Harris urges Vietnam to join US in opposing China ‘bullying’

By ALEXANDRA JAFFE
Associated Press

HANOI (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has urged Vietnam to join the U.S. in challenging what she called China’s “bullying” in the South China Sea. She continued her sharp rhetoric against Beijing as she met with Vietnamese leaders Wednesday. The vice president’s rebuke of China comes in the middle of her weeklong tour of Southeast Asia, a trip that brought her to Singapore and Vietnam in a bid to strengthen U.S. ties to the Indo-Pacific region to counter China’s growing military and economic influence there. In addition to her commitment to defend the South China Sea against Beijing’s advances, Harris unveiled an array of new partnerships and support for Vietnam in areas including climate change, trade and the pandemic.