U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Commanders Visit Vietnam

By Vuong Duc Anh March 18, 2016 | 03:21 am PT

Commander of the United States Pacific Fleet and Marine Corps in Pacific, Admiral Scott H. Swift and Lieutenant General John A. Toolan, are on a three-day visit to Vietnam from March 17 – 19 which involves meetings with a number of Navy senior officers as part of activities to strengthen the U.S – Vietnam naval relationships, according to U.S. Embassy in Hanoi.

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On March 18 morning, Admiral Swift has met with General Do Ba Ty, Chief of Staff of the Vietnam People 's Army. Ty said that the Vietnam holds the comprehensive partnership with the US in high regards, especially in naval cooperation, according to VNA.

Joining with Admiral Swift was Lieutenant General John A. Toolan, Commander of the U.S. Marine Corps in Pacific. Both commanders have also met with Rear Admiral Pham Hoai Nam, the Commander of the Vietnam People's Navy, along with other officials in Hanoi and Hai Phong.

Talking about the purpose of the trip, Admiral Swift said: "As the first joint visit to Vietnam by both U.S. Navy and Marine Corps commanders in the Pacific for many decades, this trip was an excellent opportunity to meet with our Vietnam People’s Navy partners and explore ways to bring our naval forces together more often during ship visits and exchanges".

"Our naval forces share a commitment to a rules-based international order and to maritime security and stability in ways that benefit the rising prosperity of all regional countries”, he added.

The visit was among the activities which aim to deepen the bilateral naval relationship of U.S. and Vietnam as part of the U.S.-Vietnam Comprehensive Partnership and the Joint Vision Statement on Defense Relations signed by Secretary of Defense Carter and Minister of Defense Phung Quang Thanh on June 2015.

U.S. and Vietnamese naval forces interact regularly during staff talks, port visits and professional exchanges such as the Pacific Partnership mission and bilateral Naval Engagement Activity (NEA) held in Da Nang province each year.