Vietnam defense chief says U.S. visit set for nov.
HANOI -
Vietnamese
Defense
Minister
Pham Van
Tra said on
Tuesday he
would make
an historic
post-war visit
to the United
States in
November,
adding that
the U.S. Navy
could make a
port call
before the end
of the year.
"We have
decided to
make it (the
Washington
visit) in early
November at
the earliest
pending the
government's
decision," Tra
told reporters
on the
sidelines of
the opening
session of
Vietnam's
parliament,
the National
Assembly.
The first
American trip
by any Hanoi
defense
minister since
the Vietnam
War ended in
1975 comes
at the
invitation of
Defense
Secretary
Donald
Rumsfeld,
and
reciprocates
one paid by
then U.S.
defense chief
William
Cohen in March 2000.
The two countries restored diplomatic ties in 1995 and signed a bilateral trade pact that took effect in December 2001. Tra, in his
first public comments on the trip, said it would "enhance the understanding between the armies of the two countries," and increase
cooperation in Missing in Action (MIA) cases. He said that issues to be discussed included the after-effects of Agent Orange, the
defoliant U.S. forces used to deny Vietnamese combatants food and forest cover. Vietnam and some U.S. veterans say Agent
Orange harmed the health of those who were exposed to it.
While both countries have made significant progress in commercial ties, defense and military links have taken longer given the bitter
legacy of the war between the communist north and the U.S.-backed southern state based in Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City.
A Navy ship visit to Ho Chi Minh would be a major step forward. Asked about it, Tra said, "On this, the U.S. side has raised the
issue, on our Vietnamese side we are ready to let the U.S. ships in our waters." Asked if that might come before the end of 2003,
he said it could take place "within this year," but added: "We have not fixed the date." In a sign of a slow thaw in the sensitive
military area, Hanoi agreed recently to permit a search of classified government files for information on any U.S. prisoners held after
the war.
About 58,000 Americans were killed in the war, while Hanoi says it lost three million military and civilians.
By Christina Toh-Pantin - Reuters - October 21, 2003
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