He also said they stood united in commitments to freedom of navigation and the rule of law – a reference to regional maritime disputes with China.
Recalling his address to the UN assembly on Tuesday, Biden added: “There’s nothing beyond our capacity if we work together.”
Lam spoke at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday and his travels include a stop in Cuba, Vietnam’s long-term Communist partner.
Ahead of his trip, Vietnamese authorities released some prominent activists from prison before the end of their jail terms, sources told Reuters.
They included Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, who was sentenced to 16 years in prison in January 2010 on charges of subversion, and environment activist Hoang Thi Minh Hong, who was sentenced to three years in prison on charges of tax fraud in September last year, but other dissidents remain in detention.
Sources told Reuters that the United States has been urging Vietnam to avoid Chinese companies in its plans to build 10 new undersea cables by 2030.
