Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Defence Minister General Pham Van Tra paid an official visit to the US from November 9-12, the first by a defence minister of Vietnam since the two countries normalised bilateral ties. Before leaving the US, Minister Tra gave an interview to the Vietnam News Agency's correspondent in Washington DC on his visit, stressing that the relations between Vietnam and the US should contribute to long-term stability in the Asia-Pacific region.

Q: Please tell us about the results of your visit to the US and the prospect for co-operation between the two armies.

A: At the invitation of US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld, a high-level delegation of the Vietnamese Defence Ministry, for the first time, paid an official visit to the US. This visit was not only in response to the Vietnam visit by the previous US Secretary of Defence William Cohen in March of 2000 but also aimed to boost the two countries' relations, particularly military ones. The visit was also aimed at promoting mutual understanding and joint efforts to build a framework of friendly and co-operative ties for peace, and long-term stability in the Asian-Pacific region, on the principles of respecting each other's independence, sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, non-interference into each other's internal affairs as well as of equality and mutual benefit.

Following visits by leaders of the Defence Ministry and the Vietnam People's Army to various countries in the region and around the world in recent years, this visit, once again, reflects Vietnam's foreign policy of multilateralising and diversifying its international relations, as well as its policy of putting the past behind and looking forwards to the future. The visit helped raise the position and prestige of the Vietnamese Army in particular and Vietnam in general on the international arena, helping friends all over the world better understand Vietnam's army, land and people.

During meetings and talks, we, along with US Secretary of Defence Rumsfeld, and other senior US officials reviewed and were pleased by the results, though little, of the two sides' co-operation, including on-going co-operation programmes on searching for missing in action soldiers from both countries, the US government's annual supply of landmine clearing equipment to Vietnam, and military medicine co-operation as well as other co-operation programmes for the near future.

Military relations are part of bilateral relations. Since the two countries normalised relations in 1995, defence ties have developed in accordance with the development of relations between the two countries in general. Our delegation's presence in Washington is a manifestation of that development.

Q: In the public view, a major blockage to the Vietnam-US relations and their military ties comes from the poor understanding of each other. Did your visit result in any measures to increase mutual understanding between the two defence ministries? Is there any way that the two parties agreed upon to facilitate contacts between the two ministries in the future?

A: The Vietnamese country and people were the victims of different wars through several decades of the late 20th century. During the American war, we fully understood that a large number of progressive Americans, including members of Congress, politicians, intellectuals, journalists, men and women, who loved peace and justice and worked for Thomas Jefferson's ideology that "All men are created equal," raised their voice and took to the streets to support the Vietnamese people's war of resistance. They closely followed over the progress and shared in our happiness in both our past military exploits and achievements in the current national development. Nowadays, many Americans have objective views about the situation in Vietnam.

However, it doesn't mean that there are not still individuals who obsess about the past. Recently, new obstacles to bilateral relations have emerged from difference in economics, commerce, as well as the viewpoints on democracy, human rights and religion. It's understandable as the two countries have gone through a prolonged war, one of the longest and hardest wars of the 20th century. The psychological wounds of war in some Americans have not yet been healed. Fortunately, those people account for a very small proportion of the US population. Time will help heal those wounds.

The Vietnamese country and people are very hospitable, always opening wide their arms to welcome friends from all over the world. You should know that US visitors ranked second in the number of foreign arrivals in Vietnam this year. The normalisation of relations between the two countries, further exchanges of visits and a boost in tourist co-operation will help increase the mutual understanding and trust between the two countries.

We recently reached a consensus that two sides should take measures to promote mutual understanding. They include facilitating the visits of military delegations at all levels, boosting co-operation in solving humanitarian issues, especially the post-war issues as well as in military medicine, technicians training and the exchange of information in the fight against terrorism. We also asked the US to provide information and help in taking measures against those suspected of sneaking into Vietnam for terrorist purposes.

Q: What has the US side committed to resolving, in the spirit of humanity regarding the consequences of war such as the issue of Agent Orange, the clearance of unexploded ordinance and toxic chemicals?

A: These things are necessary to do in the coming time. I proposed that the US government and companies which produced and used toxic chemicals during the war in Vietnam take moral and ethical responsibilities for the millions of victims affected by these toxicants.

First of all, the US should assist Vietnam with technology and technical equipment to cleanse toxic chemicals left at airports in Da Nang, Bien Hoa, Phu Cat and at the foot of the Cu Mong Mountain Pass in central Binh Dinh province. It also should devise a concrete plan on helping the victims of toxic chemicals overcome difficulties in their lives.

As for the clearance of unexploded ordnance left from the war, as you know, the US government has recently provided land mine detectors and conducted projects to survey the ordnance in some central provinces of Vietnam. The US has committed itself to continue providing funds for these programmes, helping people of these localities resettle, build infrastructures and stabilise their lives.

Q: How will further co-operation and mutual trust between Vietnam and US armies contribute to peace and stability in Southeast Asia and the world?

A: Vietnam's defence viewpoint is to protect peace, maintain and develop friendly and co-operative relations with other countries, not confront or attack others but never allow anyone to violate the independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Vietnam.

Vietnam does not have a military alliance with any country. Vietnam supports efforts to prevent and ward off war danger, supports denuclearisation, oppose production and proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons of mass-destruction.

We consider Vietnam's national security attached to regional and world security. We wish to expand defence and diplomatic relations with all countries, regardless of their socio-political regimes, including ties with the US and other big countries, and regional nations, which we consider are of great significance.

I think that relations between Vietnam and the US in general and their defence ties in particular are now progressing. If obstacles barring their relations are removed, their armies will have opportunities to further contribute to the building of friendship, stable and long-term relations for peace, co-operation and development in Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific as a whole. (VNA)