Vietnam, US to expand defense ties

Vietnam and the United States agreed to expand defense cooperation in five key areas, including maritime security, peacekeeping operations, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

The statement was made by visiting US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta during a press briefing after meeting Vietnamese Defense Minister Phung Quang Thanh in Hanoi on Monday.

Panetta is the first US defense secretary to visit Vietnam since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. He is on a three-day visit to Vietnam that started on Sunday, after attending the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.