China exploited Kamala Harris ’unexpected flight delay in Vietnam this week to undermine the United States, doubling the U.S. supply of coronavirus vaccines before the vice president could make her big announcement, reports said.
Harris was on his way to Vietnam to offer a coronavirus rescue package, which included a million additional doses of the Pfizer vaccine, when his plane was delayed by a dreaded case of the so-called “Havana syndrome.”
During the delay, Beijing rushed its envoy to Hanoi to meet with Vietnam’s prime minister, doubling the U.S. supply with a pledge of 2 million vaccines, the Washington Post reported, citing Chinese state media.
The offer diminishes the vice president’s final announcement and reflects China’s sensitivity about the United States trying to win over Vietnam, its former adversary which is a fast-growing nation of nearly 100 million, according to the newspaper.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh thanked the Chinese envoy for the offer, and said Vietnam “does not ally with one country to fight another,” the Washington newspaper said. who again quoted the state media.
But the timing of the bid was an obvious move by China during Harris’ weekly trip to Southeast Asia during which he accused Beijing of “bullying” and “intimidation” in the South China Sea.
“Beijing likes to remind Hanoi which of the two giants is closer,” Huong Le Thu, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, told the Washington Post.
Vietnam is facing a new wave of coronavirus driven by the Delta variant and low vaccination rates, with only 2% of the country’s population fully vaccinated.
In addition to the additional vaccines, which bring the total donated by the U.S. to 6 million, Harris announced that $ 23 million will be provided to help Vietnam expand distribution and access to gunfire, fight the pandemic, and prepare. for future disease threats.
The Department of Defense also delivers 77 freezers to store vaccines nationwide.
The donation from Beijing was made to the Vietnamese army, while that from the US is for the general population.
After Harris repeatedly accused Beijing of school harassment, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin responded by accusing Washington of simply trying to defend “U.S. hegemony and its own interests” rather than defending them. the rights of small countries.
“China strongly rejects the deployment of U.S. law enforcement forces in the South China Sea, engaging in regional affairs and disrupting regional peace and stability,” Wang said in a daily briefing.
Harris’ flight to Vietnam was delayed Tuesday afternoon after the vice president’s office was informed of the investigation into two possible cases of the so-called Havana syndrome in Hanoi, officials said.
Havana Syndrome is the name of an eruption of mysterious health incidents first reported by U.S. diplomats and other government employees in the Cuban capital since 2016 and that have affected diplomats around the world.