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Gates in Hanoi for Asian Defense Ministers' Meeting

   VOA News 10 October 2010

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS

   Defense  Secretary  Robert Gates, right, is greeted by, from left, Sr.
   Col.  Nguyen  Hong  Quang,  Maj.  Gen. Nguyen Huu Manh, and Second Lt.
   Nguyen Thang Anh as he deplanes a U.S. Military Aircraft as he arrives
   at  the  Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam, Sunday, Oct.
   10, 2010.

   U.S.  Defense  Secretary  Robert  Gates  is  in Vietnam for a regional
   defense  ministers'  meeting  as China and its neighbors squabble over
   islands in the South China Sea.
   The  summit  of  defense  ministers  of  the  10-member Association of
   Southeast  Asian  Nations  is  expected  to focus, in part, on ways to
   peacefully settle the disputes.
   While  in  Hanoi,  Gates also plans to hold his first meeting with his
   Chinese counterpart in more than a year.
   China, Vietnam, and the Philippines are among the nations laying claim
   to  island chains that are in prime fishing waters and thought to hold
   oil and gas reserves.
   The  Pentagon  believes China is becoming more assertive in its claims
   on  the  islands.  But  Washington  has  said  the  disputes should be
   resolved peacefully under international law .
   Washington and Beijing have started to resume military contacts, which
   China  froze  earlier this year because of U.S. plans to sell billions
   of dollars in weapons to Taiwan.
   U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton angered China in July when she
   said  resolving  the dispute over the islands is in America's national
   interest.  China called her remarks an "attack" against China and said
   only the claimants should be involved in resolving the matter.
   Other  issues  expected  to  be  brought  up at the defense ministers'
   meeting  include  peacekeeping,  search  and rescue missions, disaster
   relief,  and  Americans  still  listed  as  missing in action from the
   Vietnam War.

   Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.

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