Vietnam sends envoy to China to smooth tensions

Vietnam is sending a senior Communist party official to China this week to try to rebuild relations badly bit by Beijing's decision to deploy an oil rig in waters claimed by Hanoi in May. The movement of the rig by China triggered a furious reaction in Hanoi and led to speculation the secretive government might be reconsidering its relationship with Beijing, perhaps favoring a tilt to the United States as other Southeast Asian nations locked in territorial disputes with China have. But several analysts have said the government was split between those favoring a strategic shift to Washington and a faction believing that China, its ideological ally, giant neighbor and vital economic partner, can be accommodated despite Beijing's stated claims on large parts of the South China Sea that Hanoi believes are its own. Monday's statement announcing the envoy's visit on Tuesday and Wednesday was notably short of the angry rhetoric that Hanoi used during the crisis, which saw vessels from both nations sparring close to the rig before it was towed back to Chinese waters in July, according to AP.