Gulf of Tonkin
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The Gulf of Tonkin (480 kmx240 km) lies between Vietnam and China. Notably shallow (less than 60 meters deep), it is the northwest arm of the South China Sea. The Red River flows into the Gulf. Haiphong, Vietnam, and Beihai, China, are the chief ports. The Chinese Hainan Island lies in the Gulf. Other small islands in the gulf include:
- Weizhou, China
In August of 1964, United States President Lyndon B. Johnson claimed that North Vietnamese forces had fired on two American destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. Johnson used this incident to increase American involvement in Vietnam; this incident led to the open involvement of the United States in the Vietnam War, with the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.
In several Asian languages, "Tonkin" means both Tonkin and Tokyo, Vietnamese call it the Vịnh Bắc Bộ ("Bac Bo Gulf"; "Gulf/Bay of the North"). Modern Chinese geographers use this convention as well, calling it the Beibu Gulf (北部灣, Mandarin běibù wān, Cantonese bɐk1bəʊ6wɑn1).
See also
de:Golf von Tonkin it:Golfo del Tonchino ja:トンキン湾 no:Tonkinbukten th:อ่าวตังเกี๋ย zh:北部湾