city, south-central Vietnam. It is situated on a peninsula enclosing Cam Ranh Bay, an inlet of the South China Sea. Cam Lam (Ba Ngoi), on the western shore of the bay, was the area's major port and naval base during French colonial days. The United States military intervention in South Vietnam in 1965 created new installations and airfields, many of them at Cam Ranh. Pop. (1989) 114,041.