Originally Posted by
Excargodog
Your military experiences with the US State Department are clearly more favorable than mine. I think, generally, they are officious idiots. But while I have never been on a cruise, I have been on a carrier (albeit briefly) during blue water operations, and I would readily concede that there probably exists no more hazardous operational environment in peacetime and some casualties are almost inevitable.
But just how important that port visit was...? We’ve been at peace with Vietnam for a LONG time now. Heck, the Van’s company has been subcontracting making quick build kits for RVs to them for at least a decade, to my certain knowledge. And they seem as uncomfortable with the idea of Chinese expansion as we are.
You have to read between the lines here. It's simple:
South China Sea.
That's why we are making out so friendly with Vietnam. Whether it was a good decision considering everything else? Probably not, but the whole response appears to have not been well thought out considering when it was known to be spreading. It will at least help shape protocol for the future.