Gulf of Tonkin
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Image:Gulf of Tonkin location.gif The Gulf of Tonkin (Vietnamese: Vịnh Bắc Bộ; Template:Zh-stp), measuring approximately 480 km by 240 km, lies between China and Vietnam. Notably shallow (less than 60 meters deep), it is the northwest arm of the South China Sea and a branch of the Pacific Ocean. The Red River flows into the Gulf. Beihai, China and Haiphong, Vietnam are the chief ports. Hainan Island of China lies in the Gulf. Other small islands in the gulf include Weizhou Island of China.
Vietnamese usually call the Gulf either the Vịnh Bắc Bộ ("Gulf of the North") or Vịnh Hải Nam (Gulf of Hainan). The name Tonkin, written 東京 in Chinese characters and Đông Kinh in modern Vietnamese, means 'Eastern Capital', and is the former toponym for Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. Incidentally, the same characters are used to write "Tokyo", capital of Japan.
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. Although there was a first attack, the second attack was later proved unfounded. Known today as the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, this led to the open involvement of the United States in the Vietnam War, with the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.
See also
br:Pleg-mor an Tonkin de:Golf von Tonkin ko:통킹 만 it:Golfo del Tonchino ja:トンキン湾 no:Tonkinbukten th:อ่าวตังเกี๋ย vi:Vịnh Bắc Bộ zh:北部湾