Gulf of Tonkin

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The Gulf of Tonkin is located to the south of China.

The Gulf of Tonkin (Vietnamese: Vịnh Bắc Bộ; Simplified Chinese: 北部湾; Traditional Chinese: 北部灣; pinyin: Běibù Wān) 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. 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. The Red River flows into the Gulf.

The name Tonkin, written 東京 in Chinese characters 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.) Vietnam calls the Gulf either the Vịnh Bắc Bộ ("Gulf of the North") or Vịnh Hải Nam (Gulf of Hainan).

In August of 1964, United States President Lyndon B. Johnson claimed that North Vietnamese forces had twice attacked American destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. Although there was a first attack (in response to U.S. equipped and orchestrated South Vietnam's commando raids on the coast [1]), claims of a second attack were later proven to be 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.