DoD eyes expanded military ties to Vietnam

[rug]

By Marcus Weisgerber - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Jun 3, 2012 10:56:31 EDT

CAM RANH BAY, Vietnam — The Defense Department hopes to gain greater access for Navy ships into a key port here as the Pentagon looks to broaden its military partnership with Vietnam.

U.S. naval ship access into Cam Ranh Bay “is a key component of this relationship and we see a tremendous potential here for the future,” Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said during a June 3 visit to the dry cargo ship Richard Byrd, which is making a port call here.

Panetta is the highest-ranking U.S. government official to visit Cam Ranh Bay since the Vietnam War. President Lyndon Johnson visited Cam Ranh Bay in 1966.

Many considered Cam Ranh Bay “the jewel of deep, warm-water ports in Southeast Asia,” a defense official said. Protected by mountains, the bay served as a hub for U.S. military operations during the Vietnam War.

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2012/06/defense-panetta-expand-military-ties-vietnam-060312/

It's a damned good thing we fought an 11 year long war to keep them from taking over.

[Jackpine Radical]

1. The insanity of it all--

Had we made the offer, I am sure Ho would much rather have dealt with us than the Russians. He even tried to structure his Constitution after ours, more or less from memory since our ambassador didn't have a copy when he asked for it.

China was always the traditional enemy, Communist or not. The great heroes (and at least one magnificent heroine) of Vietnamese history were people who led uprisings against successive eras of Chinese dominance. Ho did n0ot want to let the Chinese in, and always kept their aid & presence to a minimum, preferring to deal with the Russians because they were further away & had no bvious territorial ambitions in SE Asia.

This is the kind of thing I started learning right after I got back from spending a year helping to blow that poor, beautiful little country apart and joined the antiwar movement in Madison.

[HereSince1628]

2. Tremendous potential for the future...

Imperialistic much? Methinks the throw-back uniforms are going to their heads.

[Johnyawl]

3. The Vietnamese are negotiating the US in to counter-wieght Chinese Imperialism.

[HereSince1628]

4. Maybe more complex between Vietnam and the Philippine Islands are the Spratley islands

volcanic soil with little productive land

But which are claimed by ALL of the following:

Brunei
Malaysia
Philippines
Republic of China
People's Republic of China
And Vietnam

Why? Well, it's that old story...the nearby sea-floor is sedimentary,and has the promise of fossil fuel reserves.

[Johnyawl]

5. The Spratley Islands are claimed by the Chinese...

...this is the Chinese Imperialism I'm talking about.

Yes, the islands are claimed by Brunei, China (People's Republic of China), Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan (Republic of China), and Vietnam. All the party's involved have been trying to establish a joint commission to negotiate sovereignty of the islands, with the exception of the Chinese. Following a 'divide and conquer' philosophy, The People's Republic of China has refused all attempts for a joint negotiation to settle everybody's claims, and are demanding that everybody negotiate separately with THEM. They have been very belligerent on this issue, trying to strong arm their smaller neighbors, to the point that several of the countries are now asking for the US to be involved in negotiations as a counter weight to the Chinese.

The US isn't the only Imperial power on this planet.