The U.S. government on Monday pledged $18 million to help Vietnam buy patrol boats to improve its maritime defense capabilities, while Chinese observers said the move may provoke more conflict in the South China Sea.
U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter arrived in Vietnam Sunday and said Washington would provide funds to help Vietnam buy U.S.-made Metal Shark patrol boats.
Carter and his delegation visited Vietnam's naval headquarters and met with the country's deputy defense minister.
The two sides said that their bilateral defense cooperation is based on respect for Vietnam's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, the local Thanheien News reported.
The pledge came shortly after Carter made a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday, in which he claimed that China's construction work in the Nansha Islands was out of step with international norms and rules and could increase the risk of conflict.
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying on Monday reiterated China's firm stance on the South China Sea issue in a daily press briefing, stressing that China hopes that related parties will do more to develop trust and stability in the region.
"The U.S. is trying to expand its political and maritime security influence in the South China Sea by providing financial support to Southeast Asian countries, so that it can confront China's power in the region," said Zhu Feng, a professor of international security at Nanjing University.
The two countries should directly face and tackle disputes around the South China Sea to avoid a deterioration of Sino-US relations, said Zhu.
Xue Li, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that the US is trying to reach its own strategic balance in the region, but that this sale of boats will drive China and the U.S. into a vicious cycle and trigger more conflict in the region.
"The more the U.S. involves itself in the South China Sea issue, the more China will do to counter the situation, which will eventually lead to more conflict and harm relations between China and Southeast Asian countries," he said.
