Vietnam to use Cam Ranh naval base

Vietnam to use Cam Ranh naval base

VIETNAM: Hanoi said on Thursday Russia's withdrawal from the Cam
Ranh Bay naval base, once used by Americans and Japanese, was a
mutual agreement and that it will use the facility for socio-
economic development.

On Wednesday President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia
would close a Cold War Cuban base and withdraw from the Cam Ranh
Bay base in Vietnam from January 2002.

Moscow has had use of the base rent-free from its former
Communist ally since 1979, but the lease expires in 2004. Hanoi
had insisted that Russia should pay rent if it wanted to continue
using the base after than date.

In July, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said that
Russia will abandon the base because it cannot afford to keep it
and that the rent Vietnam demanded did not match the base's
function. --Reuters