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The Vietnam News

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Vietnam claims Russia will leave naval base by may

HANOI - Vietnam said yesterday Russia would withdraw from the Cam Ranh Bay airbase and deepwater naval facility by May after which the base would not be leased to any other country. "After the agreement between Vietnam with Russia ends, Vietnam will use Cam Ranh Bay independently," its usually media-shy defense Minister Senior Lieutenant General Pham Van Tra told Reuters in a rare interview. "We will not let it out for any cooperation or any lease to any other country," he said.

Cam Ranh Bay, in the southern province of Khanh Hoa, is one of Asia's finest deepwater anchorages, offering strategic access to the busy sea lanes of the South China Sea. First used by Vietnam's colonial French rulers, it was taken over by Japan in World War Two, then upgraded and extended to an airbase by the United States during the Vietnam War. Hanoi allowed its ally the former Soviet Union to use the base rent-free from 1979 -- a time of worsening ties with China. The lease on Russia's only base in the country runs out in 2004 and, in the face of a looming rental bill, cash-strapped Russia has decided its presence there is no longer needed. Asked about the exit of the Russians, who have said they will go this year, Tra said: "By May they will have withdrawn totally."

According to Jane's Intelligence Review, Cam Ranh Bay in 1984 was Moscow's biggest overseas base outside the Warsaw Pact with a staff of up to 5,000, but it was substantially scaled back as superpower tensions eased. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, Moscow withdrew its ships and planes and eventually limited its presence to a signal intelligence facility.

U.S. seeks open port

The United States has suggested an open port arrangement once the Russians leave, which would allow warships of all nations to make calls. But analysts say the prospect of U.S. ships calling there would not please China. Asked if foreign ships would be able to call at Cam Ranh Bay in future, Tra said it could be used for organization of rescue missions and some services, including repairs. "We can also let ships to shelter there from storms," he said. U.S. ambassador Raymond Burghardt told reporters yesterday it appeared Vietnam had not decided what to do with the base.

"If they want to give everybody access, then obviously we would want access like everyone else," he said. "My first interest would be to see if they want to develop it as a commercial port and if they do to see if there are opportunities for American companies to get involved in its development. "I think that's probably going to be an issue before they need to talk about whether it's open to naval ship visits."

Civil aviation use

Burghardt said U.S. air cargo firms were always looking for good facilities from which to operate and might be interested. Minister Tra said it was possible Cam Ranh could have a future in civil aviation, as suggested recently by state flag carrier Vietnam Airlines. "We are repairing it. When we finish it, we will decide. It still could be used for the civilian aviation." Vietnam Airlines is interested in using both Cam Ranh Bay and a former U.S. airbase at Chu Lai near the central city of Danang for civil aviation to help serve the tourism industry.

Its general director, Nguyen Xuan Hien, said the U.S.-built airfield at Cam Ranh Bay had potential for civil aviation as it was convenient for the tourist city of Nha Trang, which has only a small airport. He said he also wanted Chu Lai upgraded for civilian use. "We have reached an agreement on Chu Lai to use it for both civil and military purposes. But since it is peacetime, it will be for the civil aviation," Tra said.

Reuters - March 16, 2002.