![]() During the Vietnam War of the 1960s and 1970s, a U.S. “Cam Ranh Bay is closer in proximity than are any of the bases in the Philippines.”Īlong with Manila Bay, the port is considered one of the great natural harbors in Southeast Asia. Navy to operate out of the bay, the United States “would have prime real estate from which to challenge China in both the Paracel and Spratly islands,” Derek Grossman, senior defense analyst at Rand Corp., told FORUM. Navy vessels have visited Cam Ranh Bay over the past decade. naval visits to Cam Ranh Bay in the country’s southeast, marking a reversal of decades of policy, a defense expert contends. government statistics.įormer Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called access to the expansive deepwater port, which can accommodate aircraft carriers, a “key component” of U.S.-Vietnam relations, during a 2012 visit aboard the Military Sealift Command’s USNS Richard Byrd.Vietnam’s growing concerns over tension in the South China Sea may soon result in increased U.S. trade passes through the South China Sea annually, according to U.S. ![]() considers part of the global commons.Ībout $1.2 trillion in U.S. China maintains an ambiguous claim to about 90 percent of the South China Sea, including waters the U.S. doesn’t take a position on any of the islands’ ultimate sovereignty, it maintains that the international waters surrounding them must remain open to navigation for all. In recent years, Chinese fishing and coast guard vessels have clashed with Vietnamese boats over rights to waters near the islands, resulting in multiple ramming incidents at sea.Īlthough the U.S. ![]() The port lies about 200 miles from parts of the Paracel and Spratly island chains, which remain in dispute among multiple nations in the region. ![]() Stars and Stripes special report: Vietnam at 50 Vietnam spent millions of dollars on upgrades at the port, now called Cam Ranh International Port, following an unveiling earlier this year. ![]()
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