Saturday, June 18, 2011

U.S., Vietnam hold political, security dialogue

June 18, 2011
Source: Xinhua

The U.S. and Vietnam held the fourth annual Political, Security and Defense Dialogue here Friday to discuss bilateral and regional security issues, the U.S. State Department announced in a statement.

The dialogue was attended by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Andrew J. Shapiro and Vietnamese Vice Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, the statement said.

"The dialogue focused on enhancing bilateral cooperation in the areas of peacekeeping operations and training, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, maritime security, counterterrorism and counternarcotics, and nonproliferation," the statement said.

On June 16, U.S. Under Secretary for Political Affairs William Burns and Assistant Secretary for East Asia and the Pacific Kurt Campbell met separately with Pham Binh Minh to discuss ways of "broadening and deepening the strategic dimensions of our U.S.-Vietnam bilateral relationship," the statement added.

The two sides discussed a range of issues, including maritime security in the South China Sea and enhanced cooperation in the ASEAN Regional Forum and East Asia Summit, it said.

Campbell also met with visiting Lieutenant General Tran Quang Khue, Vietnam's Deputy Chief of General Staff, according to the statement.

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