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发帖数: 20445 | 1 U.S. navy renews call for ship visits to Vietnam as tensions worsen
BY GREG TORODE
Hong Kong Thu May 15, 2014 3:48am EDT
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(Reuters) - The U.S. navy renewed calls on Thursday for more ship visits to
Vietnam against the backdrop of a dramatic breakdown in relations between
Vietnam and its giant neighbor, China.
The Seventh Fleet, which guards U.S. 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," fleet spokesman
Commander William Marks said in an emailed response to questions about U.S.
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 U.S. port calls to one visit of up to three
ships each year.
Vietnamese military officials say they are intensifying talks with U.S.
counterparts over deeper naval engagement, but are sensitive to China's
reaction to this development.
"We're talking to U.S. 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."
Alarmed at China's military rise and territorial assertiveness, Vietnam has
broadened a host of military relationships in recent years, most notably
with its Cold War-era patron, Russia, and India.
Vietnamese military officials also keep close ties with the Philippines,
which is also locked in a worsening territorial dispute with China in the
South China Sea.
China and Vietnam fought a brief but bloody border war in 1979, and clashed
at sea in 1988, when China occupied its first holdings in the strategic
Spratly islands.
The U.S. navy is also keen for more extensive exercises with Vietnam's
expanding navy, which now includes state-of-the-art Russian-built ships and
Kilo-class submarines.
A search-and-rescue exercise off Vietnam's central coast last year marked
the first time ships from the two navies had maneuvered together.
"Any time we can increase the complexity of an exercise, it improves the
communication and interoperability between our navies," Marks said.
"The overall goal is improved security and stability in the region, and
working together is a big part of that."
U.S. military officials said the U.S. navy had not changed deployments due
to the Sino-Vietnamese crisis but was conducting daily surveillance flights
over the South China Sea.
The Seventh Fleet's command ship, the USS Blue Ridge, and a destroyer are
also currently in the South China Sea.
Carl Thayer, an expert on the Vietnamese military at the Australian Defence
Force Academy in Canberra, said he believed Hanoi should seize any
opportunity to expand military engagement with the United States, including
intelligence sharing.
"At this point, kissing up to the U.S. has got to be in Vietnam's long-term
interests, as well as being a vital tactic in the short-term," he said.
"It is one of the only options Vietnam's got right now." |
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