Washington, August 16, 2026 — The Europe Today: Vietnam has called on the United States to accelerate the declassification and transfer of relevant records and documents and to encourage US veterans to provide information concerning the burial sites of Vietnamese soldiers whose remains have yet to be recovered.
The request was made during a working session between a Vietnamese delegation from the National Steering Committee for the Search, Collection, Repatriation and Identification of Fallen Soldiers’ Remains (National Steering Committee 515) and the US Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) in Washington.
The Vietnamese delegation was led by Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Gau, Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Minister of National Defence and Permanent Vice Chairman of National Steering Committee 515. The meeting took place as part of the delegation’s working visit to the United States.
During the session, the Vietnamese side proposed that the DPAA strengthen the sharing of technical procedures and support the transfer of advanced solutions for Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS), including Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) techniques.
Vietnam also called for enhanced cooperation in mitochondrial and nuclear DNA testing, forensic skeletal anthropology and emerging identification methods, including stable isotope analysis. It further requested US assistance in supplying specialised equipment and reagents and organising training programmes to strengthen the expertise of Vietnamese specialists.
The DPAA operates advanced forensic anthropology and identification laboratories in Hawaii and Nebraska. Its identification work combines field archaeology, dental analysis, forensic anthropology and NGS technology, enabling specialists to identify remains even when only small or severely degraded bone fragments are available.
DPAA representatives noted that, despite advanced technologies, specialised personnel and established forensic procedures, accurately identifying an individual case takes approximately two years on average. Given the large number of remains awaiting identification in Vietnam, the process remains a significant challenge.
US representatives reaffirmed that supporting Vietnam in the search for and identification of fallen Vietnamese soldiers’ remains is regarded by the United States as a moral responsibility and a priority. They pledged to provide maximum possible assistance, particularly in areas where US expertise corresponds with Vietnam’s requirements.
The two sides also reviewed the results of their longstanding cooperation in searching for US personnel missing in action during the war. The recovery of US MIA remains represents one of the earliest areas of humanitarian cooperation between Vietnam and the United States and has involved decades of collaboration and hundreds of joint field operations.
Vietnam’s consistent cooperation and goodwill in facilitating searches for and repatriation of US remains have contributed significantly to building mutual trust and advancing bilateral relations.
The meeting concluded with several key agreements aimed at expanding cooperation in addressing the legacy of war. The initiatives are expected to help accelerate the search, recovery and identification of Vietnamese fallen soldiers’ remains, provide greater relief to families affected by wartime losses and further strengthen mutual trust between Vietnam and the United States.
