Vietnam
Country Spotlight
Vietnam is not known to have ever developed biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons. Since the Vietnam War, it has been vocal in supporting the complete elimination of chemical weapons and signed the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1993. Vietnam possesses a limited missile arsenal but does not indigenously produce them.
See Vietnam's performance in
Region East Asia and the Pacific
2013 High enriched uranium reserves transferred to Russia
11 million Gallons of Agent Orange herbicide used by U.S. forces during Vietnam War
2014 Signed a 123 bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement with the U.S. which expires in 2044
Nuclear
- Is a member of Treaty of Bangkok, which established a nuclear weapon-free zone in Southeast Asia
- Adopted a nuclear energy law in 2008 as a legal framework for nuclear activities
- In December 2024, the Vietnamese National Assembly approved the restart of work on the Ninh Thuận nuclear power plant to be completed by 2030, after initially shelving the project in 2016
- Signed a partnership agreement with Russia aimed at helping to improve Vietnam’s nuclear energy development, and is currently continuing to pursue other partnerships with countries such as Japan and France
Biological
- Has never possessed a biological weapons capability
- Party to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety
- Submitted a working paper on "ASEAN Member States’ Perspective on International Cooperation and Assistance Under the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction (BWC)" to the BWC Second Session of the Working Group on Strengthening the Convention in 2023.
Missile
- Possesses Scud ballistic missiles acquired from the USSR and North Korea and has sought upgrades from international partners
- Unveiled domestically-produced VCM-01 anti-ship cruise missile based on Russian design in 2020
- Possesses surface-to-air missile systems
- Is currently in talks with India to purchase BrahMos antiship missiles for $700 million
Chemical
- Has never possessed an offensive chemical weapons capability and supports their universal elimination
- Was subjected to herbicide attacks from the U.S. between 1962 and 1971, though these are not considered chemical weapons by the OPCW
Treaties and Regimes Memberships
Analysis
on Vietnam
NTI Nuclear Materials Security Index: Building a Framework for Assurance, Accountability and Action
Education Center