THIS IS KIND OF A BIG DEAL: American aircraft carrier to visit Vietnam next year, Pentagon says.

A U.S. Navy aircraft carrier will visit Vietnam next year for the first time, the Pentagon announced Tuesday, in the latest sign of growing ties between countries that 50 years ago were engaged in a lengthy war.

Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis met Tuesday with Ngo Xuan Lich, Vietnam’s defense minister, to discuss further steps in their mutual defense relationship and regional security challenges, the Pentagon said. The two also agreed to expand naval cooperation and the sharing of information.

“Regional security challenges” is a fancy way of saying “China.”