US aircraft carrier Carl Vinson has been in Vietnamese waters off the port city of Da Nang since Monday, marking the first port call by a US carrier to the Southeast Asian nation since the Vietnam War.
Da Nang was a major US staging area during the war.
Also in the nuclear-powered Nimitz-class carrier’s strike group are two escort ships, cruiser USS Lake Champlain and destroyer USS Wayne E Meyer.
Top leaders from the United States and Vietnam discussed the possibility of an aircraft-carrier visit last year as part of an effort to further defense relations, the US Third Fleet’s command and control said in a statement.
Hanoi and Washington have been careful not to link the symbolic visit, part of a scheduled deployment in the Indo-Pacific region, to Beijing’s adamant claims of sovereignty over islets and atolls in the South China Sea, but ironically it is disapproving Chinese media that have been tracking the slew of exchanges taking place throughout the carrier’s five-day visit.
Beijing’s displeasure was inevitable, but its official response has been that the trip is unlikely to stir up trouble in the South China Sea.
“The South China Sea may be a good place to flex muscles, but it is primarily comprehensive strength that shapes the geopolitics there.… The US is free to send warships to the South China Sea, like the ongoing visit by Carl Vinson, which will only waste money,” said an op-ed in the party mouthpiece People’s Daily on Wednesday.
Even as US-Vietnamese military cooperation is being lifted to a new level, it “won’t embolden Hanoi to act as a US outpost to confront Beijing,” said the article, as it has long been Hanoi’s strategic vision to “simultaneously develop ties with Beijing and Washington.”
China’s Foreign Ministry said no country wanted geopolitical turbulence and the region had gradually “sorted out its thoughts” in handling disputes after an international arbitration initiated by Manila ruled in favor of the Philippines, which Beijing shunned at the outset.
That said, China Daily acknowledged the concern that Hanoi may be tempted to use its amicable ties with Washington as leverage to drum up resistance to Beijing’s increasing sway in the South China Sea, now that the ideological camaraderie between the two communist regimes has become thinner than ever and now that Hanoi has been fighting a lone battle after Manila became reconciled with Beijing last year.
Still, the strain is more “at the psychological level” and will not have any effect if “Beijing ignores it,” said the op-ed, adding that Beijing has the capability of “militarizing the cays, reefs and shoals of the Nansha Islands overnight.”
The Nansha archipelago is more commonly known as the Spratly Islands, which are subject to conflicting claims by Hanoi and Beijing.
Carl Vinson’s crew will share with their Vietnamese counterparts technical expertise in water and electricity supply, response to disasters, and personnel training on aircraft and in several local venues before leaving Vietnam on Friday, according to VietNamNet Online.
Nido Migriño
Vietnam fought for its freedom and will always do so!
The visit by the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson is long overdue. Many US servicemen that are veterans of the Vietnam War have now returned to this country to live their lives there in retirement. The war was a tragedy. We can now rectify that by building a strong friendship. Definetly a good sign for the region.
I kind of laugh at how people just trash talk with no sense, politics is something no one understand, truth is linden jhonson has something to do with assasination of kennedy bec he was power hungry and he ragged a war on veitnam killing 1 million and destroying a whole country for show along with 65000 US soldiers and refused to stop until he had no choice, super powers play chess with each other and the biggest looser is the people.
Richard Caroll, If the war start between China and the US and its allies, within 3 month the most China will be occupied just like the old day. China does look big but it is nothing.
I do not look down on China, however if there is war between the west and China, I can quaranty, within three months China will be occupied again by, foreign force. Just remember, China look big but it is hollow, their arm force is not for the nation of China but communist party. China need to do some catching up first.
The USS Carl Vinson should or must have a base in the Philippines, Subic & Palawan. Now China is wasting their money on the islers of the Philippines.
Iam from Philippines we expect that the US will do something about south China sea issue we file a case against China after we win the case but where is the US where is the Defense treaty that our both country had sign that is why Philippines now is going to China now to talk and return a good relation as a neigbhor as a filipino cetizen we disappointed to the US commitment
Richard Caroll idiot not let the bom decide use yr briano.
Excuse my french
Mon Mah, using a VPN, buddy? I thought your nation outlawed that; or is that only for those who don’t troll the internet for them? Come on man, you know you barbarians would not have paid a dime to incarcerate anyone… you just take their blood type and harvest their organs.
tHE COMING TALKS BET. THE SOUTH KOREA AND THE NORTH ABOUT ACHIEVING PEACE IS THE MOST ADMIRABLE TASK OF THESE TWO COUNTRIES IN FULFILLING THE GOAL OF PEACE .
richard caroll ,, ASAP
You would have done that in the EP-3 incident if you had the means to do so. Why didn’t you?
No establishment is more corrupt than the swamp that the Donald us trying to drain and clean out. Just look at the dirty stuffs they use to try and bring the Donald down. UNBELUEVABLE. PLAIN UNBELIEVABLE. I hope the deal he’s going to make with the NORKS is a goid one and tgat he (Don) can throw it at the faces of the swamp which is trying to swallow him anywhuchway they can.
Jay Foust
Colapse of Soviet Union:
The credit goes to Mao, Nixon, and the Mujihadines of Afghanistan mostly. Star Wars "director" by Ronald Reagan also played a part. You also needs to Thank President Gorbachev, because without the guy, the USSR would still be going strong today.
Thanks, Gorby. You solved our (China’s) USSR problem anyway if whute nans of the West won’t guve you any credit.
Our month long blitz was like Operation enduring freedom. It was in response to constant Vietnamese shelling and commando raids into southern China on orders Leonid Brezhnev of course, who was Vietnam’s insurance agent at the time.
Another month, if the shellings and commando raids don’t stop, we would be all the way to the outskirts of Hanoi. Scary isn’t it? And, they dudn’t tell you that part did they?
As for the KIA’s that war. It was dramatically inflated first by the USSR who was China’s sworn enemy at the time, Vietnam of course went along with the count because they can’t very well have Chinese troopes camped outside of Hanoi can they? The US of course exploited the situation and adopted the Russian count. Reason: America got kicked out. It’s p face was at stake.
As a war strategy, China’s rule of thumb is to never divulge on their casualtues large or small. Ten percent of the deemed casualties is just about right and — reasonable.
Face is one thing. But reality is quite another. Vietnamese casualties should be half what’s reported. The inflated amount was aimed at inducing Vietnamese patriotism and nationalism.
David Glazener
C’mon!!! You taking me for a single celled specimen from one of Darwin’s labs??? How dare you! 😉 I reproduce Bisexually while Darwin reproduced asexual. 😉 Apples and oranges.
And, please excuse me, but, I was pushed into the gulf of Tongking by Giap and his merry mens for not enlisting as cannon fodder and the trade winds blew me to the West. I never asked to be a part of the Garden of Eden.
End if Charles Darwin story. 😉
dats tru
Bunch of racist chinese on this comment section, they forget vietnam invited the Us