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U.S. Defense Attaché to Vietnam Colonel Thomas M. Stevenson |
Talking about results in bilateral defense cooperation over the past time, the U.S. defense attaché affirmed that there are things making us proud of Vietnam-U.S. cooperation, including their 30-year bilateral cooperation in searching for U.S. soldiers missing in action (MIA).
Colonel Thomas M. Stevenson also said that the U.S. highly appreciated Vietnam’s support in this field, especially amid the pandemic. He recalled that despite the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnamese partners have conducted 11 drives to search and repatriate sets of remains of U.S. soldiers home.
Regarding bilateral cooperation in settling war legacy, the U.S. colonel said that over the past time, the U.S. has invested in addressing war consequences in Vietnam. This deed demonstrated the country’s responsibility and readiness in dealing with war consequences.
Apart from searching for MIAs, the two countries have exerted utmost efforts in UXO clearance in Quang Binh and Quang Tri provinces and dioxin contamination remediation in Da Nang and Bien Hoa airports. These cooperation activities have consolidated mutual trust between the two countries, said Colonel Thomas M. Stevenson.
At present, since the COVID-19 pandemic is developing complicatedly, the U.S. Defense Attaché said that two countries have prioritized their cooperation in containing the virus. In July, the U.S. Government presented 5 million doses of vaccine to Vietnam through the COVAX Facility.
According to Colonel Thomas M. Stevenson, another outcome in bilateral cooperation is their efforts in natural disaster response and consequence mitigation. He recalled that last year’s storm caused huge losses in properties and lives in Central Vietnam. The two countries sent their engineers and experts to build shelters and help people in the region resume normal life.
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Personnel of the two countries conducting search for MIAs |
The U.S. defense attaché said that U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is the first senior official of the Biden administration to visit Vietnam. He hoped that the visit will strengthen the Vietnamese people’s trust in the U.S., a reliable partner of Vietnam.
During the visit of U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to Vietnam, the two countries will sign a memorandum of understanding on supporting Vietnam in searching for Vietnamese soldiers missing in action. This agreement aims to return Vietnam’s assistance to the U.S. in the search for MIAs over the past 30 years.
Translated by Tran Hoai