seruriermarshal
07-08-2004, 06:24 AM
US warship to visit Vietnam later this month
HANOI (AFP) Jul 08, 2004
A US Navy warship will dock in Vietnam later this month in only the second port call by an American military vessel since the Vietnam War ended three decades ago, the government here said Thursday.
Vietnamese foreign ministry spokesman Le Dung said the ship would visit the central city of Danang. He declined to give a specific date or say how long it would remain in port.
"At present the two sides are holding discussions and getting prepared for the arrival of the ship," he told reporters.
A US embassy spokesman declined to comment on the announcement.
US-Vietnam military relations were kickstarted in November last year with a landmark trip by Vietnamese Defence Minister Pham Van Tra to Washington for talks with his US counterpart Donald Rumsfeld.
Three years in the making, it was the first visit by the head of the communist nation's military since the US-backed Saigon regime capitulated on April 30, 1975 to the North Vietnamese onslaught.
Less than two weeks after Tra's Washington foray, the frigate USS Vandegrift made an historic port call in the former South Vietnamese capital, now called Ho Chi Minh City.
More than 58,000 Americans and about three million Vietnamese died during the Vietnam War.
US-Vietnam diplomatic relations were only formalised in 1995 and five years later the two countries signed a bilateral trade pact. Relations, however, between the former foes remain strained at times.
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From (http://www.spacewar.com/2004/040708092009.fexpv7i1.html)
HANOI (AFP) Jul 08, 2004
A US Navy warship will dock in Vietnam later this month in only the second port call by an American military vessel since the Vietnam War ended three decades ago, the government here said Thursday.
Vietnamese foreign ministry spokesman Le Dung said the ship would visit the central city of Danang. He declined to give a specific date or say how long it would remain in port.
"At present the two sides are holding discussions and getting prepared for the arrival of the ship," he told reporters.
A US embassy spokesman declined to comment on the announcement.
US-Vietnam military relations were kickstarted in November last year with a landmark trip by Vietnamese Defence Minister Pham Van Tra to Washington for talks with his US counterpart Donald Rumsfeld.
Three years in the making, it was the first visit by the head of the communist nation's military since the US-backed Saigon regime capitulated on April 30, 1975 to the North Vietnamese onslaught.
Less than two weeks after Tra's Washington foray, the frigate USS Vandegrift made an historic port call in the former South Vietnamese capital, now called Ho Chi Minh City.
More than 58,000 Americans and about three million Vietnamese died during the Vietnam War.
US-Vietnam diplomatic relations were only formalised in 1995 and five years later the two countries signed a bilateral trade pact. Relations, however, between the former foes remain strained at times.
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From (http://www.spacewar.com/2004/040708092009.fexpv7i1.html)