Gulf of Tonkin 229373 225422775 2008-07-13T16:42:43Z 129.71.73.243 correct {{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]]