Vietnam has criticised a US Supreme Court decision not to hear appeals by Agent Orange victims describing the decision as unfortunate for the development of bilateral ties and as a denial of the effects of the chemicals.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Le Dung also called on the chemical manufacturers being sued to uphold their "legal, spiritual and moral responsibility, joining efforts to resolve the consequences" of the chemicals, Vietnam News reported today.
On Monday the US Supreme Court let stand the dismissal by an appeals court in New York of lawsuits by Vietnamese nationals and US military veterans against Dow Chemical Co, Monsanto Co and other chemical makers over the use of the herbicide Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.
"With this decision the US Supreme Court has denied the serious effects of Agent Orange and dioxin sprayed by the US army during the war in Vietnam on the environment and health of the Vietnamese people," Le Dung was quoted as saying.
"It is unfortunate that the US Supreme Court has put forth this groundless decision at a time when the Vietnam-US relationship is developing positively and the US government has effectively co-operated with Vietnam to overcome the consequences of the use of Agent Orange and dioxin in Vietnam."
In 1984, seven chemical companies, including Dow and Monsanto, agreed to a $180 million settlement with US veterans who claimed Agent Orange, which was dropped to clear thick jungle in parts of southern Vietnam, caused health problems.
In one of the cases dismissed by the US Supreme Court, Vietnamese nationals sought class-action status for millions of Vietnamese people, saying the companies should be held liable for supplying the US military with Agent Orange for use as a defoliant, in violation of international law.
US warplanes dropped about 18 million gallons of the defoliant on southern Vietnam for most of the 1960s. The defoliant released dioxins that have been blamed for health problems in people exposed.
The United States has maintained there is no scientifically proven link between the wartime spraying and the claims of dioxin poisoning by more than 3 million people in Vietnam.
Reuters