Vice President Kamala Harris’s trip to Asia hit a snag Tuesday, as officials looked into a possible case of Havana Syndrome in Vietnam. The video above shows Vice President Harris in Singapore before heading to Vietnam.
Her flight was delayed several hours after a possible case was reported in Hanoi. Eventually, officials deemed it safe for Harris to continue the trip.
The Havana Syndrome is the name for a rash of mysterious health incidents reported in the Cuba capital first reported in 2016. The U.S. government uses “anomalous health incident” to describe it. Some people who have had it say they heard a loud piercing sound and felt intense pressure in the face. Other symptoms include pain, nausea, and dizziness.
There have been two cases of unexplained health incidents reported by U.S. personnel in Vietnam within the past week, according to officials. It was not immediately clear who was impacted by the syndrome. Officials did say it was not someone who worked for the vice president or the White House.
Unexplained health ailments have also been reported by Americans serving in other countries, including Germany, Austria, Russia and China. A variety of theories have been floated to explain the incidents. These included targeted microwaves or sonic attack, which could be part of an espionage or hacking effort.
The trip delay came after Harris gave a speech in Singapore Tuesday. In part of the speech, she went after China for its incursions into the South China Sea.
“Beijing’s actions continue to undermine the rules-based order and threaten the sovereignty of nations,” Harris said. “The United States stands with our allies and partners in the face of these threats.”
While in Singapore, Harris also held a discussion on supply chain issues with business leaders.
“A large part of the emphasis for me and in the discussion was about what it means in terms of the needs of families but also the needs of workers,” Harris said to reporters. “So there was a great deal of conversation also about workplace safety and what do we do to protect workers in the context of, for example, COVID, where we have production lines and we want to make sure that yes, the production continues but not at the expense of workers’ safety and worker health.”
