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ACROSS THE OCEAN, ANOTHER FORM OF DIPLOMACY IS UNDERWAY. THE USS CARL VINSON MADE ITS WAY RECENTLY TO DOCK IN VIETNAM. THE NAVY SHIP IS AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER. THAT MEANS IT'S A BOAT THAT CAN ACT AS A RUNWAY FOR MILITARY PLANES TO LAND ON AND TAKE OFF FROM. SO IT IS ONE BIG SHIP, NEARLY 1,100 FEET LONG.
THE USS CARL VINSON IS MAKING ITS TRIP HERE, NOT TO FIGHT, BUT TO SHOW THAT THE US IS UNITED WITH VIETNAM, WHEN IT COMES TO RECENT CLAIMS BY CHINA. CHINA'S BEEN BUILDING ON ISLANDS IN THE AREA NEAR VIETNAM AND CLAIMING THEM AS THEIR OWN, SOMETHING THAT'S MAKING VIETNAM A LITTLE UNCOMFORTABLE. REPORTER MATT RIVERS HAS THAT STORY FOR US.
MATT: WELL RIGHT NOW WE'RE JUST OFF THE COAST OF VIETNAM, NEAR DA NANG, AND WE'RE ONBOARD THIS RELATIVELY SMALL BOAT, HEADING TO THAT VERY LARGE SHIP. THAT'S THE USS CARL VINSON. IT'S AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER IN THE US NAVY, AND IT IS MOORED RIGHT NOW A COUPLE MILES OFF THE COAST.
THIS IS THE FIRST TIME A US AIRCRAFT CARRIER HAS MADE AN OFFICIAL VISIT TO VIETNAM IN MORE THAN 40 YEARS, SINCE THE END OF THE VIETNAM WAR, ACTUALLY. OTHER NAVY SHIPS HAVE VISITED SINCE 2003, BUT THIS IS DIFFERENT.
THIS IS AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER AND ITS EMBLEMATIC OF A CHANGING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BOTH COUNTRIES. TRADE, FOR EXAMPLE, HAS EXPLODED BETWEEN BOTH SIDES, AND OF COURSE, BOTH SIDES HAVE BEEN COOPERATING ON SECURITY, AS WELL.
IT WAS JUST IN 2016 THAT PRESIDENT OBAMA LIFTED AN ARM SALES EMBARGO ON LETHAL WEAPONS TO VIETNAM, AND IT WAS A MAJOR SIGN THAT THE BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP HAD PROGRESSED TO FRIENDLIER TERMS. AND THAT DOES APPEAR TO BE CONTINUING UNDER PRESIDENT TRUMP. THE PRESIDENT VISITED HERE LAST YEAR. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE MATTIS WAS JUST HERE IN JANUARY. AND THE AMBASSADOR TO VIETNAM SAYS HE HOPES TO KEEP THAT MOMENTUM GOING.
AMBASSADOR: I THINK YOU'RE SEEING THE FRUITS OF DECADES' WORTH OF EFFORT TO BUILD BILATERAL TRUST, TO OVERCOME THE LEGACIES OF WAR.
MATT: NOT TOO FAR FROM WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW, THE CHINESE MILITARY HAS BEEN BUILDING AND MILITARILY DEVELOPING ARTIFICIAL ISLANDS FOR YEARS IN WATERS THAT THEY CLAIM IS THEIR TERRITORY. BUT SEVERAL OTHER COUNTRIES, INCLUDING VIETNAM, CLAIM SOME OF THAT SAME TERRITORY AS THEIRS. AND THE US DOESN'T RECOGNIZE THE CHINESE CLAIMS EITHER.
VIETNAM MORE THAN MOST COUNTRIES IN THIS REGION HAS SHOWN A WILLINGNESS TO STAND UP TO CHINESE TERRITORIAL CLAIMS IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA. AND IN THE GOVERNMENT HERE, THE UNITED STATES LIKELY SEES AN ALLY IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD IN REGARDS TO THIS PARTICULAR TOPIC. THAT IS PART OF THE REASON WHY THIS AIRCRAFT CARRIER IS DOCKED HERE RIGHT NOW. THIS IS A PROJECTION OF US MILITARY MIGHT. ABLE TO GO TO ALL CORNERS OF THE GLOBE.
AND ANALYSTS TELL CNN THAT THIS IS ABSOLUTELY A MESSAGE TO CHINA. THAT MESSAGE BEING THE US MILITARY IS HERE TO STAY IN THIS REGION, AND THAT THEY ARE WILLING TO TEAM UP EVEN WITH OLD FOES, TO COMBAT WHAT IT SEES AS A GROWING THREAT FROM BEIJING.