Taming the Dragon: In Vietnam also, Kamala attacks China, rakes up SCS matter
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: As part of its relentless strategy to tame the Dragon in all possible war theatres, US Vice-President Kamala Harris, who charged China with bullying during her Singapore visit early this week, raked up the South China Sea matter in Vietnam as well with a fresh jab at Beijing on Thursday.
“The United States welcomes competition and does not seek conflict with Beijing—but will speak up on issues like maritime disputes in the South China Sea”, she declared as she concluded a weeklong trip to Southeast Asia.
In visits to Singapore and Vietnam, Harris charged China with bullying its neighbors in the region, triggering sharp rebukes from Beijing, which charged the US with meddling in “regional affairs and disrupting the peace”.
“We welcome stiff competition, we do not seek conflict but on issues such as the South China Sea, we are going to speak up,” Harris made it clear at a news conference in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.
“We are going to speak up when there are actions that Beijing takes that threaten the rules-based international order,” she added.
The US Vice-President’s trip to Singapore and Vietnam was part of a broader US strategy to take on China globally. Her visit, however, was eclipsed by the deadly events in Afghanistan and the ongoing withdrawal of US troops from Kabul, according to media reports.
Several of China’s neighbors—like Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, and Malaysia—lay claim to parts of the disputed waters of the South China Sea, which is crossed by vital shipping lanes and contains gas fields and rich fishing grounds.
During her meetings with Vietnamese leadership on Wednesday, Harris said China’s “bullying and excessive maritime claims” in the waters should be challenged. She also offered US support to enhance Vietnam’s maritime security, including more visits by US warships to the country.
Irked, the state-run Chinese newspaper China Daily, said on Wednesday that Harris had “wilfully ignored her own hypocrisy” in attempting to rally countries in the region against China.
And on Thursday, after her meetings in Hanoi, Communist Party of China (CPC) mouthpiece Global Times said the US was “dreaming” to incite Vietnam to confront China.
Interestingly, taking advantage of the three-hour delay in her arrival from Singapore to Hanoi, Beijing tried to drive a wedge between Vietnam and America. Chinese Ambassador Xiong Bo suddenly called on Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, apparently seeking assurances. Chinh said Vietnam does not take sides in foreign policy and thanked the Chinese envoy for a new donation of two million doses of Covid-19 vaccines.
A day later, in her own meeting with Chinh, Harris also pledged a US donation of one million Pfizer vaccine doses to Vietnam.
The US has called rivalry with China “the biggest geopolitical test” of the century as it tries to rebuild its relationships in the region with a series of high-profile visits, beginning with Vice-President Kamala Harris’ tour of Southeast Asia.
During the last few years, tensions between China and Vietnam in the South China Sea have remained high. The two countries’ Communist parties maintain close ties and Vietnam is dependent on imported Chinese materials to support its manufacturing and exports.
