Vietnam doesn't trust the US, but rather wants to play China and US against each other. It knows that we can make an example out of it easily.
Phillipines has no power projection, we don't lose anything except cheap maids if they go against us.
South Korea has to worry about North Korea first. They're begging us to rein in North Korea.
Malaysia and Indonesia are some of the few VISA FREE/VISA ON ARRIVAL destinations for Chinese citizens. They're not going anywhere.
Russia is our strategic partner and we hold more joint military exercises than Russia and India. Indians love Russians but Russians treat India like an ATM.
Taiwan is not going to do anything because 1.) Chinese don't fight Chinese and 2.) Their military is not in the position to realistically launch a 1st strike.
So India, Japan and US are going to be alone. Guess which one is going to be made an example of?
U.S. Warship Docks in Vietnam Amid China Sea Dispute
August 10, 2010, 1:17 PM EDT
By Daniel Ten Kate
Aug. 10 (Bloomberg) -- A U.S. warship docked in Vietnam today as part of weeklong naval exercises that highlight a more assertive American role in the region that has irked China.
The USS John S. McCain is visiting Danang to mark the 15- year anniversary of normalized relations between the U.S. and Vietnam, according to the Navy. Vietnamese officials made an offshore visit to the USS George Washington nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in the South China Sea two days ago.
The exercises follow a diplomatic tiff between the U.S. and China after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton commented on a regional territorial dispute in the sea, which China considers its own. Clinton said last month that resolving disputes was a leading diplomatic priority, and she offered to help countries negotiate a code of conduct in the waters.
From Vietnams perspective, its wonderful to have the Seventh Fleet present, it increases stability, said Ralf Emmers, a professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. What is at stake is really to try to ratify a code of conduct with China.
Chinas Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi called Clintons remark virtually an attack on China. Today a Chinese general said in an editorial that U.S. plans to bring the USS George Washington to the Yellow Sea, situated between Chinas coast and the Korean peninsula, may provoke economic retaliation.
Exxon, BP Pressured
China has pressured Exxon Mobil Corp. and BP Plc to halt exploration in waters that Vietnam considers part of its territory, according to U.S. government agencies. Vietnams Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga said Aug. 5 that China had conducted seismic surveys of areas near the Paracel islands and encompassing its continental shelf.
The ministry has made numerous representations with the Chinese side at different levels to expound its official views on these matters, she said. However, China is continuing those activities.
On Aug. 6 Chinas Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said China has indisputable sovereignty over the Paracel Islands and the sea around them.
The USS John S. McCain is the second U.S. ship to visit a Vietnamese port this year, and two others received repairs at a shipyard in the country, according to the Seventh Fleets website. U.S. ships made two port visits to Vietnam in each of the past two years and a different aircraft carrier hosted Vietnamese guests offshore last year, it said.
Ties Strengthened
We share a common interest in maritime security in this region, John S. McCain Commander Jeffrey Kim told reporters today in Danang after the ship docked. I see our ties strengthened as we continue to develop our friendship in this region.
The ship is named after the father and grandfather of U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona, a former Republican presidential nominee.
McCains father and grandfather were both career Navy officers. The senator, a former Navy pilot, was shot down over Hanoi and imprisoned for six years in Vietnam.
The Southeast Asian nation has become one of Americas most important and most promising emerging partners in the Asia- Pacific region, the senator said in a statement from Washington. Todays port call is certainly rich with historical significance, especially for my family and me.
Naval Prowess
China has bolstered its naval capabilities over the past decade, enhancing its ability to enforce territorial claims. Last year, Chinese fishing boats harassed two U.S. naval vessels in the South China Sea, where American forces have patrolled since World War II.
The South China Sea covers 3.5 million square kilometers (1.4 million square miles) stretching from Singapore to the Straits of Taiwan. Its waters carry about half the worlds merchant fleet by tonnage each year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Estimates of oil and gas reserves in the waters vary, with some Chinese studies suggesting they contain more oil than Iran and more natural gas than Saudi Arabia, according to the U.S. agency. Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Taiwan also claim some or all of the disputed islands.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is negfor this story: Bill Austin at
billaustin@bloomberg.net
U.S. Warship Docks in Vietnam Amid China Sea Dispute - Businessweek