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