DANANG, VIETNAM (AP): Three US Navy ships were welcomed by former foe Vietnam for joint training, despite China's irritation following weeks of fiery exchanges between the communist neighbours over disputed areas of the South China Sea.
US and Vietnamese officials have stressed that the seven-day ship visit and naval training are part of routine exchanges planned long before tensions began flaring between China and Vietnam in late May. China has criticized the port call as inappropriate, saying it should have been rescheduled due to the ongoing squabble.
The US visit, however, did send a message that the Navy remains a formidable maritime force in the region and is determined to build stronger military ties with smaller Southeast Asian countries.
"We've had a presence in the Western Pacific and the South China Sea for 50 to 60 years, even going back before World War II," Rear Adm. Tom Carney, who's leading the naval exchange, told reporters Friday. "We will maintain a presence in the Western Pacific and the South China Sea as we have for decades, and we have no intention of departing from that kind of activity."
He spoke on the pier in central Danang, once home to a bustling US military base during the Vietnam War, in front of the diving and salvage ship USNS Safeguard. American and Vietnamese flags flapped in the steamy air from the ship, and two guided missile destroyers USS Chung-Hoon and USS Preble were visible off the coast.
Three US ships in Vietnam for joint exercise
Article Posted on : - Jul 16, 2011
Other Related News
Come up with ideas, products that become necessity of armed forces: Defence Minister
Defence Minster Rajnath Singh has exhorted the defence industry stakeholders and innovators to come up with new ideas and translate them into products, so that the Armed Forces would feel that they were incomplete without these equipment.
The Indian Air Force, in its flight trials evaluation report submitted before the Defence Ministry l..
view articleAn insight into the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft competition...
view articleSky enthusiasts can now spot the International Space Station (ISS) commanded by Indian-American astr..
view article