Vietnam and US officials discusses POW/MIA issue
Vietnamese and US officials have met in Hanoi, Vietnam for the second round of Technical Talks this year on the Prisoners of War and Missing in Action issues, said US EmbassyÕs press release.Ê
Vietnamese officials who took part in the talks included director of the Vietnam Office for Seeking Missing Persons, Nguyen Ba Hung, and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of National Defence.Ê
The US side included Brig. Gen. Michael Flowers, Commander of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), the US Ambassador to Vietnam Michael Marine and Department of Defence officials from Washington D.C.Ê
The meeting focused on investigation and excavation operations associated with unaccounted-for Americans from the Indochina conflict.Ê During these talks, U.S. and Vietnamese officials mutually agreed to conduct the next mission to Vietnam, designated the 85th Joint Field Activity.Ê
The mission is slated to take place from April 17 to May 19 and will include three recovery teams, an investigation team and a combined research and investigation team (RIT).Ê
The teams will excavate cases in the central region of Vietnam and conduct investigations in the Central Highlands. The RIT will conduct research and investigate Last Known Alive (LKA) cases in 10 provinces throughout Vietnam.Ê
Additional agreements reached during the talks included a continued emphasis by both countries on LKA cases and a refocused archival research initiative.ÊÊÊ
JPAC routinely hosts technical and consultative talks with senior officials in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos to address topics specific to JPAC operations in those countries. JPAC negotiations ensure positive in-country conditions are maintained or established for investigative and recovery operations in Southeast Asia.