US counters China in ending Vietnam arms embargo

HANOI — In lifting its ban on sales of lethal weaponry to Vietnam, the U.S. seeks to curb the growing Chinese presence in the South China Sea as Hanoi tries to strike a diplomatic balance between the Western superpower and a longtime Asian ally.

“More than two decades of normalized ties between our governments allows us to reach a new moment,” U.S. President Barack Obama said here Monday in a news conference with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang.

“Both countries have completely normalized relations,” Quang said, ushering in a new era of bilateral ties.

Japanese Navy Gets Biggest Warship Since WWII Era Aircraft Carriers

 

The Maritime Self Defense Force in Japan made a little bit of history Wednesday by taking delivery of the largest Japanese warship since World War II.

At 813 feet long, the Izumo is the size of approximately eight football fields and has a crew of 470 sailors.

Aegis destroyers leave to prepare for “rocket”

Japanese destroyers equipped with high-performance radar are being deployed in readiness for the launch of a North Korean rocket.

Three Aegis destroyers of the Maritime Self-Defense Force left Sasebo port, western Japan, for waters near Okinawa and other locations on Thursday morning.