Harry Harris, the highest commander of US forces inthe Asia Pacific region, as US ambassador to Australia is expected to further enhance cooperation between Canberra and Washington in issues relating to the South China Sea.

In addition to Vietnam, the US is also tightening military cooperation with long-standing allies Australia, Japan and India. The visit marked the first US Navy ship visit to Vietnam in 30 years, since 1973. The frigate USS Vandegrift arrives November 19, 2003, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. “Other countries will need to do more to counteract China.” “This is obviously a game of balance of power, and China is flexing its muscle in the South China Sea,” said Le Hong Hiep, a fellow at Singapore’s ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute.

Vietnam has also urged its fellow ASEAN nations to take a stronger stance against China in the South China Sea, though the body has largely chosen not to forcefully challenge Beijing. Vietnam eventually backed down a month later, under pressure from China. China claims the area is part of its territory. Vietnam had granted a subsidiary of Spanish company Repsol drilling rights to the bank. In June 2017, Vietnam refused Chinese demands to cease drilling on Vanguard Bank, an area that belongs to Vietnam under international law.

Vietnam is among the claimants that has stood up most publicly against China, after the Philippines – long one of most ardent critics of Chinese expansion in the area – reversed course under President Rodrigo Duterte. High-resolution aerial images of China’s reclamation efforts in the Spratly Islands, recently obtained by the Philippine Inquirer newspaper, show that the reefs and sandbars have been turned into island fortresses, with ports, air strips, lighthouses, hangars and multi-story buildings. Since 2014, China has forged ahead with island-building in the disputed waters, despite a landmark ruling in 2016 by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which said there was no legal basis for China’s maritime claims.Ĭhina’s claims to the South China Sea stretch roughly 1,000 miles from its southern shores, pitting it against Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

The subject of China, and Chinese activity in the South China Sea, is likely to loom large over the visit. This aerial photograph of Johnson South Reef reef obtained by the Philippine Inquirer and taken on November 28, 2017, shows Chinese militarization and reclamation on the reef.

The us navy in the vietnam war