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Navy Pays Friendly Visits to Vietnam

In an example of how former enemies can reach rapprochement, ships of the United States Navy are docking in Vietnam with increasing frequency, and in a friendly manner. U.S. ships have made port calls to Vietnam four times now since 2003, the most recent ship arrival ? of the USS Patriot and USS Salvor ? occurred just a month after U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld paid a visit to the country, and marks the first time that two U.S. ships have docked side-by-side in Vietnamese waters since the end of the Vietnam War.

Most of those serving in the American Navy, enlisted and officers, did not see service in the Vietnam War, though it is likely that many of their parents or uncles did. The stopover, set to last five days, will include U.S. sailors celebrating Independence Day in Vietnam. The United States and Vietnam restored ties in 1995, and since then bilateral trade between the two countries has increased, reaching $8 billion alone in 2005. 180 crew members of the two ships are taking part in the visit.

The building and improvement of ties between the two countries might come as a surprise to many students of history, but for both Vietnamese and Americans many of the wounds of the past have healed, even if the scars still are evident on the fighting men of both countries. Where the relationship between the two countries will lead, especially as China grows economically and militarily, can only be guessed now?but a healthy relationship between the Communists in Hanoi and Washington might be able to stand as a bulwark against that growing Chinese influence.