U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris departs Vietnam at Noi Bai International airport following her first official trip to Asia in Hanoi, Vietnam, Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)
Kamala Harris asked Vietnam to help push-back against the Chinese Communist Party’s bullying in the region. During her speech in Hanoi on Wednesday, she said the U.S. would be committed to challenging the CCP’s attempts to dominate the South China Sea.
“We need to find ways to pressure and raise the pressure, frankly, on Beijing to abide by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and to challenge its bullying and excessive maritime claims,” Harris stated.
Leaders in the CCP fired back by claiming any American involvement would be interfering with regional peace and security. As part of the push-back against Chinese dominance in Southeast Asia, Harris announced the U.S. would be supplying new vaccines for Vietnam.
“I am delighted to announce that the United States is donating an additional 1 million Pfizer vaccines to Vietnam And this will build on our previous donations,” she stated. “And these vaccines will start arriving within the next 24-hours to Vietnam.”
I am proud to report that the United States and Vietnam are making progress together. After a series of productive conversations, we announced new agreements to benefit the people, prosperity, and security of both nations.https://t.co/yBREFfGCAV
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) August 25, 2021
Harris is scheduled to leave the region Thursday after meeting with Vietnamese Vice President Nguyen Huu Tho. Ahead of her departure, she confirmed the U.S. would “maintain a strong presence in the South China Sea” in a readiness effort to confront the communist regime if necessary. This comes as China has attempted to discredit the U.S. as a reliable ally due to the messy Afghanistan troop withdrawal.
Source: One America News Network
