The U.S. will send its marines to assist Vietnam in cleaning up the remaining bombs and unexploded ordnance (UXO) from the last century’s two-decade war, the British Broadcasting Co. reported Thursday, not citing a specific date.Particularly, the U.S. marines will train Vietnamese soldiers in disarming bomb, mines and UXOs, the BBC reported, citing General James Amos, commandant of the Marine Corps.“We expect to train Vietnamese soldiers, maybe firstly with air forces, as well as conduct joint exercises in the future when the two countries’ relationship improves further,” he noted.UXO contaminated land area makes up over 20% of the country’s area. Vietnam needs more than $10 billion and 300 years to clear up war-time bombs and mines, said a representative of the Technology Centre for Bomb and Mine Disposal.Sending its marines to Vietnam is part of the U.S.’s pivot to Asia strategy in countering an increasingly assertive China in the Asia-Pacific region. While the visit of American naval ships to Vietnam’s port is mostly for humanitarian purpose, it marks a step up in cooperation between Vietnam and the U.S.Last December, the communist nation organized numerous activities to commemorate the U.S. bomb raid in Dec 1972 over the capital city of Hanoi and northern port city of Haiphong. (bbc.co.uk Feb 7)
