On a trip to Hanoi on Sunday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called for expanded military cooperation as the US and Vietnam negotiate potential arms deals. Hegseth, speaking ahead of a meeting with Defense Minister Phan Van Giang, said closer military ties would serve the interests of both nations, Reuters reports. Addressing the legacies of the Vietnam War, which ended 50 years ago in April, remains the foundation of the countries' defense relationship, Hegseth said. "Today we will exchange artifacts and information from the war with the goal of helping family members in both countries find peace," he said, per the AP.
The US, which lifted its arms embargo on Vietnam in 2016, has already supplied three cutters to Vietnam's coast guard and delivered three out of 12 T-6 trainer aircraft on order. Additional US military equipment, including Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules transport planes and helicopters such as the S-92 and Boeing Chinooks, is being discussed, per Reuters. Vietnam has historically relied on Russian weaponry but has been seeking to diversify its sources for several years. Vietnam's defense ministry said it agreed with the USto continue strengthening security cooperation, and highlighted a new agreement signed on Friday to expand collaboration on war legacy issues, including dioxin cleanup.
Cooperation on postwar issues remains key to US-Vietnam relations. Since normalizing ties in 1995, the two countries have worked together to clear unexploded ordnance, recover remains of missing service members, and clean up dioxin—the toxic chemical used in Agent Orange—from former US air bases that continue to affect communities. On Sunday, Hegseth gave his counterpart a leather box, a belt, and a small knife, all wartime artifacts taken by American soldiers during the war. Such returns have become part of broader reconciliation efforts between the two countries, with relics such as letters, identification tags, and photographs handed back to the US in recent years.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
