It is also a tangible outcome of the efforts and goodwill that Vietnam has extended to the US in resolving the MIA issue
ANSWER TO CORRESPONDENTS BY MR. LE DZUNG, THE SPOKESMAN
OF THE VIETNAMESE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS ON 12th AUGUST 2005
Question by AP correspondent: Please provide Vietnam’s reaction to a statement made by U.S. Department of Defense saying that 12 sets of remains of American servicemen missing in action during the Vietnam war, recovered in Vietnam-U.S. joint field activities in 1998 – 1999 in Vietnam – Laos border area, had been identified. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, this was the largest number of remains that were identified.
Answer: Prompted by its traditional humanitarian policy, Vietnam views the accounting for U.S. servicemen missing in action in Vietnam as a humanitarian matter and has been cooperating with the U.S. side in effectively solving this issue.
It is good for the families and relatives of the American missing servicemen to have had the remains of their dear ones identified. It is also a tangible outcome of the efforts and goodwill that Vietnam has extended to the US in resolving the MIA issue. The U.S. side has acknowledged and highly valued the effective cooperation of the Vietnamese Government and people.
Up to date, Vietnam and the US have conducted 82 joint field activies. Since 1973, Vietnam has held 95 repatriation ceremonies with 829 sets of MIA remains returned to the US. The 96th repatriation ceremony, scheduled on August 13th, 2005 at Da nang airport, will see the hand-over of five more sets of remains.
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