USS George Washington Arrives in Da Nang for Record Stay
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- USS George Washington pulled into Da Nang on July 30 — the fourth US carrier port call in Vietnam since the end of the Vietnam War and the longest US warship stay since the two countries restored relations in 1995, with 5,000 sailors aboard on day 70 of deployment.
- Captain Nicholas DeLeo, the ship's commander, called the visit "extremely important" and said the crew, including Vietnamese-Americans, aimed to "build on this great relationship with the Vietnamese people."
- Vietnam's propaganda commission directed local media covering the visit not to "glory US power," framing the carrier's arrival as a "routine friendship and exchange activity" — a markedly cooler tone than US officials' effusive statements about security collaboration.
- Vietnam's multi-alignment strategy has made it a frequent naval stopover: this year alone, Russian, Chinese, Indian, Indonesian, Australian, and Japanese naval vessels have also visited Vietnamese ports.
- Trade negotiations between the US and Vietnam remain stalled over Chinese products made in or transiting Vietnam, and analyst Nguyen Khac Giang warned the dispute will "set the limit of how far both can go" in defense cooperation.
- Admiral Samuel J. Paparo, the US Indo-Pacific Commander, told Congress in April that "credible, prompt and sustained combat power, visible across the Indo-Pacific region, will deter acts of military aggression."
Why it matters: Vietnam's calibrated response — accepting the longest US warship stay since 1995 while ordering state media not to "glory US power" — reveals Hanoi's active hedge between Washington and Beijing. The unresolved trade fight over Chinese goods transiting Vietnam will directly cap how far US-Vietnam defense cooperation can deepen, giving Beijing reason to read the carrier visit as largely symbolic.
