US destroyer visits Vietnam for war game

The US destroyer USJohn S. McCain anchors at Tien Sa port in Vietnam's central costal city of Danang. Photo: AFP

By Zhang Wen

A US warship docked Tuesday in central Vietnam in a sign of growing military ties between the former foes, reports said Tuesday.

The destroyer USJohn S. McCain, making a call at the central port city of Danang with a crew of around 270 sailors, arrived for a four-day program with the Vietnamese navy, AFP reported.

Bloomberg cited a naval source as saying that the visit is to mark the 15-year anniversary of normalized relations between the two countries.

The visit will feature "the first-ever training exchanges with the Vietnamese navy on damage control, emergency repairs and fire fighting," AFP quoted Mike Morley, the ship's public affairs officer, as saying Tuesday.

Jeffrey Kim, commanding officer of the destroyer, said the visit had been "planned for several months and is not coincidental to any events."

Just a day before the visit, the aircraft carrier USGeorge Washington, which recently took part in military exercises with South Korea that were denounced by Beijing, hosted a Vietnamese military delegation in the South China Sea off Danang.

Recent activities and comments from the US side regarding to the South China Sea were seen by many as the US returning to the region.

The Financial Times reported Monday that during the presidency of George W. Bush, some Asian governments felt that the US had lost interest in the region. Whether this impression was justified, the US is not packing its bags any time soon.

"The recent military exchanges between the US and Vietnam suggested that the US wants to turn some Southeast Asia countries into new allies in a bid to counter China's growing influence in the region, as well as extend its own presence in Southeast Asia," Peng Guangqian, a military strategist with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Academy of Military Sciences, told the Global Times.

Separately, the Xinhua News Agency cited General Liao Xilong of the PLA as saying Monday that China is hoping to expand its cooperation with the Australian armed forces to push bilateral military ties to a new level.

Agencies, Pang Yi contributed to this story