The Vietnamese delegation called on the Flag Bridge, the Carrier Air Traffic Control Center and the Flight Deck and observed a flight takeoff on the aircraft carrier.

“The visit has boosted bilateral understanding between the two navies and will strengthen cooperation for the sake of regional and global peace,” Colonel Nguyen Huu Vinh, deputy chief of the Vietnam Navy, said after concluding the visit.

“I am sure everybody was impressed and came away with better understanding how the US Navy works and how an aircraft carrier works,” US Ambassador to Vietnam Michael Michalak said.

“Being multilateral, being prepared and being open for a negotiation is something that the Obama administration places a very high value on. At the same time, he also places a very high value on being prepared,” Michalak said when asked how the showcasing of this massive military equipment – the aircraft carrier – was in line with the emphasis of the Obama administration on peaceful diplomacy.

“What we saw today is not only are we capable of working on diplomacy in terms of multilateral diplomacy and diplomacy in terms of dialogue and listening, but we are also prepared for any alternative.”

Michalak said the visit Wednesday was a step toward closer cooperation between the Vietnamese and US navies and hoped this would continue.

Commissioned in 1995, the flight deck of the aircraft carrier stands 1,092 feet long and 257 feet wide.

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is docked in international waters 250 nautical miles south of Vietnam’s Con Dao Island. It has two nuclear reactors, which will permit the ship to steam more than one million miles before refueling.

Reported by An Dien