US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta used a visit Sunday to Vietnam to make clear Washington's intent to aid allies in the Asia-Pacific region develop and enforce maritime rights in the South China Sea, which Beijing largely claims.
On a historic stop in Cam Ranh Bay, the strategic deep water port that was a US base during the Vietnam War, Panetta could gaze out from the flight deck of the USNS Richard E. Byrd toward the sea and reflect on the significance of the harbour, which represents both a painful past for the American military and a challenging but hopeful future.
"The new defence strategy that we have put in place for the United States represents a number of key elements that will be tested in the Asia-Pacific region," Panetta told reporters gathered under a blazing sun on the deck of the cargo vessel.
He said the US would "work with our partners like Vietnam to be able to use harbours like this as we move our ships from our ports on the West Coast toward our stations here in the Pacific."
Panetta never mentioned China as he spoke to crew members on the Byrd and later to reporters. But with the South China Sea as a backdrop, he left no doubt that the US will maintain a strong presence in the region and wants to help allies protect themselves and their maritime rights.
His visit, however, is likely to irritate Chinese leaders who are unhappy with any US build-up in the region and view it as a possible threat. Panetta, in remarks Saturday to a defence conference in Singapore, rejected such claims about the shift in US military focus. But US officials are wary of China's increased military build-up and expanding trade relations with other countries in the region.
"Access for United States naval ships into this facility is a key component of this relationship (with Vietnam) and we see a tremendous potential here for the future," he said.
This is Panetta's first visit to Vietnam, and his stop at the harbour made him the most senior US official to go to Cam Ranh Bay since the Vietnam War ended.