During the war, U.S. forces used defoliants to deprive North Vietnamese forces of cover. These defoliants were sprayed over forests in Vietnam and resulted in significant harm to civilians. The most infamous defoliant used during the war was called Agent Orange, a mixture of 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D in a 1:1 ratio. Over a million people in Vietnam developed major illnesses due to exposure to Agent Orange after the war.
The use of defoliants has been banned against civilian populations since 1980, but its effects on civilians during the Vietnam War were significant. The substance burns, spreads easily, and sticks to surfaces, with its effects famously captured in a photo taken by Nick Ut in 1972.
Britain was the first country to use defoliants as a weapon of war during the Malayan Emergency. They created a substance similar to Agent Orange that also contained a toxin called dioxin, which was responsible for the Seveso disaster of 1976. Alongside Agent Orange, the U.S. developed a mixture of cacodylic acid, sodium cacodylate, and water to destroy rice plants, as they were difficult to destroy even with fire.
At a U.N. conference in June 1972, Olof Palme described the effects of defoliants in Vietnam as “ecocide” and advocated for it to be designated an international crime.
A Vietnamese flag can be seen flying atop the State Bank building near Vietcombank and Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam buildings on November 23rd 2017