- US combat ship to make rare port call in Vietnam amid South China Sea tensions

The U.S. atomic-powered carrier Ronald Reagan will visit Central Vietnam’s port city of Danang on Sunday in an infrequent trip for a U.S. warship to the southeast Asian nation, as tensions with Beijing in the South China Sea remain elevated. The vessel will arrive on Sunday afternoon and remain at Danang until June 30, local media reported the spokesperson for Vietnam’s foreign affairs ministry as saying. The spokesperson did not reply to RushHourDaily’ requests for comment. The visit of the USS Ronald Reagan is only the third for a U.S. aircraft carrier since the conclusion of the Vietnam War. The USS Theodore Roosevelt stopped in Vietnam in 2020 to commemorate 25 years since the Vietnam War ended in 1975. This year Washington is seeking to enhance its formal ties with Vietnam, amid Hanoi’s frequent disputes with Beijing over boundaries in the South China Sea. China claims the waters almost in their entirety, including the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam and other countries in the region. U.S. carriers frequently cross the energy-rich sea, which contains crucial routes for global trade. The warships are often shadowed by Chinese vessels. On Wednesday, the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong and a group of escorting vessels sailed south through the sensitive Taiwan Strait, Taiwan’s defence ministry said. Reporting by Francesco Guarascio. Our Standards: The Thomson RushHourDaily Trust Principles.