US to raise pressure on China

Hanoi, Aug 25: US VicePresident Kamala Harris said on Wednesday the US would find new ways to “raise the pressure on Beijing”, accusing China of bullying in hotly disputed Asian waters for the second time in two days.

Harris made the comments as she began a visit to Vietnam to stress US commitment to Asia, a trip critics have slammed as tone-deaf given the parallels with the superpower's evacuations from Saigon and Kabul.

During a meeting with Vietnam President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Harris said the US would continue to challenge Beijing's “bullying and excessive maritime claims” in 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,” she added.

During the Singapore leg of her regional trip Tuesday, Harris also accused China of intimidation in the resourcerich waterway.

China hit back at the accusations through its state media on Wednesday, accusing the US of hypocrisy in attempting to “coerce and intimidate” countries in the region in its “scheme to contain China”.

Harris’ arrival in Vietnam was delayed due to what US officials called an “anomalous health incident” in Hanoi, an apparent reference to the so-called “Havana syndrome” which has afflicted US diplomats in several countries including China and Russia. It is not clear what causes the syndrome, leading to unproven allegations that Russians or others used high-intensity electronic devices to physically harm US diplomats.