Operation Pacific Angel spreads peace, cooperation between Vietnam and U.S.

Pacific Angel project: U.S. Pacific Air Forces leadership and community leaders of the Quang Binh Province perform a traditional Vietnamese ribbon-cutting ceremony for a renovated medical clinic. [U.S. Air Force/Staff Sgt. Sara Csurilla]

Vietnam and the United States continue to deepen their military and strategic ties: A successful defense dialogue held in Washington, D.C., in early October followed the productive joint Operation Pacific Angel held in June.

The two nations met for the sixth annual Vietnam-U.S. Political, Security and Defense Dialogue Oct. 1 in the U.S. capital.

Vietnam’s Vice Foreign Minister Ha Kim Ngoc and Acting Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Tom Kelly chaired the meeting.

“The participants in the meeting discussed ways to further strengthen cooperation in multiple areas, including counterterrorism, counter-narcotics, human trafficking, cyber, and law enforcement issues,” stated a joint statement released hours after the dialogue.

The two delegations also explored advancing defense and security cooperation within the framework of the 2011 Memorandum of Understanding on Advancing Bilateral Defense Cooperation.

Both sides “agreed to continue to expand cooperation in maritime law enforcement, particularly on developing capabilities to address disaster response and search and rescue,” a joint statement said. The two sides also pledged to continue cooperating to resolve “war legacy issues such as Prisoners of War/Missing in Action [POW/MIA] accounting, dioxin and Agent Orange, and unexploded ordnance.”

The dialogue confirmed Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s pledge to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that both countries would continue to deepen their security and strategic cooperation, VietnamNetBridge.com reported.

The growing defense relationship implements the Security and Defense Cooperation Joint Statement that Presidents Truong Tan Sang of Vietnam and Barack Obama of the United States signed at the White House on July 25. The statement established an overall framework to expand defense ties.

Vietnam seeks economic, defense ties

“The Vietnamese are looking for increased ties with the United States,” Ralph Winnie, vice president of the Eurasian Business Coalition in Washington, D.C, told Asia Pacific Defense Forum [APDF]. “They see these increased ties as an important way to also bring in much more American investment and businesses.”

Winnie said the military dimension is important in expanding U.S. economic ties with Vietnam.

“The Vietnamese have respect for U.S. military people, reflecting the honored place the military holds in their own society,” he said. “Also, we have found that veterans [of the U.S. armed forces] tend to do very well in international business. They have the background to function effectively in other societies.”

The growing defense relationship between the United States and Vietnam is being extended in a series of programs and forums.

U.S. and Vietnamese Air Force senior officers are holding talks to extend cooperation between the two countries.

U.S. Air Force senior officers welcome the opportunities offered by the new strategic partnership to deepen their relationship with Vietnam over the long term. They see Vietnam as a regional leader and valuable partner in bilateral arenas including Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Recovery [HA/DR] interoperability – that is, cooperation at the tactical level in rapid response disaster relief operations.

The two countries also have become strategic defense partners, working together to advance regional security programs in the East Asia Summit and the annual Defense Ministers Meeting Plus of the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations [ASEAN].

Vietnam and the U.S. are implementing joint English-language training programs for senior Vietnamese officers to take advantage of Subject Matter Expert Exchanges [SMEEs], especially for military physicians in the area of aerospace medicine. The PACIFIC UNITY program offers opportunity for increased engagement including Engineering Civil Action Programs [ENCAP] as well as SMEEs.

Operation Pacific Angel focus: humanitarian assistance

The U.S. military’s cooperation with Vietnam took a major step in June when the Vietnam People’s Army [VPA] and the U.S. Pacific Air Forces participated in Operation Pacific Angel. The joint operation focused on humanitarian assistance efforts in Dong Hoi in the Quang Binh Province of Vietnam.

Some 53 U.S. military personnel, 15 officers and men of the VPA and more than 40 members of the non-governmental organization East Meets West participated in the exercise.

The three key aspects of Pacific Angel operations are Health Services Outreach [HSO], ENCAP and SMEEs. The HSO program provided medical care to more than 4,000 patients at two separate sites in Quang Binh Province; the ENCAP renovated a medical clinic and two schools; and the SMEEs allowed U.S. and Vietnam forces to exchange techniques and information on issues including public health and construction safety.

“Over the past week, our two nations have partnered with military and civilian medical professionals to provide general health, dental, optometry and physical therapy services,” Maj. Gen. Russ Handy, Pacific Air Forces chief of staff, announced after the exercises were completed. “These projects are a visible expression of our commitment to Asia, the importance of our relationship with Vietnam, and our strong support for international disaster and humanitarian relief efforts in the region.”

The two nations participated in previous Pacific Angel operations in Quang Tri Province in September 2009, Can Tho Province in May 2010, and Nghe An Province in June 2012.

The success of the Pacific Angel operations took place in a wider context. The U.S. Pacific Air Forces have developed experience in holding bilateral humanitarian exercises across the Asia-Pacific region. These bilateral operations have aided thousands of people in countries including Sri Lanka, Indonesia and the Philippines. Pacific Angel operations were held most recently in Cambodia in September.

The long-term goal of the Pacific Angel operations is to strengthen mutual trust and cooperation and to promote peace and security across the ASEAN region of 10 nations and more than 600 million people in the face of traditional and non-traditional challenges.

U.S. defense chief to visit Vietnam next year

Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Vinh reiterated Vietnam’s commitment to regional peace, free trade and security cooperation at the fourth ASEAN Maritime Forum [AMF] and the second Expanded AMF in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

As part of the process to boost U.S.-Vietnamese ties, U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, a combat veteran of the Vietnam War almost half a century ago, has accepted an invitation to visit Vietnam next year.

“ASEAN is a global success story. Over the past 30 years, the region’s growth rates are unmatched throughout the world,” Shihoko Goto, an Asian affairs expert at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., told the Asia Pacific Defense Forum.

“Vietnam’s embracing of closer strategic and economic ties with the United States and its success at introducing the free market to its domestic economy, was a major reason for the region’s success – a willingness to set aside the prejudices, bitter memories and failed policies of the past and make the most of the opportunities offered by international cooperation and trade in the new millennium.”

By Martin Sieff

Asia Pacific Defense Forum

2013/10/20