<span style="color: #222222;">A United States aircraft carrier and two guided missile cruisers are visiting Vietnam today, a rare port call that comes as the United States and China increasingly vie for influence in Southeast Asia. The USS Ronald Reagan, along with the guided missile cruisers USS Antietam and USS Robert Smalls, arrived in Da Nang for the visit. Neighbouring China is Vietnam's largest trading partner but Beijing's sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea have led to increasing friction with Vietnam, as well as with Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines.<br />''<br />'' The US, meantime, has been on a diplomatic push to strengthen economic and military ties in the Indo-Pacific region.  The aircraft carrier's port call – only the third such visit since relations were reestablished after the end of the Vietnam war – follows visits to Vietnam this year from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and USAID Administrator Samantha Power.</span><br />