The ceremony of meeting the ships was attended by the Consul General of Russia in Ho Chi Minh City Timur Sadykov and staff of the military attache at the Russian Embassy in Vietnam
HANOI, December 2. /tass/. A detachment of warships of the Pacific Fleet (Pacific Fleet) consisting of the large anti-submarine ship Admiral Panteleev and the medium sea tanker Pechenga arrived on a business visit to the international port of Cam Ranh in the central Vietnamese province of Khanh Hoa. The ceremony of welcoming the ships of the Pacific Fleet was attended by the Consul General of Russia in Ho Chi Minh Timur Sadykov and staff of the military attache at the Russian Embassy in Vietnam, a TASS correspondent reports.
Welcoming the Pacific sailors, the Consul General of the Russian Federation in Ho Chi Minh City noted the special importance of Russian ships entering the port of Cam Ranh. "Cam Ranh is a very important port for our country. For more than two decades, it faithfully served as a logistics point (PMTO - approx. TASS) ships of the Pacific Fleet. It was here that the traditions of military brotherhood and friendship between the peoples of the Soviet Union and Vietnam were laid," the diplomat stressed.
"The regular visits of Russian navy sailors to the ports of Vietnam in recent years have made a significant contribution to strengthening friendship and comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries in the interests of peace and security in the Asia-Pacific region and around the world," the Consul General said in an interview with TASS.
The Russian sailors will begin the visit by laying wreaths at the memorial "In memory of Soviet, Russian and Vietnamese servicemen and civilians who gave their lives for peace and stability in the region." This memorial complex was opened in 2009 instead of the memorial obelisk, which used to be located on the territory of the military airfield of the PMTO TOPH in Cam Ranh. In recent years, the solemn ceremony of laying wreaths at the memorial in Cam Ranh has become a tradition. It takes place in early May and is timed to coincide with the anniversaries of the heroic victories of the Russian and Vietnamese peoples in the Great Patriotic War and the War of Resistance.
The visit of the detachment of ships of the Pacific Fleet will last until December 4. In the coming days, the Pacific will meet with the command of the 4th Naval Region of the Vietnamese People's Army, the leadership of the People's Committee (Administration) of Khanh Hoa Province, as well as hold joint friendly sports competitions with Vietnamese sailors and visit the sights of Nha Trang.
Cooperation between the navies of Russia and Vietnam has been going on for more than 70 years. Vietnam, as representatives of the state and military leadership of the country have repeatedly stated, will always remember the unprecedented feat of Soviet sailors who helped in the struggle for national independence. During the years of Vietnam's struggle against French colonialism in 1945-1954 and the confrontation with American aggression in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Russian sailors provided access to Vietnamese ports to cargo ships delivering the necessary weapons, ammunition, food and medicines for the young Democratic Republic of Vietnam, which was at war with powerful opponents.
In the current period of peaceful development of the country, the ships of the Pacific Fleet traditionally continue to come with friendly visits to its shores. Located on the Cam Ranh Peninsula for 23 years, the logistics point of the Pacific Fleet was the largest base of the Russian Navy abroad. After the Cam Ranh mine fully fulfilled its purpose, in May 2002, Russia officially returned this facility to Vietnam. The Republic stated that Cam Ranh would no longer be used as a foreign military facility and would become an open commercial port.
It is the first time that Russian warships have entered Cam Ranh since the withdrawal of the military contingent in June 2014. Then Cam Ranh was visited by a squadron of the Pacific Fleet consisting of the large anti-submarine ship Marshal Shaposhnikov, the medium sea tanker Irkut and the rescue vessel Alatau.