Two US warships this week docked at Cam Ranh Bay, in the first such port call at the Vietnamese naval base since the two countries normalized relations 21 years ago, the US Navy said Tuesday, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Submarine tender USS Frank Cable and guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain arrived at the deep-water naval base in Khanh Hoa province on Sunday, in a sign of warming military ties between the two countries.

Cam Ranh Bay was used by the French, US and Russian navies in years past. 

Vietnam has recently made the base available to visiting foreign navy vessels in an attempt to maintain a strong international presence in the South China Sea amid maritime disputes with China. 

Apart from the U.S. warships, vessels from Japan, Russia and France have recently docked there.

Before stopping at Cam Ranh Bay, the John S. McCain made a port call in nearby Da Nang City, the U.S. Navy said.

The warships’ visit comes after the lifting of a U.S. embargo on sales of lethal weapons to Vietnam, announced during President Barack Obama’s visit to Hanoi in May. 

The decision was a milestone in America’s rapprochement with its old adversary and its broader pivot to Asia

Source: MENA