U.S. Aircraft Carrier Heads to Vietnam, With a Message for China<br />“The U. S. is virtually the last man standing to which Hanoi can look for support in the South China Sea dispute.”<br />Although the United States is not a claimant in the maritime dispute, the Navy portrays its deployments in the South China Sea as important to ensuring maritime security and nurturing the conditions<br />that have led to Asia’s post-World War II economic expansion.<br />“We hope to continue the same issue that we’ve always had,” he said, “and that’s to promote security, stability and prosperity in the region.”<br />The arrival of the Carl Vinson strike group’s 5,500 sailors will mark the first time such a large contingent of<br />American soldiers has landed on Vietnamese soil since the last of the United States troops withdrew in 1975.<br />“Hanoi’s agreement to the aircraft carrier visit demonstrates Vietnam’s anxiety about what China will do next in the South China<br />Sea,” said Murray Hiebert, senior associate of the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.<br />By HANNAH BEECHMARCH 4, 2018<br />BANGKOK — For the first time since the end of the Vietnam War, a United States aircraft carrier is scheduled to make a port call in Vietnam<br />on Monday, signaling how China’s rise is bringing together former foes in a significant shift in the region’s geopolitical landscape.<br />“It’s a pretty big and historic step, since a carrier has not been here for 40 years,” said Rear Adm.<br />John V. Fuller, the commander of the Carl Vinson strike group, whose father served in Vietnam.
