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Why an American Aircraft Carrier Is Making a Rare Visit to Vietnam

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  • The USS Ronald Reagan is visiting Vietnam this week.
  • Reagan is visiting Da Nang Air Base, a major U.S. military base during the Vietnam War.
  • Vietnam would be a key ally if the United States and China went to war, and vice-versa.

A U.S. Navy aircraft carrier is making a rare visit to Vietnam this week, only the third such visit since the end of the Vietnam War. Task Force 70, which includes the USS Ronald Reagan carrier strike group, anchored in Da Nang on Sunday as part of a multi-day visit. It comes as the U.S. attempts to woo Vietnam into becoming an ally against its neighbor, China.

The three-ship task force—consisting of USS Ronald Reagan and the guided-missile cruisers USS Robert Smalls (formerly USS Chancellorsville) and USS Antietam—will remain in Vietnam for an unknown period of time. The Navy is typically cagey about the duration of port visits, likely as a security measure. According to the U.S. 7th Fleet, the crews will attend “cultural and professional exchanges such as community service projects, sports competitions, and receptions.”

Task Force 70’s visit is just the third that a U.S. aircraft carrier has made since the Vietnam War. USS Carl Vinson visited in 2018, followed by USS Theodore Roosevelt in 2020. U.S. Navy aircraft carriers played a key role in the Vietnam War, flying combat missions against targets in both North and South Vietnam. The service lost 796 fighter, attack, and reconnaissance aircraft over Vietnam, the equivalent of all the aircraft carried by all 11 of today’s carriers.

The United States is eager to ally with Vietnam; it shares a land border with China, and has several excellent deep water ports, including those at Haiphong, Vinh, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Cam Ranh Bay, and Da Nang. Any of these could be an important pit stop for U.S. naval forces in a war with China. A U.S. base located directly on the South China Sea would mean warships wouldn’t have to sail back to Japan, Guam, or even Hawaii to rearm, refuel, and if necessary, make repairs.

The United States has made an effort to put its best foot forward in an attempt to woo Vietnam. In 2009, the U.S. Navy command ship USS Blue Ridge and guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen visited Vietnam, one of the first American warship visits. USS Lassen was at the time commanded by Cmdr. H.B. Le, a Vietnamese American. Three carrier visits in five years is a high tempo frequency considering that includes the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vietnam is more tentative about a new relationship with the U.S., but recognizes the value. Vietnam shares an 806-mile-long border with China, and the two countries have traditionally not gotten along. China invaded Vietnam in 1979, and immediately suffered heavy casualties, causing Beijing to pull out and declare victory after just one month. The two countries are also at odds over territorial claims in the South China Sea, including drilling rights. If the two countries go to war again, Beijing’s modernized armed forces will be a more difficult opponent, and Vietnam would need allies.

Nha Trang may also replace Hong Kong as the Navy’s port of call on the South China Sea. For decades, U.S. warships visited Hong Kong both to show the flag and give sailors on long deployments a break. China, which controls Hong Kong, has not allowed an American carrier to visit since 2017, and given the deteriorating relationship between the two countries, Beijing will probably not allow another visit any time soon.

Vietnam is unique in being one of just two countries—the other being Japan—to “sink” a U.S. aircraft carrier. In 1964, the USNS Card, an aviation transport ship and former Bogue-class escort carrier, was attacked by Vietnamese saboteurs with mines. The 14,000-ton ship sank at port in Saigon, but was later raised and returned to service. Miraculously, no one was killed in the attack.