GULF OF TONKIN

Why in News?                                                                                                        

Vietnam’s foreign ministry on Thursday said international law and the rights and interests of other countries must be respected, responding to a question about China’s demarcation earlier this month of a baseline in the Gulf of Tonkin.

What is Gulf of Tonkin?

• It is a shallow, crescent-shaped body of water located in the northwest part of the South China Sea. It is known as “Beibu Gulf” in Chinese and “Bac Bo Gulf” in Vietnamese.
• The gulf is bordered by the northern coast of Vietnam to the west and northwest, China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to the north, and the Leizhou Peninsula and Hainan Island to the east.
• The Gulf of Tonkin receives water from multiple rivers, primarily the Red River (referred to as the Yuan River in Chinese), along with several smaller rivers.
• It connects to the South China Sea through its southern mouth and the Hainan Strait (Qiongzhou Strait) to the northeast.
• In Northern Vietnam, the primary ports along the gulf are Haiphong and Ben Thuy. In China, the major port is Beihai (Pakhoi).
• The Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964 increased U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.