Three US Navy ships were welcomed yesterday by former foe Vietnam for joint training, despite China’s irritation following weeks of fiery exchanges between the neighbors over disputed areas of the South China Sea.
US and Vietnamese officials have stressed that the seven-day ship visit and naval training are part of routine exchanges planned long before tensions began flaring between China and Vietnam in late May.
China has criticized the port call as inappropriate, saying it should have been rescheduled because of the ongoing squabble.
However, the US visit did send a message that the US Navy remains a formidable maritime force in the region and is determined to build stronger military ties with smaller Southeast Asian countries.
“We’ve had a presence in the Western Pacific and the South China Sea for 50 to 60 years, even going back before World War II,” said US Rear Admiral Tom Carney, who is leading the naval exchange. “We will maintain a presence in the Western Pacific and the South China Sea as we have for decades and we have no intention of departing from that kind of activity.”
“I don’t know when an appropriate time would be for these kind of activities, which are designed to promote friendship and cooperation, but I don’t think there’s ever a bad time to do those kind of activities,” Carney said.
He spoke on the pier in central Da Nang, once home to a bustling US military base during the Vietnam War, in front of the diving and salvage ship USNS Safeguard. US and Vietnamese flags flapped in the steamy air from the ship, and two guided missile destroyers — USS Chung-Hoon and USS Preble — were visible off the coast.
The two sides will hold exchanges involving navigation and damage control along with dive and salvage training. No live-fire drills will be conducted.
Vietnam and China last month both announced their navies held such maneuvers individually in the South China Sea after relations hit a low point when Hanoi twice accused Beijing of hindering oil exploration activities within Vietnam’s economic exclusive zone.
China fired back that Vietnamese boats had endangered Chinese fishermen in a different area near the contested resource-rich Spratly Islands (南沙群島), claimed by all or in part by both and several other Asian nations, including Taiwan.
Washington has said that the South China Sea, home to major shipping lanes, is in its national interest. China, which has an expanding maritime influence, has designated the area as a core interest — essentially something it could go to war over.
Worried smaller neighboring countries have looked to the US to maintain a strong presence in the region.
“The US has made its point and will continue to do so if pressed, but does not appear to be looking for a fight with Beijing on this issue,” said Ralph Cossa, president of Pacific Forum CSIS, a Hawaii-based think tank. “It is not likely to heed or back down as a result of Chinese ‘warnings,’ however, which will likely make Washington feel more compelled to respond.”
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
‘DELUSIONAL’: Targeting the families of Hamas’ leaders would not push the group to change its position or to give up its demands for Palestinians, Ismail Haniyeh said Israeli aircraft on Wednesday killed three sons of Hamas’ top political leader in the Gaza Strip, striking high-stakes targets at a time when Israel is holding delicate ceasefire negotiations with the militant group. Hamas said four of the leader’s grandchildren were also killed. Ismail Haniyeh’s sons are among the highest-profile figures to be killed in the war so far. Israel said they were Hamas operatives, and Haniyeh accused Israel of acting in “the spirit of revenge and murder.” The deaths threatened to strain the internationally mediated ceasefire talks, which appeared to gain steam in recent days even as the sides remain far
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of