UPDATE: New visit by the US Navy

US combat ship to make rare port call in Vietnam amid South China Sea tensions
24/06/23 10:29
HANOI, June 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan will stop at Central Vietnam's port city of Danang on Sunday in a rare visit for a U.S. warship to the southeast Asian nation, as tensions with Beijing in the South China Sea remain high.

The ship will arrive on Sunday afternoon and stay at Danang until June 30, local media reported the spokesperson for Vietnam's foreign affairs ministry as saying. The spokesperson did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

The visit of the USS Ronald Reagan is only the third for a U.S. aircraft carrier since the end of the Vietnam War.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt stopped in Vietnam in 2020 to mark 25 years since the Vietnam War ended in 1975.

This year Washington is seeking to upgrade its formal ties with Vietnam, amid Hanoi's frequent disputes with Beijing over boundaries in the South China Sea. China claims the waters almost in their entirety, including the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam and other countries in the region.
- FRESH NEWS