VP Harris says U.S. will ‘speak up’ on South China Sea

HANOI, Aug. 26 (Reuters) – The United States welcomes the competition and is not seeking a conflict with Beijing, but will speak out on issues such as maritime disputes in the South China Sea, Vice President Kamala Harris said Thursday as she completed a trip to southeast Asia .

During visits to Singapore and Vietnam, Harris accused China of harassing its neighbors in the region, which sparked sharp reprimands from Beijing accusing the US of interfering in regional affairs and disturbing the peace. Continue reading

“We welcome tough competition, we are not looking for conflict, but we will speak out on issues such as the South China Sea,” Harris said at a press conference in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi.

“We will speak out when Beijing takes action that threatens the rules-based international order,” she added.

Harris’ seven-day trip to Singapore and Vietnam is part of a broader US strategy to fight China around the world.

China, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan claim parts of the disputed waters of the South China Sea, which is criss-crossed by vital shipping lanes and contains gas fields and rich fishing grounds.

Speaking to Vietnamese leaders on Wednesday, Harris said China’s “bullying and excessive maritime claims” in the waters should be challenged and offered US assistance to improve Vietnam’s maritime security, including further visits by US warships to the country. Continue reading

Their statements were condemned by Chinese state media.

On Wednesday, in response to Harris’ statements in Singapore, the state-run China Daily said Harris “deliberately ignored her own hypocrisy” as it tried to rally countries in the region against China.

On Thursday, after their meeting in Hanoi, the Global Times said the US “dreams” of inciting Vietnam to confront China.

“It couldn’t be better for Washington if a new war breaks out between Beijing and Hanoi,” said the tabloid, published by the official newspaper of the ruling Chinese Communist Party, in an editorial.

US Vice President Kamala Harris holds a press conference before leaving Vietnam for the United States after her first official visit to Asia in Hanoi, Vietnam, on August 26, 2021. REUTERS / Evelyn Hockstein / Pool

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“HAVANA SYNDROME”

In addition to allegations by the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the state media, Beijing tried to stage its own diplomatic coup with a surprise meeting in Vietnam during the trip, as Harris’ departure from Singapore was delayed by three hours.

During the previously unannounced meeting between Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the Chinese Ambassador, Chinh said that Vietnam is taking no sides on foreign policy and thanked the Ambassador for a new donation of 2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines. Continue reading

At her own meeting with Chinh a day later, Harris promised a US donation of 1 million Pfizer (PFE.N) vaccine doses to Vietnam.

Harris’ late arrival was later attributed by the US Embassy in Hanoi to a mysterious health incident possibly related to the mysterious “Havana Syndrome,” a condition of unknown origin that affects at least 200 US officials, including CIA officials, with symptoms such as Nausea, migraines and memory lapses.

“I will tell you that we are investigating and that I have little more to say at the moment,” Harris said of the incident at Thursday’s press conference.

GEOPOLITICAL TEST

The US government has called the rivalry with China the “greatest geopolitical test” of the century as it seeks to rebuild ties in the region with a series of high profile visits.

Tensions between China and Vietnam in the South China Sea have remained high in recent years, despite Hanoi trying to find a delicate balancing act.

Hanoi’s and Beijing’s ruling communist parties have close ties, and Vietnam relies on imported Chinese materials to support its production and export.

Meanwhile, relations with the United States’ old enemies have grown closer and closer, despite Washington saying that relations will be limited until Vietnam makes progress on human rights.

“We will not be afraid to raise our voices even if these conversations are difficult to have and maybe difficult to hear,” she told reporters.

Reporting by Nandita Bose and James Pearson Editing by Ed Davies and Kim Coghill

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