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A ceremony marking the handover to the 3rd Regional Coast Guard was held on April 9 in the central province of Khanh Hoa. (Photo courtesy of the US Embassy in Hanoi)

On April 9, 2021, U.S. Consul General Marie C. Damour officially handed over a major infrastructure project, consisting of a training center, maintenance facilities, and port improvements, to the Vietnam Coast Guard in Region III, according to the US Embassy in Hanoi Fanpage.

A ceremony marking the handover to the 3rd Regional Coast Guard was held on April 9 in the central province of Khanh Hoa, according to VN Express.

The U.S. Defense Attaché to Vietnam and representatives from the Office of Defense Cooperation, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, and Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs also attended the event. VCG Commandant Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Son hosted the handover event on behalf of Vietnam. Lieutenant General Son expressed Vietnam's appreciation to the U.S. Government and heralded the handover as an “important milestone in U.S.-Vietnam relations”, which will improve Vietnam's maritime law enforcement capabilities.

The U.S. has also sold a total of 24 Metal Shark high-speed patrol boats and is overhauling the USCGC John Midgett, another Hamilton-class vessel, to hand it over to Vietnam. (Photo courtesy of the US Embassy in Hanoi)

The cooperation between the coast guards of both countries has strengthened in recent years. In 2017, the U.S. Coast Guard handed over the Hamilton-class (the second-largest class of vessels in the U.S. Coast Guard) USCGC Morgenthau cutter to the Vietnam Coast Guard under their Excess Defense Articles (EDA) program. The ship was then commissioned for the Vietnam Coast Guard and renamed CSB 8020.

The U.S. has also sold a total of 24 Metal Shark high-speed patrol boats and is overhauling the USCGC John Midgett, another Hamilton-class vessel, to hand it over to Vietnam.

The U.S. has handed over a training center, maintenance workshop, and port infrastructure to the Vietnam Coast Guard, signifying closer defense ties. (Photo courtesy of the US Embassy in Hanoi)

At a press conference in Hanoi, U.S. Ambassador Daniel Kritenbrink had remarked that security cooperation was developing strongly between the two countries, especially between the two militaries.

He said that Vietnam and the U.S. have worked together to implement a United Nations resolution on North Korea and to promote a common stance on the East Sea. The U.S. has assisted Vietnam in building its defense capacity, especially maritime capabilities, and supported Vietnam in sending peacekeeping personnel to South Sudan.

Referring to East Sea disputes, Kritenbrink had stressed that the U.S. always stood by its partners and allies in building an international order based on rules, and opposed " the provocative actions of China with the other countries in the region."

In Photo: Close-up look of CSB 8021 Patrol Vessel handed over to Vietnam by US This set of photos shows the US's John Midgett patrol vessel being repainted and repaired in Seattle, (Washington, USA) before transferred to Vietnam Coast Guard.

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