(Photo: VNA)

Mr. Viet made the statement at the Ministry's regular press conference in Hanoi, in reply to reporters’ questions regarding the US’s upcoming hand-over of a large-scale patrol vessel to Vietnam.

He said the two countries are enhancing mutual defense ties, maritime security, and legal enforcement capacity at sea based on agreements reached by both sides, including the 2011 Memorandum of Understanding for Advancing Bilateral Defence Cooperation, the 2015 Joint Vision Statement on Defence Relations, and the Plan of Action for Defence Cooperation for 2018–2020.