International security

Don’t start a fire in Asia, China warns Obama after Vietnam arms deal

China warned President Obama on Tuesday not to spark a fire in Asia after he announced the lifting of a longstanding embargo on lethal arms sales to Vietnam.

Obama unveiled the historic step on Monday during his first visit to Vietnam, insisting the move was “not based on China” while simultaneously acknowledging that both nations share a common concern about China’s actions in the South China Sea.

Beijing, not surprisingly, was unimpressed. It enjoys a complex relationship with its southern neighbor: the two governments are united in their communist ideology and distaste for Western democracy, but fought a bloody border war as recently as 1979. They now fiercely contest sovereignty over many small islands in the South China Sea.