Beijing wary over deepening US-Vietnam ties

'Asia-Pacific region is where China and the US have the most overlapping interests':

CHINA: China Monday said Washington's push to strengthen its military deployment and alliances in the Asia-Pacific region was "untimely" and urged the US to respect the interests and concerns of regional nations, including China.

"Deliberately highlighting the military and security agenda, deploying troops and strengthening military alliances in the Asia-Pacific region are untimely," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told a press briefing Monday.

Liu's remarks followed an announcement on Saturday by US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who is on a nine-day Asia tour, at the Asian Security Summit in Singapore. Panetta vowed the US would deploy 60 percent of its warships in the Asia-Pacific region by 2020, compared to 50 percent now.

Liu said the Asia-Pacific region is where China and the US have the most overlapping interests. China hopes the US will play a constructive role in the region and respect the interests and concerns of all parties, including China, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

In signs of deepening Washington-Hanoi ties, Vietnamese Defense Minister Phung Quang Thanh announced Monday that Vietnam would open three previously closed sites to the search for missing US servicemen from the Vietnam War after talks with Panetta.

Thanh said his country was keen to purchase US arms and hoped that Washington would lift restrictions on lethal weapons, which were imposed due to human rights concerns.

Before his talks with Thanh, Panetta on Sunday became the most senior US official since the end of the Vietnam War to visit Cam Ranh Bay, a main hub used by US forces in the war. Panetta said he saw "tremendous potential" to expand military ties with its former enemy.

Zhuang Guotu, director of the Center for Southeast Asia Studies at Xiamen University, said increasing pressure over the South China Sea row was pushing Hanoi closer toward Washington, but added it was still too early to declare Vietnam a firm ally of the US in the region due to deep skepticism between the two.

Vietnam has become increasingly worried as it believes China is getting more assertive with regard to its claims in the South China Sea, Zhuang told the Global Times.

At the same time, the potential for economic cooperation between Vietnam and China was less attractive to Hanoi compared to working with the US in the same field. GLOBAL TIMES CHINA