Hanoi rules out U.S. Cam Ranh Bay treaty

U.S. Pacific Commander in Chief, Admiral Dennis Blair, raised the possibility of U.S. port visits during a recent visit to Hanoi

Vietnam says it will not sign a new agreement on the military use of its Cam Ranh Bay port, apparently ruling out any formal treaty with Washington for access to the former U.S. naval base constructed during the Vietnam War.

In January Russia, which currently controls the base, began to wind down operations at the facility in line with an agreement to return it to Vietnamese control in two years time.

With this in mind the Commander in Chief of the U.S. Pacific Command said on a visit to Hanoi earlier this month that Washington was seeking an "arrangement" that would give U.S. warships access to Cam Ranh Bay for port calls.

Admiral Dennis Blair said the facility could play an important support role for U.S. operations in Southeast Asia enabling American armed forces to move through the region more easily in the event of a crisis.

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However, he said Washington did not see the port, one of the best deep-water natural harbors in the region, as a new permanent U.S. military base.

"What we seek is a flexible set of arrangements so that we can cooperate with countries in the region and get the job done when the necessity is there," he said.

Responding to Blair's comments a spokeswoman for the Vietnamese foreign ministry told the state-run Vietnam News Agency Saturday Hanoi would not "sign any agreement with any country on using Cam Ranh port for military purposes."

The U.S. is keen to improve military links in Southeast Asia and gain port access for its warships

Phan Thuy Thanh said Hanoi intended to assert Vietnam's sovereignty over Cam Ranh Bay and planned to exploit the port's economic potential.

Cam Ranh Nay was first developed as a military port by the U.S. military during Vietnam war, serving both naval and airborne operations.

The base has been under Russian control since the late 1970s and served as a listening post and port for the Soviet nuclear fleet during the height of the Cold War in the 1980s.

Last year however a cash-strapped Moscow announced it would give up the base when its 25-year lease on the facility expires in 2004.