Posted on 03/02/2018 12:51:06 AM PST by cba123
The US navy is to dock in the Vietnamese coastal city of Danang in March, in the first visit of an American aircraft carrier to the country since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975.
The USS Carl Vinson will arrive in Vietnam during the navy's multinational disaster response exercises in the Indo-Pacific region, but its presence is also being widely perceived as an attempt to counter China's military influence in Asian waters, where the East and South China Seas are the scenes of escalating territorial disputes.
Vietnam, which borders China, has long resisted its power and influence, but Beijing's insistence that it controls almost all of the South China Sea has threatened competing territorial claims, including from Hanoi.
China's assertion has also challenged US naval supremacy in the western Pacific, prompting Washington to attempt to woo Asian allies with the idea of closer military ties.
US aircraft carriers were a common sight off the coast of Vietnam in 1960s and 1970s, during the war. Relations between the two nations were normalised in 1995 and Washington lifted an embargo on weapons sales to Hanoi in 2016.
(please see full article at the link)
(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...
Full article is headlined:
US aircraft carrier to dock in Vietnam for first time since 1975 amid tension over China’s rising sea power
There probably will be a good number of American tourists and retirees (now Vietnam residents) there to greet it, too.
I understand it is a pretty popular destination.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g298085-Da_Nang_Quang_Nam_Province-Vacations.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Da_Nang
Danang ping....
From Europe now to Vietnam, you can buy a round-trip ticket for about $800. If you had suggested to me that Europeans would be making it into a vacation destination a decade ago...I would have laughed. But I’ve seen travel documentaries and understand the draw.
My cousin is a Nam vet, and went back about five years ago. In the 1970s...it would have never happened.
China built a series of islands off the coast of the Philippines and has established a military outpost there.
President Duterte of the Philippines is a badass mofo and takes no jit from anyone and IMO, is about as best bud with Trump as a foreign leader CAN be.
We'd do well to be on high alert.
I get tears in my eyes every time I visit the Vietnam Memorial. I’m not sure I could ever set foot in Vietnam.
BFL reading
I used to guard US Navy Destroyers and Cruisers in Danang harbor on a 45 foot gunboat back in 1968. They’d anchor to provide gunfire support for the Marines most nights. You want to be a long way away behind 8 inch naval rifles when they fire. Lol.
I have no animosity against the Vietnamese for the war and wish them well. I understand how people can still be upset about it but personally I’ve let it go. Life’s too short to stay upset over things you can’t change. We should cultivate Vietnam as an ally against the Chinese. The Viets certainly have no love for China.
“We are friends with Eastasia. We have always been friends with Eastasia.”
The world is a crazy place.
One of my sons is a member of the Carl Vinson crew this time around.
Prayers for the continued safety of ship and crew...
I understand. But know Vietnam is now two entire GENERATIONS after the war.
Nobody here talks about it any more.
And Vietnamese really, really, really seem to be completely without racism.
Maybe the first place I have ever felt that. Anywhere.
I lived in China pretty early. I did not really get that there. I really haven’t experienced that anywhere else. Every country has racism of some sort.
I thought.
I do not sense it here. I just do not.
From anyone. Ever.
I guess it’s me. I entered the USN (71-75) at the tail end of the war. Never went over...just saw the decimated A5 squadrons return. Even then, I was just a fun-loving sailor bent on having a good time. The war was on the other side of the world. But now, it kills me to think about the loss of American lives, the traitors in our own country (think Walter Cronkite, Jane Fonda, the hordes of left-wing protesters burning/bombing US buildings), the fact that we lost the war, the anti-Americanism of today that blossomed back then, etc.
I understand the draw you have for the Vietnam. My last duty station was Sigonella, Sicily. I love the place, the people, the culture. I’ve been back a number of times, even joining an organization that supports the study of the Sicilian culture and language. I would retire there if the wife would let me.
That’s interesting about the lack of racism there. I wish there was more of that here (less racism). It’s ripping America apart.
I appreciate the “on the ground” report. Take care.
Thanks for your post.
Right back at you.
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