China has upped its efforts to pull Vietnam away from the United States amid ongoing tensions in the South China Sea, says Duowei News, a US-based Chinese political news outlet.
The Vietnamese foreign minister, Pham Binh Minh, completed a three-day visit to Beijing on June 19, during which he co-chaired the eighth meeting of the China-Vietnam Steering Committee for Bilateral Cooperation along with Chinese state councilor Yang Jiechi.
The key communication channel between the two neighbors is held once a year in principle, with no specified date, with the venue alternating between the two countries each year. The timing of the most recent meeting is regarded as particularly interesting given the ongoing tensions in the South China Sea, where China remains embroiled in territorial disputes with neighbors such as Vietnam and the Philippines and continues to fend off criticism from the United States.
Additionally, China's Central Military Commission vice chair Fan Changlong had just completed a visit of the United States, while the US defense secretary, Ashton Carter, visited Vietnam earlier this month.
Pham's visit to Beijing was considered a success, with China releasing a press release stating that Vietnam has vowed to carry out maritime, infrastructure and financial cooperation with China.
"Pham Binh Minh said that the party and government of Vietnam have always viewed relations with China as a strategic choice and a diplomatic priority," the release said.
Vietnam, which relies heavily on China for economic development, has been relatively quiet when it comes to commenting on China's actions in the South China Sea, unlike the Philippines, whose president Benigno Aquino III recently likened China's assertiveness in the region to the territorial demands of Nazi Germany in the lead-up to World War II.
Instead, Vietnam has used the upgrading of its military arsenal to make a statement. On June 2, Vietnam received two indigenously built, Russian-designed custom Project 1241 Tarantul-class or Molniya corvettes. Two Gepard 3.9 class frigates Vietnam ordered from Russia are also said to be basically complete.
According to Duowei, Vietnam has been frantically purchasing military equipment since 2010, when it signed a US$2.4 billion agreement with Russia for six Kilo-class Type 636 submarines and 12 Su-30MK2 fighter jets.
During Carter's visit to Hanoi earlier this month, he also pledged US$18 million to help Vietnam buy American-made coast guard patrol boats to improve its maritime defense capabilities, and signed a joint vision statement with his Vietnamese counterpart Phung Quang Thanh to guide the expansion of bilateral cooperation.
China is no doubt concerned that Vietnam could be leaning closer and closer to the US due to the South China Sea territorial dispute. Beijing considers Hanoi a comprehensive strategic partner, Duowei said, adding that Vietnam has joined the Beijing-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and remains a key location in China's ambitious "Belt and Road" initiative to boost connectivity and cooperation throughout Eurasia.
It is in China's best interests for Hanoi to stay in the middle of Beijing and Washington, which means abstaining from making comments on China's land reclamation and military facility construction in the South China Sea so as to isolate detractors like the Philippines, Duowei said.
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