USS George Washington arrives in Vietnam amid China-Philippines strain

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The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington arrived Thursday in Da Nang, Vietnam, for a scheduled port visit, the service announced.

The ship, along with over 5,000 sailors, sailed from the Philippine Sea to the South China Sea last week, several days after a July 20 hostile incident between the China Coast Guard and Philippine Navy in which Chinese personnel aboard an inflatable boat struck a Philippine Navy service member with a wooden baton, injuring the individual.

Four days later, hostilities continued between the two nations when the China Coast Guard attacked Philippine Coast Guard and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessels with water cannons in the vicinity of Scarborough Shoal.

U.S. State Department officials have criticized the escalatory actions by China and reiterated U.S. support for its Pacific allies.

USS George Washington arrives in Vietnam amid China-Philippines strain

The USS George Washington arrived Thursday in Da Nang, Vietnam, for a scheduled port visit amid tensions between the China Coast Guard and Philippine Navy.

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