HANOI - Vietnam and the US will hold five days of "non-combatant" naval exchange activities next week in the port city of Danang, the US Embassy said, amid rising tensions in the South China Sea.
The exercises "underscore the closer ties between the US and Vietnam", according a statement from the United States, which is increasingly seen as a counterweight to Beijing's growing naval assertiveness in the region.
The US 7th Fleet Flagship USS Blue Ridge, the guided missile destroyer USS Chafee and rescue and salvage ship USNS Safeguard will be in Danang port from April 23, according to the US Embassy statement released late Monday.
It said the trip "will focus on non-combatant events and skills exchanges in areas such as navigation and maintenance."
The exchange comes after a string of diplomatic skirmishes between China and Vietnam this year over islands in the South China Sea.
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