Vietnam, US Agree To Foster Defense Cooperation - State Media

Vietnamese Defense Minister Phan Van Giang and his US counterpart Lloyd Austin agreed on Thursday to enhance cooperation on defense after the US reiterated its support for nations involved in territorial disputes with China, the state news agency VNA reported

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th July, 2021) Vietnamese Defense Minister Phan Van Giang and his US counterpart Lloyd Austin agreed on Thursday to enhance cooperation on defense after the US reiterated its support for nations involved in territorial disputes with China, the state news agency VNA reported.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is on an official visit to Vietnam from July 28 and 29.

In Hanoi the two ministers praised cooperation in overcoming the consequences of the Second Indochina War (1965 - 1975), promoting Vietnam's participation in UN peace operations, and modernizing law enforcement actions at sea, VNA added.

The US pledged put more effort into the dioxin decontamination project at Bien Hoa airport and other humanitarian projects in Vietnam. On Thursday, the two ministers also attended the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in searching for, gathering, and identifying the remains of Vietnamese war victims.

Phan and Austin shared views on the importance of respecting the rights of coastal states, resolving disputes by peaceful means, as well as maintaining freedom of navigation in accordance with international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

This statement follows Austin's address in Singapore on Wednesday, in which he reiterated US support for coastal states affected by China's territorial claims in the South China Sea.

For decades Beijing has been disputing the status of a number of territories in the South China Sea to which it lays claim, primarily the Paracel and Spratly Islands over which Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines also claim sovereignty.