U.S., Vietnam to Hold Joint Naval Activities Starting July 15 Options

[LaniKai]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-01/u...ng-july-15.html
The U.S. and Vietnam will hold joint naval activities in the city of Danang beginning on July 15, the U.S. consulate in Ho Chi Minh City said.
The planned events include a pier-side welcome ceremony for the USS Chung-Hoon at Tien Sa Port in Danang, as well as community relation projects, search and rescue, damage-control and dive salvage training between the navies from the two countries, the consulate said in a press release.
Military ties between the two countries have gradually increased since the USS Vandegrift in 2003 became the first American naval vessel to dock in the Southeast Asian nation since the end of the Vietnam War. Improved relations have drawn more attention amid tensions between China and Vietnam over disputed areas in the South China Sea.
Vietnam has accused Chinese vessels of harassing Vietnam Oil & Gas Group survey ships twice since May, while China responded by saying one of its fishing boats was “chased” by armed Vietnamese ships last month. The U.S. weighed in with a statement last month that referred to “troubling incidents” in the South China Sea.
Preparations for the week-long operations began about a year ago, and there is no connection with recent events in the South China Sea, said Lt. Cmdr. Mike Morley, a Singapore-based public affairs officer for the U.S. Navy.
“It’s merely a coincidence of timing,” Morley said in a telephone interview. “We did this last year and we’ll probably do it again next year.”
The planned events are not described by the U.S. Navy as exercises “so as not to confuse these exchange activities with military exercises that we do with other navies in the region,” he said.
“This is focused on relationship-building and non- combatant activities,” Morley said. U.S.-Vietnamese ties are “growing in terms of complexity and familiarity

[SoCal]

Vietnam should do this annually and make as many friends as possible including the ASEAN, Chinese/Taiwanese/Korean/Japanese, American, Russian, Indian, etc.

[SoCal]

Taiwan is not a country so you should not list it in bilateral national relationships. The government of Vietnam does not recognize the existence of Taiwan. Neither does the US, all of ASEAN, Canada, India, Russia or Japan.

Does that mean Vietnam cannot establish equal rights with Taiwan as in another nation? I believe that sooner or later 10% of Taiwanese people will have Viet blood in them due to high migration of Vietnamese to Taiwan.

[freezingpoint]

Does that mean Vietnam cannot establish equal rights with Taiwan as in another nation? I believe that sooner or later 10% of Taiwanese people will have Viet blood in them due to high migration of Vietnamese to Taiwan.

There is no such nation called Taiwan. Vietnam does not recognize that this government even exists. There is a province of China temporarily under rebel control supported by the US. They happen to run their own administration. The Taliban also controlled a part of Afghanistan with independent administration from the Afghan government, should Vietnam talk about "increasing relationships with the Taliban"?

[LaniKai]

There is no such nation called Taiwan. Vietnam does not recognize that this government even exists. There is a province of China temporarily under rebel control supported by the US. They happen to run their own administration. The Taliban also controlled a part of Afghanistan with independent administration from the Afghan government, should Vietnam talk about "increasing relationships with the Taliban"?

The Chinese need a military victory over Taiwan to justify their emotional investment. The Chinese military needs to fly the Communist flag over Taiwan – they need this more than they need to go on living. That is the psychology of the region. Everything China has done in 30 years has been geared towards a takeover of Taiwan. This is the point of modernization, it is the reason to exist for the Chinese Communist state. They modernized for this reason, and for this reason alone. They have a capitalist economy for this reason, and this reason alone. Their military was hopelessly behind the American/Taiwan capabilities, they shrewdly recognized this, and have “opened” to the West precisely as little as possible while still getting their hands on advanced military capabilities.

These kinds of ancient hatreds and feuds are the real motivators of human behaviors, and the West is clueless about it. Yesterday Tibet, today Hong Kong, tomorrow Taiwan. China is a military dictatorship that exits to expand

[freezingpoint]

The Chinese need a military victory over Taiwan to justify their emotional investment. The Chinese military needs to fly the Communist flag over Taiwan – they need this more than they need to go on living. That is the psychology of the region. Everything China has done in 30 years has been geared towards a takeover of Taiwan. This is the point of modernization, it is the reason to exist for the Chinese Communist state. They modernized for this reason, and for this reason alone. They have a capitalist economy for this reason, and this reason alone. Their military was hopelessly behind the American/Taiwan capabilities, they shrewdly recognized this, and have “opened” to the West precisely as little as possible while still getting their hands on advanced military capabilities.

These kinds of ancient hatreds and feuds are the real motivators of human behaviors, and the West is clueless about it. Yesterday Tibet, today Hong Kong, tomorrow Taiwan. China is a military dictatorship that exits to expand

Tibet was always a part of China. Hong Kong was peacefully returned to China by the British which illegally conquered it and people from Hong Kong are some of the most hardcore Chinese nationalists of all. Just look at Midnight_Sun lol. Or for someone famous, Sun Yatsen.

BTW, how legal was the North Vietnamese conquest over South Vietnam?

[SoCal]

BTW, how legal was the North Vietnamese conquest over South Vietnam?

Speaking of this specific matter, it is not like the first time it happened. Dai Viet was divided for almost 300 years from the early 16th century to the late 18th century and then Emperor Quang Trung (Nguyen Hue) and Emperor Gia Long (Nguyen Anh) were able to unify the whole country in 1788 and 1802, respectively. In compare to the division of Vietnam from 1945 to 1975, the division of Dai Viet during that time lasts almost 10 times as long for almost 300 years.

[fireplant]

The Chinese need a military victory over Taiwan to justify their emotional investment. The Chinese military needs to fly the Communist flag over Taiwan – they need this more than they need to go on living. That is the psychology of the region. Everything China has done in 30 years has been geared towards a takeover of Taiwan. This is the point of modernization, it is the reason to exist for the Chinese Communist state. They modernized for this reason, and for this reason alone. They have a capitalist economy for this reason, and this reason alone. Their military was hopelessly behind the American/Taiwan capabilities, they shrewdly recognized this, and have “opened” to the West precisely as little as possible while still getting their hands on advanced military capabilities.

These kinds of ancient hatreds and feuds are the real motivators of human behaviors, and the West is clueless about it. Yesterday Tibet, today Hong Kong, tomorrow Taiwan. China is a military dictatorship that exits to expand

This is a pretty good story. It isn't true at all, but I still like how it sounds. Let's just go with that -- monolithic China that no one in their mind should want to fu-k with.

[brokenhand]

Philippine-US joint naval drill amid tension with China
VietNamNet Bridge - The Philippines and the US have begun 11 days of joint naval exercises amid growing tensions with Beijing over disputed waters in the South China Sea (East Sea).



US missile destroyers will join much older Philippine warships for the drills off the south-west Philippines.

In a BBC interview, President Benigno Aquino said he was concerned by China's encroachment into Philippine waters.

Several Asian nations claim parts of the strategically important waters that may also contain oil and gas deposits.

The naval exercises are an annual event and will be an important chance for Manila's badly equipped navy to learn new techniques.

But they come at a strategically important time, not far from the disputed region of the East Sea in which the Philippines says China has made a series of recent incursions.

On Monday, the US Senate unanimously approved a motion deploring "the use of force by naval and maritime security vessels from China in the East Sea".

Democratic Senator Jim Webb said South East Asian nations were worried about China's "pattern of intimidation".

As a former US colony, the Philippines still has close ties with America.

The US has already stated its intention to honour a long-standing defence pact made with the Philippines should the need arise.

The exercises will undoubtedly give the Philippines more reassurance of US support should China continue to press its claims on the disputed territory.

Manila says there have been nine separate Chinese incursions into its territorial waters since late February, and President Aquino said he was very concerned about the situation.

He told the BBC that if China did push its claim in some way, it would be "hard to understand how this could conform to international law".

"And if the international community agrees to such a thing, what happens to the rule of law?"

For its part, China has said it will not resort to the use of force to resolve maritime border disputes in the East Sea.

China's foreign ministry says it condemns any action that would exacerbate the dispute, and urged those involved to "do more that is beneficial to regional peace and stability".

This post has been edited by brokenhand: Jul 1 2011, 01:46 PM

[SoCal]

[ILove2ManyGirls]

The Chinese need a military victory over Taiwan to justify their emotional investment. The Chinese military needs to fly the Communist flag over Taiwan – they need this more than they need to go on living. That is the psychology of the region. Everything China has done in 30 years has been geared towards a takeover of Taiwan. This is the point of modernization, it is the reason to exist for the Chinese Communist state. They modernized for this reason, and for this reason alone. They have a capitalist economy for this reason, and this reason alone. Their military was hopelessly behind the American/Taiwan capabilities, they shrewdly recognized this, and have “opened” to the West precisely as little as possible while still getting their hands on advanced military capabilities.

These kinds of ancient hatreds and feuds are the real motivators of human behaviors, and the West is clueless about it. Yesterday Tibet, today Hong Kong, tomorrow Taiwan. China is a military dictatorship that exits to expand

Come on, even west China "experts" dont buy this kind of craps anymore, grow a brain before trying to act like a smartass

Nobody in China want to take Taiwan by force, instead, and in S.China sea dispute, mainland Chinese can be fine even if all S.China sea fall within ROC's hand.

Get real my poor vietcong boy, PRC and ROC has lots in common than you have ever imagined

[lychyrychy]

Come on, even west China "experts" dont buy this kind of craps anymore, grow a brain before trying to act like a smartass

Nobody in China want to take Taiwan by force, instead, and in S.China sea dispute, mainland Chinese can be fine even if all S.China sea fall within ROC's hand.

Get real my poor vietcong boy, PRC and ROC has lots in common than you have ever imagined

Which bunghole are you talking out of? Please explain what PRC and ROC have so much in common.