Trump offers to ‘mediate’ on sea row

HANOI: US President Donald Trump told his Vietnamese counterpart Sunday he is ready to help resolve the dispute in the resource-rich South China Sea, which Beijing claims most of.

“If I can help mediate or arbitrate, of a state visit on Sunday afterplease let me know... I am a very noon by Chinese President Xi good mediator,” the dealmaking Jinping who will meet with top American leader told Vietnamese communist leaders. President Tran Dai Quang during Tensions over the sea spiked earlier this year when Vietnam

Vietnam has long courted supsuspended an oil exploration port from Washington in its dispute project in an area of the waterway with China over the precious wateralso claimed by Beijing, reportedly way, where Beijing has built military over pressure from its powerhouse communist neighbor.

Beijing’s sweeping claims also In 2014, China moved an oil overlap with those of the Philiprig into waters off Vietnam’s coast, pines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. sparking violent protests in several

Trump’s comments come ahead Vietnamese cities.

Trump is in Hanoi for a brisk visit that could touch on boosting military support for America’s former wartime foe.

Talks will also focus on promoting trade between the cosy allies, though Vietnam’s gaping trade surplus with the United States, worth $32 billion in 2016, could be a sticking point.

Asia tour that has mainly focused on building regional consensus against North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and espousing his “America First” vision of global trade. US President Donald Trump (left) and Vietnam’s President Tran Dai Quang wave after a news conference at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on November 12, 2017.