Today, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday met Vietnam’s Chief of Navy Rear Adm. Tran Thanh Nghiem aboard the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopter destroyer JS Izumo (DDH-183) in the Pacific Ocean, as part of his trip to the Indo-Pacific region to attend the International Fleet Review and Western Pacific Naval Symposium. 

The two leaders discussed the vital role of naval forces and interoperability in an era of strategic competition. Gilday shared the U.S. Navy’s commitment to building regional security and partnerships. 

U.S. and Vietnamese naval forces regularly operate together. Notably, both navies participated in exercise Pacific Partnership this year, the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific. 

This was the first meeting between the Gilday and Nghiem.