Department of Defense Spokesperson Lt. Col. Martin Meiners provided the following readout:
Assistant Secretary of Defense Dr. Ely Ratner co-chaired the 2022 U.S.-Vietnam Defense Policy Dialogue (DPD) with Vietnam Deputy Defense Minister Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien in Hanoi, Vietnam on September 12, 2022. The U.S.-Vietnam DPD is the highest-level forum for advancing bilateral defense cooperation.
The two leaders reaffirmed the importance of the U.S.-Vietnam comprehensive partnership, especially in light of changing regional dynamics in the Indo-Pacific. Dr. Ratner noted that the U.S. commitment to a strong, prosperous, and independent Vietnam is enduring, and also highlighted continued U.S. support for ASEAN centrality. Both leaders reaffirmed the importance of the rules-based international order and agreed to work collectively and with like-minded partners to peacefully address and resolve disputes in the region.
The two leaders underscored the importance of practical cooperation between the United States and Vietnam. Dr. Ratner and LTG Chien highlighted the importance of collective efforts to recover remains of both U.S. and Vietnamese missing personnel, and Dr. Ratner noted the Department’s enduring commitment to dioxin remediation efforts. Dr. Ratner shared new data, collected by Harvard University, to help identify missing Vietnamese personnel. Looking forward, the two leaders agreed to focus on enhanced cooperation on defense trade, maritime security, information sharing, cyber security, and military medicine.