Weekly News 31/7 - 5/8
01/08/2018
05/03/2018
The first visit by a US aircraft carrier in four decades is "not of military focus", but will see "cultural exchanges" between local experts and US sailors, said a US navy spokesman.
As the USS Carl Vinson docks at Danang port today (Mar 5) – the first time a United States navy aircraft carrier is visiting Vietnam in 40 years since the end of the Vietnam War – it will mark a further step in closer cooperation between the two nations, said a navy spokesperson.
Lieutenant Commander Tim Hawkins stressed that the historic port call was strictly “routine” in its objectives, and an opportunity for both nations to “learn from one another”.
These engagements will see a total of 300 Vietnamese experts in engineering, firefighting, culinary, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, medical and academia, boarding the USS Carl Vinson for two hours to “engage sailors, receive a tour and have a conversation”.
Read more at Channel NewsAsia
Click here for updated South China Sea news
The 3rd event in the Ocean Dialogue series focused on recent developments in the South China Sea from a legal perspective and how stakeholders could cooperate to manage disputes in the region.
Vietnam asks China, as a large nation in the region and the world, to perform its responsibility in maintaining peace and stability in the East Sea, stated Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang on May 8.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull asserted the right of the Australian navy to travel the South China Sea, after local media reported three Australian warships were challenged by the Chinese navy earlier this month.
Disclosure comes as Chinese military conducts what U.S. officials describe as its largest military exercise to date in South China Sea.
China and Vietnam vowed on Sunday (Apr 1) to keep the peace in the South China Sea, the resource-rich waterway that has long been a source of tension between Hanoi and its powerhouse communist neighbour.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano hailed a “golden period” in ties with China on Wednesday despite differences over the South China Sea as the countries discussed how they might conduct joint development projects in the disputed waters.
