US aircraft carrier to visit Vietnam in post-war first

HANOI: In a post-war first, the United States is poised to send an aircraft carrier to Vietnam in March, officials of both sides said on Thursday, dramatic evidence of deepening military ties between them, more than four decades after the Vietnam War.

The announcement came during a two-day visit to Hanoi by US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis that had been expected to focus on shared concerns about China. The proposed visit is set for March at the central port of Danang, Vietnam´s defence ministry said in a statement.

Such a visit by a US aircraft carrier could bring the most US forces to Vietnam since the conflict ended in 1975.Mattis cheered the planned port visit during talks with Nguyen Phu Trong, the general secretary of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam.

"Thank you for the increasing partnership, with our aircraft carrier coming into Danang here in March," Mattis said. Captain Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, confirmed the carrier visit was discussed by Mattis and Defence Minister Ngo Xuan Lich, and Vietnam´s defence ministry was seeking final approvals from national leaders. "We expect it will be approved," Davis said. The arrival of a US aircraft carrier in Vietnam will be welcomed by an emerging network of countries that are nervously eyeing China´s military rise, particularly its assertive stance and island-building activities in the South China Sea. The busy waterway is a vital global trade route linking Northeast Asia with the Middle East and Europe.

In particular, the militaries of US, Japan, India and Australia are working more closely together as a "quad" of liberal democracies across what they now term the "Indo-Pacific" – moves driven by mistrust of China.

US Pacific Commander Admiral Harry Harris last week described China as a "disruptive transitional force in the Indo-Pacific" after meetings with Japanese and Indian military leaders in New Delhi.

India, Japan and Australia have all boosted military relations with Vietnam in recent years, with New Delhi providing advanced training for its emerging submarine forces and jet fighter pilots. Thursday´s confirmation of the US aircraft carrier visit to Danang caps months of back room military diplomacy between Hanoi and the Pentagon, diplomats said.