The US and Vietnamese navies have begun the 7th annual Naval Engagement Activity (NEA) Vietnam 2016 at Tien Sa Port in Da Nang, the US Navy said in a press release on Wednesday.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The exercise will focus on non-combatant events and include seminars in military medicine and maritime law as well as subject matter expert exchanges in navigation, shipboard medicine and damage control, the release stated.
"We're looking forward to working with… and interacting with the VPN [Vietnam People’s Navy] and people in Da Nang, building on the success and lessons from last year's NEA," Destroyer Squadron 7 commodore Capt. H. B. Le asserted.
The exercise will also include Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea and search-and-rescue scenarios, the release added.
NEA Vietnam has evolved from annual port visits to Da Nang by US Navy ships, which began more than a decade ago, to the current multi-day bilateral naval engagement ashore and at sea.
This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.