Southeast Asia tends to defenses in South China Sea
With Vietnam welcoming foreign warships to a key port and the Philippines building on a disputed island, Southeast Asian nations are working to reinforce their South China Sea claims in the face of an increasingly assertive Beijing.
Japan’s Izumo helicopter carrier — one of the country’s largest naval ships — made port in Vietnam’s Cam Ranh Bay for the first time May 20 as part of the Pacific Partnership annual humanitarian mission by such countries as Japan and the U.S. A state-affiliated newspaper expressed Hanoi’s hope for Japanese involvement in the region.
