In a remarkable development that would have been thought impossible just a matter of years ago, the USA and Vietnam are conducting a joint naval exercise, a clear sign that the two nations are experiencing a dramatic warning of their relationship. After fighting a long and bitter war in the 1960s and 1970s, the two former enemies are suddenly finding that more unites them than divides them. This naval exercise represents ”unprecedented” cooperation as one of the links below mentions.
Vietnam and China have a territorial dispute over the Spratly Islands, a chain of islands which reportedly may have significant oil reserves. Vietnam does not have the military power to stand up to China alone, and it is looking for a strong ally to counter China. The USA is the logical choice. Few people recall that Vietnam and China fought a brief war in 1979 when the Chinese army invaded Vietnamese territory (see third link below). China is a more recent enemy of Vietnam than the USA, and the USA poses no threat whatsoever to Vietnam today while China poses an increasingly-dangerous threat to Vietnam. Therefore, Vietnam has very good reasons to explore the possibility of military cooperation with the USA.
What a testimony to how international relations can change within mere decades. This is not an insignificant naval exercise, as the USS George Washington and its supporting warships will join Vietnamese naval vessels as their military forces learn how to work and maneuver as allies. The first report states that “Senior Vietnam government and military officials were guests on the [US] carrier Sunday as it cruised near the Paracel Islands–another chain claimed by China and Vietnam.” The second link, from the BBC, includes a map showing how grandiose China’s territorial claims really are.
If the USA and Vietnam draw steadily closer as allies, both nations will benefit immensely. Vietnam needs the US Navy to help protect it from China’s growing military and naval might, and the USA would benefit from being able to base US warships or warplanes in Vietnamese ports and airports. Expect India, Japan, Australia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and other Pacific Rim nations threatened by China to look at the warming relations between the USA and Vietnam with much approval! I applaud the development myself!
Ezekiel 38:2-6 lists the members of the latter-day Gog Magog alliance (Russia, China, Iran, etc.) which will attack the latter day nations descended from the house of Israel (the ten tribes of ancient “Israel”...not the Jews of the modern nation with that name). The latter-day nations of the house of Israel include the USA, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Scandinavia and many European nations. In other words, it is the NATO and Western nations which are dominated by the modern nations of the house of Israel. [See my article, The USA in Prophecy, at my home page for the USA's very provable membership in the list of nations descended from the ancient ten tribes of Israel. My books provide extensive documentation for connecting various modern western nations with the specific tribes of the ancient ten tribes of Israel.] Ezekiel 38:13 lists a group of nations which will not attack the house of Israel during the Gog-Magog attack, meaning that they are allies of the house of Israel or an independent third bloc of nations. You may see my article on Japan’s Role in Latter-Day Prophecy at the Articles tab at my website to see my reasons for believing that Japan is the nation called “the merchants of Tarshish,” why I identify India as “Sheba and Dedan,” and why I identify the “young tiger” nations of the Pacific Rim as the “young lion” nations mentioned in Ezekiel 38:13. It now appears possible that Vietnam may join the list of the “young lion” or “young tiger” nations which will not be part of the Gog-Magog alliance and which may actually be western allies against China in that region of the Pacific Basin.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10925061
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