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.