A 'Useful' and 'Central' Vietnam + US Studies Sea Treaty

choi

(1) James Hookway, Old US Foe Proves Useful; Vietnam emerges in a central role in Washington's press to counter China. Wall Street Journal, Nov 18, 2011.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB ... 43902785729334.html
"CAM RAHN BAY, Vietnam--America is back in Vietnam with a message for the rest of Asia: If you want to have a productive relationship with China, you'd better have a good one with the US, too.

"In a notable reversal from the war years, a US Navy vessel called in at Vietnam's Cam Rahn Bay naval base in August for the first time in more than three decades. The USNS Richard E Byrd spent seven days  undergoing repairs at the shipyeards there

"Vietnam's leaders are refurbishing the facility [at the Bay] in a bid to encourage other countries' vessels to regularly stop by for repairs or military exercises, effectively internationalizing shipping lanes nearby.

"The US is also tapping into growing environmental concern in the region--much of it prompted by China's need for resources. In the Mekong delta, Americans are fanning out to help Vietnam cope with the potential environmental impact of China's dam-building projects further upstream. * * * Indeed, China's dam program is triggering a growing environmentalist movement here. 'The Us won't admit as much, but they are partly tapping into this anti-Chinese feeling,' says Ian Storey, a regional security expert at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.

Note: The "muck" in the sentence "Once you [China] start mucking about with a river, it can cause all sorts of problems" is an intransitive verb that means:
"2a : to engage in aimless activity —usually used with about or around
b : PUTTER, TINKER—usually used with about or around <mucking around with his computer>
c : INTERFERE, MEDDLE—usually used with about or around"
www.m-w.com


(2) Keith Johnson and Laura Meckler, To parry China, US Loos to Sea Treaty It Hasn't Signed. Wall Street Journal, Nov 18, 2011.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB ... 4577044473905113442

Quote:

"the law of the Sea Treaty, a 1982 global legal framework that the US, alone among major nations, has never ratified.

""The treaty has a broad base of support among former presidents of both parties, secretaries of state, military officials, business groups, and environmentalists. But some stauch conservatives oppose it, arguing it would erode US sovereignty by ceding power to international bodies.

"And just signing the treaty, they say, doesn't mean countries will comply--China is already a signatory, while legal experts say Chinese attempts to claim the bulk of the South China ea goes against both the letter and the spirit of the law.

My comment:
(a) Later in the report: "Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in an appearance in the Philippines this week that the US wants to see 'the Law of the Sea used as the overriding framework for hndling territorial disputes."

My reading is Ms Clinton implicitly rejects China's claim over S China Sea based on "historical" root.
(b) If you really do not want to, you do not have to read the rest.