On the afternoon of April 4, US President Donald Trump rebuked Colonel Brett Crozier, the dismissed commander of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, for sending sailors ashore to visit Vietnam causing them to be infected with Coronavirus.
“Now I guess the captain stopped in Vietnam and people got off in Vietnam,” Mr. Trump said, according to the minutes of the White House press conference published on April 5.
“A lot of people have landed. They came back and they were infected,” Mr. Trump said at a White House press conference on April 4 when asked about his decision to remove Colonel Crozier on April 2.
As of April 5, 155 sailors on board and Colonel Crozier himself were infected with the Wuhan Flu.
Surprisingly, the Vietnamese side, especially in Danang, has not reported anyone infected with the Covid-19, while hundreds of Vietnamese people include government officials, Navy officers, journalists. and people had direct contact with this team.
“Maybe you don’t do it in the middle of a pandemic or something like that. It is not necessary to stop and allow sailors to land, ”Mr. Trump added, still following the minutes of the White House press conference.
From Ho Chi Minh City, political observer Quang Huu Minh on April 6 told Vietnamese VOA that the President’s complaint “has a political influence on Vietnam,” although it is unclear whether or not US sailors are infected from Vietnam.
“Politically, that statement [of Mr. Trump] is influential. Because of that, behind the saying that Vietnam must be more responsible in naval cooperation with the US for coming to help you in the East Sea (South China Sea) issue that we are infected with. In the East Sea issue, Vietnam has to cooperate more with the US. “
On the evening of April 4, the Task and Purpose page reported that President Donald Trump had criticized Colonel Crozier, saying that the captain’s request for help to evacuate sailors from the ship was an “inappropriate” action while the president blamed him for visiting the port in Vietnam, although the visit was approved by the highest level of the US Navy earlier.
At a press conference on March 24, Admiral Michael Gilday, the head of US naval operations, said at the time the US aircraft carrier visited Da Nang port on March 5-9. At that time, Vietnam had only 16 cases of coronavirus, most of which were in the northern provinces.
Quang Huu Minh further remarked that President Trump’s reprimand also meant to “let China listen,” rather than actually rebuke Mr. Crozier. The Trump administration has long considered China a military counterweight in the Indo-Pacific region, including the East Sea.
Mr. Quang Huu Minh said: “He wants to say that for China to hear, not for real reprimand.”
“The aircraft carrier visit was on the major agenda of the US-Vietnam navy.”
“And this visit decision is not a personal decision of the colonel.”
Regarding President Donald Trump’s statement about Colonel Crozier, and the visit of USS Theodore Roosevelt, VOA Vietnamese contacted Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs of and the People’s Committee of Da Nang City for comments but received no response.
USS captain Theodore Roosevelt Brett Crozier was sacked after he said the US had not done enough to stem the outbreak of Covid-19 on aircraft carriers.
In a letter, Captain Brett Crozier urged his superiors to take action to prevent American soldiers from dying in wartime.
But US Navy Secretary Thomas Modly said that USS commander Theodore Roosevelt had “made a terrible assessment.”
At least 100 people on board were infected, the report said.
On Thursday, Modly told reporters that Captain Crozier was fired for allegedly leaking the letter to the media.
He said the letter “created a feeling that the US Navy did not respond to his questions.”
“It creates the stereotype that the US Navy is not on its mission, the government is not on its mission. This is absolutely not true.”
Uninfected members of the more than 40,000-staff carrier are now quarantined in Guam after island officials say they can stay there as long as they do not interact with local residents. .
So far, the crew of the USS Theodore Roosevelt has been restricted from docking at a naval base.
What did Captain Brett Crozier’s letter say?
Captain Crozier warned the Pentagon that the disease outbreak on board was “accelerating” because sailors lived in confined spaces.
“We are not in war. Sailors need not to die,” the four-page letter, dated March 30, wrote.
Capt Crozier called for “decisive action,” saying that uninfected sailors had to be removed from the ship and quarantined.
The letter was later published by the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper.
In a statement, Democratic leaders of the House Military Committee said: “While Captain Crozier clearly has gone beyond his authority, his dismissal at this critical moment. .. is a destabilizing move that could put our committee members at greater risk and endanger fleet readiness.”
“Dismissing the ship commander without thorough investigation will not solve the growing crisis on the USS Theodore Roosevelt.”
About 1,000 sailors on board the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, or about one-fifth of sailors on board, are being quarantined at a U.S. naval base on Guam on Thursday, April 2 amid the U.S. Navy trying to deal with the outbreak on this battleship.
In a four-page letter that US officials confirmed to Reuters on March 31, Navy Colonel Brett Crozier described the dire situation on nuclear-powered aircraft carriers while the number of infected increases. He demanded the evacuation of more than 4,000 sailors to disembark, insisting that no action is more important than the duty of preserving the health of sailors, which he considered to be “their most reliable asset.” The letter leaking out caused anxiety to the families of the San Diego sailors, and pushed the Pentagon into defense.
Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly said he disagreed with Captain Crozier that 10% of the crew could be left on board, if needed. He said: “This warship has weapons, ammunition on it …, requires a certain number of manpower to ensure safety and security for the ship.”
Asked if it was time to evacuate the aircraft carrier, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said: “I don’t think it’s time.”
He said no crew members were seriously ill. “We are supplying and providing medical support for aircraft carriers in Guam. We are providing more medical staff as requested, ”Mr. Esper said, adding that the goal is still to control the outbreak.
Mr. Brett Crozier, the captain who was dismissed for his “help” letter about the Covid-19 pandemic on USS Theodore Roosevelt, tested positive for the virus. The New York Times reported on April 5 that two classmates who were in the same class as Mr. Crozier at the Naval Academy revealed.
Earlier, US Navy Secretary Thomas Modly had taken captain Crozier away after he sent the letter to the upper echelon, pleading with the Pentagon to support the crew of coronavirus. The letter has been provided to the US media.
However, hundreds of soldiers in USS carrier carrier Theodore Roosevelt publicly displayed their loyalty to Captain Crozier when he left the ship.
“Captain Crozier, Captain Crozier,” the sailors aboard the ship chanted and clapped their hands to say goodbye to Mr. Crozier. The video of this scene was spread on social networks on April 4. “That’s how we show our loyalty to one of the greatest captains,” one person said in the video.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday described the letter as “inappropriate” and said that Mr Crozier had done “a terrible thing.”
Meanwhile, former US Vice President Joe Biden criticized the dismissal of Captain Crozier as “the equivalent of a criminal. One man stood up to say what needed to be said because he realized his crew was in danger.” This man should have been praised, not punished,” Biden told ABC News.
Vietnam is a country located in a very important strategic position, covering the southern border of China. The Communist Party of China still exists if it can keep and control the Communist Party of Vietnam for this purpose of Beijing.
The appearance and closeness of the US to the authorities in Hanoi is probably a thorn in the eyes of Chinese President Xi Jinping, so the symbol of strength, that the US aircraft carrier, must be demolished, and that that may have occurred during a dark plot in Da Nang on March 5-9. The Wuhan virus helped Beijing do that, General Truong Giang Long’s message about well-established Chinese espionage in Vietnam, and Vietnam once again realized the sinisterness of the Chinese fellows from the North.
Hoang Trung from Hanoi – Thoibao.de (Translated)
