VOA标准英语10月-US, Vietnam Hold First Political-Military Dialogu

The United States and Vietnam have discussed possible U.S. sales of weapons and spare parts to Vietnam, as well as American military help with disaster relief and a range of other issues. The two nations' first strategic dialogue on political, defense¹ and security issues shows the continuing improvement in U.S.-Vietnamese relations, as Matt Steinglass report from Hanoi.
　

US Assistant Secretary of State for Political Military Affairs Mark Kimmitt (L) speaks during news conference in Hanoi as Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh listens, 06 Oct 2008

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Mark Kimmitt says the talks in Hanoi touched on a wide range of security affairs.

"Primarily peacekeeping, military assistance, security assistance, potential arms transactions, [that are] lethal², [and] non-lethal, and a host of other issues of mutual³ concern," he said.

Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh calls the talks, which ended Monday, productive.

Minh says the dialogue helped contribute to the strengthening of ties between Vietnam and the U.S.

The Vietnamese military has asked the U.S. to supply spare parts for its American-made helicopters, leftovers⁴ from the Vietnam War. The two governments also discussed integrating Vietnamese soldiers into United Nations peacekeeping operations, and American military help with disaster relief in Vietnam.

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense James Clad, who was also at the talks, says Washington simply wants to develop the same kind of military cooperation with Vietnam that it already has with other countries in the region.

"It would be incorrect to cast it is as something very bilateral⁵. We have, for example, routine exchanges with the Malaysians, with the Indonesians, with the Filipinos, with the Thais. And I think as a large ASEAN country, Vietnam is more and more coming into that world," he said.

Experts generally see the growing U.S.-Vietnamese security relationship as an effort by both to balance rising Chinese power. China and Vietnam have a dispute over the ownership of two island groups in the South China Sea which may hold rich undersea oil deposits.

But Clad says the U.S. wants Vietnam and China to have good relations, to promote regional stability.

Martin Gainsborough, a Vietnam expert at Bristol University in Britain, says the talks carry promise for Vietnam, but also domestic political risks.

"Individual leaders that are, in a sense, fronting this dialogue - they have to be careful personally that they're not seen as leaning too heavily toward the U.S. Again, not least because of the relationship with China," he said.

The two sides hope to make the talks an annual event. The next meeting is scheduled for autumn 2009 in Washington.

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

3 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

4 leftovers   

n.剩余物，残留物，剩菜

参考例句：

• He can do miracles with a few kitchen leftovers.他能用厨房里几样剩饭做出一顿美餐。
• She made supper from leftovers she had thrown together.她用吃剩的食物拼凑成一顿晚饭。

5 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。