Vietnam, US bolster defence ties The two countries will spur closer cooperation in settlement of war aftermath, search and rescue work, disaster relief, staff training, information sharing and law enforcement cooperation at sea.  The agreement was reached at talks between Sen. Lt. Gen. Deputy Defence Minister Do Ba Ty and Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey in Hanoi on August 14. At the talks, Senior General Ty hailed the US delegation’s visit as a significant landmark in forging the ties of friendship and cooperation between the two armies and peoples. Ty also recalled the good memories of his official visit to the US in June 2013 while voicing conviction that the two sides will constantly promote cooperation for peace and stability in the region and the world. General Martin Dempsey, in turn, expressed his pleasure at visiting Vietnam, noting that this first official visit by Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff has been highly anticipated for years.  At the talks, the two sides reviewed the results of bilateral defence cooperation in recent years through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on boosting bilateral defence cooperation and agreed upon on orientations for future cooperation. During the visit, Martin Dempsey and his encourage will pay courtesy visits to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Defence Minister Phung QuangThanh, visit Danang central city, the US-funded dioxin contaminated environment remediation project, and a number of local agencies. VOV