HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam said a U.S. Supreme Court decision not to hear appeals by Agent Orange victims was unfortunate for the development of bilateral ties, and said the court was denying 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 on Wednesday. On Monday the Supreme Court let stand the dismissal by an appeals court in New York of lawsuits by Vietnamese nationals and U.S. 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 U.S. Supreme Court has denied the serious effects of Agent Orange and dioxin sprayed by the U.S. 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 U.S. Supreme Court has put forth this groundless decision at a time when the Vietnam-U.S. relationship is developing positively and the U.S. government has effectively cooperated 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 U.S. 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 U.S. Supreme Court, Vietnamese nationals sought class-action status for millions of Vietnamese people, saying the companies should be held liable for supplying the U.S. military with Agent Orange for use as a defoliant, in violation of international law.
U.S. 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.
(Reporting by John Ruwitch; Editing by Alan Raybould and Sanjeev Miglani)
