Chinese navy ships make first port call at Vietnam’s Cam Ranh Bay amid South China Sea dispute

Three Chinese navy ships will make their first port call at Vietnam’s strategic Cam Ranh Bay this weekend – just as the two countries are locked in a territorial dispute in the South China Sea.

An official in Khanh Hoa province, where the bay is located, said the four-day port call at Cam Ranh International Port would start on Saturday.

The visit by three ships carrying 750 sailors would include exchanges with the Vietnamese navy and meetings with provincial leaders, the official said.

The international port, whose first phase with an investment of US$80 million was completed earlier this year, offers repairs, maintenance and logistics to foreign naval and commercial ships.

The port is separate from Vietnam’s military installations at the bay.