India and USA to protect Vietnam from ChinaVietnam is not alone in a festering territorial dispute with China. In the near future Indian warships will arrive into the South China Sea. This is a group of destroyers CMD (controlled missile defense). But there is more to it: at the end of June there were reports from New Delhi that the Indian Navy intends to settle in the South China Sea for a long time. The Indian side is expected to establish a permanent military presence there.
According to the official government version of India, this will help the Navy of India to play a more prominent role in South-East Asia where strategic shipping lines are located. By doing this, India, as one of the major competitors of China in the region, intends to prevent the far-reaching plans of China to expand its sphere of influence. It is no secret that China intends to establish full control over all the islands in the South China Sea.
At the moment, it controls the Paracel Islands seized in 1974 from South Vietnam, as well as a smaller part of the Spratly archipelago. The severity of the dispute is explained not only by the importance of shipping lanes from the Pacific into the Indian Ocean, but also the wealth of biological resources of the South China Sea and, most importantly, large deposits of hydrocarbons on the shelf.
In particular, the Vietnamese side provides the entry for the Indian warships and naval bases in Nhatraneg and Halong Bay. In addition, India offers aid to Vietnam to increase its naval power by building ships and training of Vietnamese sailors.
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http://english.pravda.ru/world/asia/18-07-2011/118509-vietnam-0/ Vietnamese Naval Chief Visits India to Foster Defence TiesIndia and Vietnam have embarked upon a mission to strengthen their naval ties and establish a sustainable maritime presence as Indian naval warships have been granted permission to drop anchor at the Nha Trang port in southern Vietnam. Vietnam’s Navy Chief and deputy minister Vice Admiral Nguyen Van Hien is also on a visit to India to discuss the security challenges in the region and expand the scope of defence cooperation.
The recent move to allow the Indian Navy to drop anchor at the south Vietnamese port assumes significance due to the fact that the Indian Navy is the only foreign navy in the world to have been granted such a privilege at a port other than Halong Bay near Hanoi. This will facilitate the presence of Indian Navy in the South China Sea and enable a greater strategic role in Southeast Asia. India and Vietnam are wary of growing Chinese military capabilities as well as their increasing presence in the region.
Meanwhile, Vietnam has been trying to make its presence felt in the world and augment its defence capabilities. The current visit by the Vietnamese Naval Chief to India aims to increase defence ties with India while India is also keen to offer naval facilities for training and capacity-building to Vietnam. The Vietnamese Naval Chief is scheduled to meet Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony, Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik and Army Chief General V.K. Singh, as part of his bilateral talks.
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http://www.defencenow.com/news/223/vietnamese_naval_chief_visits_india_to_foster_defence_ties.html I predicted this about 3 years ago. Not surprised that it eventually happened. I expect to see an Asia NATO like alliance between Japan, India, South Korea, Vietnam, Philippines, Taiwan and maybe even Australia in the near future. Already there is silent but significant cooperation between these nations which share a mutual hostility towards China's expansionist ambitions. This trend highlights the strong possibility that the future world would be multipolar. This coalition is a natural result of China heavy handed foreign policy in the recent decades.
Btw does anyone else think that the close military relationship Vietnam and America seem to seek today would have been predicted in the 70s? when they were both mortal enemies? A few decades bring huge changes indeed, in today's world.
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