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US warship docks in Vietnam amid growing dispute with China over sea
A U.S. warship docked in Vietnam today as part of week-long 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 Vietnam's perspective, it's 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."
China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi called Clinton's remark "virtually an attack on China."