Three Chinese naval warships arrived in the Vietnamese port of Cam Ranh Bay on Saturday, just weeks after the first visit to the strategic site by U.S. vessels since the former wartime foes normalized relations 21 years ago,

The five-day visit to Cam Ranh — the first by the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy — comes amid heightened tensions in the disputed South China Sea, where Beijing and Hanoi have rival claims.

The stopover in Vietnam is the last stop on the Chinese flotilla's way home after completing escort missions in the Gulf of Aden, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Prior to the stop at Cam Ranh Bay, the vessels made port calls in Myanmar, Malaysia and Cambodia, Xinhua quoted senior Col. Wang Hongli as saying.