming that it will continueassisting the country in this regard.

The two sides shared the view that the dialoguewas successful and substantive, agreeing to hold the 11th dialogue in Hanoi in2020.

During his stay in the US, Deputy ForeignMinister Son met with Deputy National Security Adviser Charles Kupperman, UnderSecretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale, Assistant Secretary ofDefence for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs Randall Schriver, and SenatorCory Gardner to discuss measures for enhancing the countries’ comprehensivepartnership on the threshold of the 25th founding anniversary of diplomaticties in 2020.-VNA