US asks Vietnam to restrict access of Russian military planes to Cam Ranh Bay - State Department

WASHINGTON, March 12. /TASS/. US has asked Vietnam to restrict Russian military’s access to Cam Ranh Bay, US State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said on Wednesday. "We’ve urged Vietnamese officials to ensure that Russia is not able to use its access to Cam Ranh Bay to conduct activities that could raise tensions in the region. Obviously we’ve done that privately with Vietnamese Government officials, and certainly our preference is that they would not [allow Russian military craft to refuel at the base]," Psaki said. However, Psaki noted that the US does not have confirmation that Russian flights have been raising tension in the region. "We obviously don’t want them [Russia] to use Cam Ranh Bay," she noted. Answering journalists’ questions about Russian military flights in the region, Psaki said the US think they could present a threat. "We believe that they could [raise tension in the region]. That’s why. That’s the issue we’re raising," she stressed. "I don’t have confirmation of what’s happened or hasn’t happened to date. We’re referring to conversations about concerns that allowing them to use Cam Ranh Bay could raise tensions in the region," the spokesperson said. Earlier, Commander of the US Army in the Pacific General Vincent Brooks told Reuters that Russian fighter jets used Vietnam’s Cam Ranh Bay for refueling. Brooks said Russian jets that allegedly flew over Guam, a US territory in the Pacific Ocean, were refueled by Russian tankers flying from Cam Ranh. Read more