Sailing Ship 286-Le Quy Don of the Vietnam Naval Academy docked at Nha Trang port in the central province of Khanh Hoa on October 18, successfully completing its military diplomatic mission in connection with long-distance seafaring training trip for final-year naval students.

Japan, France and the US will hold a joint military drill for the first time next year. The exercises, have conducted on one of Japan’s uninhabited outlying islands, will focus on providing relief efforts during a natural disaster, but parts could also form the basis for a defence against attack, the paper said.

Taiwan’s Leader Tsai Ing-wen said on September 20 that Beijing is a threat to the entire region after China flew nearly 40 warplanes over the Taiwan Strait in a show of force two days earlier.

Vietnam requests China to respect its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, and do not repeat similar violations, said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang.