aircraft carrier

The Global Times said Beijing is “unhappy” with the visit of a US aircraft carrier to a Vietnamese port and is monitoring developments. But the USS Carl Vinson’s visit is unlikely to alter the balance of power in the South China Sea, which China claims in its entirety and has been fortifying with military structures on man-made islands; the visit “will not generate any special tools to pressure China”, while the US sending warships to the South China Sea will “only waste money”, Global Times  said.

 Vice-Admiral Phillip Sawyer, commander of the US 7th Fleet, said the port call was a sign of the United States’ commitment to the region and US-Vietnam ties. The visit by the USS Carl Vinson with more than 5,000 crew marks the largest US military presence in Vietnam since the Southeast Asian nation was unified under Communist leadership after the war ended in 1975.