VOA慢速英語: 美國敦促越南立即停止讓俄羅斯享有金蘭灣的使用權(quán)

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The United States embassy in Hanoi has asked the Vietnamese government to stop permitting Russia to use a military base to refuel its airplanes. The U.S. says Russia has performed what it calls “provocative flights” around the U.S. territory in the Pacific. Official shave not received an answer from the Vietnamese government.

Lisa Wishman is an embassy official in Vietnam. She told VOA on Thursday that the U.S. communicated its concerns privately to the Vietnamese government last week. She says that the U.S. government respects Vietnam's right to enter agreements with other countries. But she adds that the U.S. does not wantVietnam to permit the Russian military to use CamRanh Bay to “conduct activities that could raisetensions in the region."

The former U.S. base is 290 kilometers northeast of HoChi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon. It is a naturaldeep-water harbor.

Vincent Brooks is the commanding general of the U.S.Army Pacific. He told Reuters news agency onWednesday that Russian planes had carried out "provocative" flights. These include flights over areasaround the U.S. territory of Guam, which is 4,000kilometers east of Vietnam.

NATO officials say Russian aircraft have been seenrecently over the English Channel. Officials say Russia’s military is carryingout more aggressive air and sea patrols close to borders of NATOcountries.

Russia also announced last November that it planned to send long-rangeaircraft over North American waters. News reports say the Russian militaryhas begun military exercises in southern Russia and in Crimea.

The United States fought the North Vietnamese from the early 1960s until theAmerican withdrawal in 1973. The South Vietnamese government in Saigoncame under North Vietnamese control two years later.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, shakes hands with his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Binh Minh before their meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam Wednesday, April 16, 2014. (AP file Photo)

Diplomatic ties between Vietnam and the United States were established in 1995. The two countries have developed closer ties in recent years becauseVietnam worries about the threat posed by its huge neighbor to the north,China.

China once controlled parts of Vietnam for hundreds of years. The twocountries fought their most recent border war in 1979. About 30,000 soldierson both sides died during the short conflict. The two countries have anongoing dispute over territory in the South China Sea.

In 2013, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced a plan to help Vietnamstrengthen its sea security. The United States agreed to provide at least fivemodern patrol ships to Vietnam.

Ted Osius is the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam. He recently spoke at HanoiUniversity to express understanding that Vietnam would look to "historicpartners" for security. But he says the United States also had, in his words, "much to offer to enhance Vietnam's security in the short, medium and longterm."

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Steve Herman reported this story from Bangkok. Jonathan Evans wrote it forLearning English. Mario Ritter was the editor.

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Words in This Story

aggressive – adj. ready and willing to fight, argue, etc.; feeling or showing aggression

patrol – n. a group of people, vehicles, etc., that go through an area to make sure that it is safe; a group that patrols an area

provocative – adj. causing discussion, thought, argument, etc.

withdrawal – n. an act of moving something away or taking something away