Top U.S. commander to visit Vietnam

Top U.S. commander to visit Vietnam

HANOI (AFP): U.S. commander in chief for the Pacific region Admiral Dennis Blair is to visit Hanoi next week in what is only the third such visit since the 1975 end of the Vietnam War, the U.S. embassy here said on Wednesday.

Blair will hold talks with senior Vietnamese military and civilian officials on the military-to-military relationship between the two former foes during his three-day visit which begins on Monday, an embassy statement said.

Relations between Washington and Hanoi are at all-time high after November's landmark visit here by President Bill Clinton, but no agreements are expected to be signed during Blair's visit.

Washington still remains some way off signing a defense accord with Hanoi, matching the agreement signed by another former foe, Australia, in 1998, an embassy spokesman said.