Vietnam‑US defense cooperation expansion

In early August 2026, Vietnam’s leadership used the extraordinary session of the 16th National Assembly to announce a broad push for deeper defence ties with the United States, highlighting legal reforms, regional engagement and the interest of U.S. defence firms in partnering with Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security.

Later that day in Hanoi, senior Vietnamese military officials met with the commander of the U.S. Indo‑Pacific Command. The talks moved from rhetoric to concrete plans, covering war‑legacy remediation, a request for additional funding to complete dioxin cleanup at Bien Hoa airbase, joint training, UN peace‑keeping, defence‑industry collaboration, humanitarian assistance and the search for missing U.S. personnel. A parallel delegation engaged U.S. security‑technology firms on strategic technologies and digital transformation, underscoring the widening scope of the bilateral partnership.