Gulf of Tonkin
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2008-07-13T16:42:43Z
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{{otheruses4|the body of water|the Gulf of Tonkin Incident|Gulf of Tonkin Incident}}
{{Chinese
|pic=Gulf of Tonkin location.gif
|s=1. 东京湾<br>2. 北部湾
|t=1. 東京灣<br>2. 北部灣
|p=1. Dōngjīng Wān<br>2. Běibù Wān
|j=1. dung<sup>1</sup> ging<sup>1</sup> waan<sup>1</sup><br>2. bak<sup>1</sup> bou<sup>6</sup> waan<sup>1</sup>
|l=1. [[Gulf]] of [[Tonkin]]<br>2. Gulf of the northern part
|qn=1. Vịnh Bắc Bộ<br>2. Vịnh Bắc Phần<br>3. Vịnh Bắc Việt
|chunom=1. 泳北部<br>2. 泳北分<br>3. 泳北越
}}
The '''Gulf of Tonkin''', in [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]]: '''Vịnh Bắc Bộ''' or in [[Chinese language|Chinese]]: '''Beibu Wan''' is an arm of the [[South China Sea]]. Covering an area of 126,250 km², the gulf borders Vietnam on the northwest, west and southwest. The Chinese mainland lies to the north while the Island of [[Hainan]] forms the eastern limits of the gulf. The gulf is notably shallow (less than 60 meters deep). [[Haiphong]], Vietnam and [[Beihai]], China are the chief ports. Numerous small islands are located in the gulf, most of which are concentrated in the northwestern gulf. Of note are larger islands of [[Bach Long Vi]] and [[Cat Ba]] of Vietnam and [[Weizhou]] of [[China]]. The [[Red River (Vietnam)|Red River]] is the main river flowing into the Gulf.
The name [[Tonkin]], written 東京 in [[Chinese character]]s and ''Đông Kinh'' in Vietnamese, means 'Eastern Capital', and is the former [[toponym]] for [[Hanoi]], the capital of Vietnam. (Incidentally, the same Chinese characters are used to write "[[Tokyo]]", capital of Japan.)
In August of [[1964]], [[United States]] President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] said that [[North Vietnam]]ese forces had twice attacked American [[destroyers]] in the Gulf of Tonkin.<ref>''LBJ tape 'confirms Vietnam war error','' Martin Fletcher, The Times, Nov 7th, 2001</ref> Although there was a first attack, claims of a second attack were later said to be exaggerated or unfounded.<ref>[http://www.nsa.gov/vietnam/ ''Gulf of Tonkin - 11/30/2005 and 05/30/2006'']: National Security Agency.</ref> 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]].
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==See also==
* [[Geography of China]]
* [[Geography of Vietnam]]
* [[Gulf of Tonkin Incident]]
{{Chinesetext}}
{{coor title dms|19|16|22|N|107|19|33|E|type:waterbody}}
[[Category:Gulfs of the Pacific Ocean|Tonkin]]
[[Category:Landforms of China]]
[[Category:Landforms of Vietnam]]
{{vietnam-geo-stub}}
{{PRC-geo-stub}}
[[ar:خليج تونكين]]
[[br:Pleg-mor an Tonkin]]
[[da:Tonkin-bugten]]
[[de:Golf von Tonkin]]
[[et:Tongkingi laht]]
[[eo:Vjetnama golfo]]
[[eu:Tonkingo golkoa]]
[[fr:Golfe du Tonkin]]
[[ko:통킹 만]]
[[it:Golfo del Tonchino]]
[[he:מפרץ טונקין]]
[[nl:Golf van Tonkin]]
[[ja:トンキン湾]]
[[no:Tonkinbukten]]
[[ru:Бакбо]]
[[fi:Tonkininlahti]]
[[th:อ่าวตังเกี๋ย]]
[[vi:Vịnh Bắc Bộ]]
[[tr:Tonkin Körfezi]]
[[zh:北部湾]]