美國承諾越南1800萬美元購買美製巡邏艇

U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has pledged $18 million to help Vietnam buy American-made coast guard patrol boats to improve its maritime defense capabilities.

Carter is in the communist state to boost military ties. As part of that effort, he and his Vietnamese counterpart signed a "vision statement" Monday to guide the expansion of bilateral cooperation.

At a naval base in Haiphong, Carter toured a patrol boat that had been rammed and damaged by a Chinese ship during a confrontation last year in waters claimed by Vietnam in the South China Sea.

At the beginning of his 11-day tour of the Asia-Pacific region, Carter called for a halt to land reclamation by all countries who claim territory in the South China Sea. He said the United States opposes militarization and the creation of tensions in the region.美國國防部長卡特承諾提供1800萬美元，幫助越南購買美國製造的海岸警衛巡邏艇，以增強越南的海上防禦能力。

卡特目前在越南訪問，爭取加強美越兩國之間的軍事關係。卡特與越南國防部長星期一簽署了一項意向協議，作爲擴大雙邊合作的指導方針。

在越南海防市的一個海軍基地，卡特觀看了去年被中國船隻撞壞的一艘越南巡邏艇，當時越南和中國在有爭議的南中國海海域發生對抗。

卡特開始爲期11天的亞太之旅，敦促所有宣稱對南中國海擁有主權的國家停止填海造島活動。他表示，美國反對填海造島活動軍事化以及在該地

區製造緊張局勢。