Vietnam welcomed all ships at former Soviet naval base

09.11.2010 Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said naval base Cam Ranh is open for ships of any country, reports The Daily Telegraph.

According to the newspaper, this step of the country's government is largely explained by aspiration to contain China's growing influence in the South China Sea. In October Vietnam documentarily allowed Indian Navy to use its ports. In accordance to that agreement, India will render material and technical assistance to Vietnamese Navy and train Vietnamese soldiers in jungle warfare.

As was previously reported, Russia refused to reconstruct former Cam Ranh naval base existed there since 1979 till 2002. Alongside with that, Russian presidential assistant Sergei Prikhodko said about Moscow's intentions to have logistic support base in Vietnam for Russian Navy's needs.

Apart from China and Vietnam, vast spaces of the South China Sea are also within interest area of Thailand, Philippines, Brunei, and Malaysia. As reminds the newspaper, China dispatched patrol ships to the disputed Spratly Islands in March 2010, and conducted naval exercise in the South China Sea last week.