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 ballistic 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
- Constructing two nuclear power plants in Ninh Thuận province to be completed by 2030, after initially shelving the project in 2016
- Signed agreements in 2025 with Russia and Japan on nuclear energy cooperation, and Russia plans to construct a nuclear power plant in Vietnam
Biological
- Has never possessed a biological weapons capability
- Party to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety
Missile
- Possesses Scud ballistic missiles acquired from the USSR and North Korea and has sought upgrades from international partners
- Developing anti-ship cruise missiles and possesses surface-to-air missile systems
- Plans to purchase BrahMos anti-ship cruise missiles from India 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