US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld arrived in Vietnam on Sunday for a visit aimed at boosting security ties with a former foe that now shares American wariness about China's rising military might.
Rumsfeld's Pentagon has built close ties to Asian countries ranging from Vietnam to Mongolia and modernised its alliances with Japan and South Korea to reflect post-Cold War demands for smaller, nimbler forces to cope with regional contingencies.
US military ties with Hanoi, 31 years after the end of the Vietnam war and 11 years after the normalisation of diplomatic ties, have warmed gradually with ship visits and modest medical and educational exchanges.
Asked on Sunday if he had set targets for military co-operation, Rumsfeld said: "I don't have a wish list and I don't have a set of things we are trying to achieve."
"What we want to see is a relationship between our country and Vietnam evolve in a way that is comfortable to them and comfortable to us," he told reporters travelling with him. He praised Hanoi for its co-operation in finding the remains of soldiers who went missing during the Vietnam war for allowing US forces unlimited overflights during rescue missions after the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
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