US Navy renews call for ship visits to Vietnam as tensions with China worsen
US repeats calls on Vietnam to allow more of its Seventh Fleet ships to visit as relations between Hanoi and Beijing worsen following attacks on businesses perceived to be Chinese
The US Navy renewed calls on Thursday for more of its ships to visit Vietnam against the backdrop of a dramatic breakdown in relations between Vietnam and its giant neighbour, China.
The Seventh Fleet, which guards US interests in the Pacific, restated its desire for stronger naval ties with Vietnam in a statement sent to Reuters, just as Hanoi looked to be running out of options in its territorial row with Beijing.
Anti-China riots broke out this week in Vietnam, killing more than 20 people and setting fire to factories perceived to have been Chinese-owned, after China towed a giant oil rig into waters claimed by both nations in the South China Sea.
“We are interested in engaging with all our partners in the South China Sea and would welcome increased port visits with Vietnam.”
“We are interested in engaging with all our partners in the South China Sea and would welcome increased port visits with Vietnam,” fleet spokesman Commander William Marks said in an e-mailed response to questions about US naval relations with Vietnam.
The United States and Vietnam have been gradually deepening military ties in the face of what they perceive as Chinese expansion in the South China Sea, but Hanoi has so far limited US port calls to one visit of up to three ships each year.
Vietnamese military officials say they are intensifying talks with their US counterparts over deeper naval engagement, but are sensitive to China’s reaction to this development.
“We’re talking to US but it is too early to say how the tensions now will change our approach,” one Vietnamese military source said. “We have a lot to consider.”
