NewsTracker Answers for week of Sep. 05, 2011

Q: Vietnam is working hard to strengthen ties with an old enemy - the United States. It wants a U.S. presence for economic reasons and as a balance to China, the regional superpower. Where is Vietnam?

Circle the area on this map

Q: During a bitter conflict in the 1960s and 1970s, U.S. warplanes bombed Vietnam's capital . . .

A. Amsterdam

B. Bangkok

C. Hanoi

D. Saigon

C. During the Vietnam War, Hanoi was the capital of North Vietnam. It became the capital of a reunited country in 1976 after the defeat of South Vietnam, which had been a U.S. ally.

Q: During the war, China was allied with the Communist regime in Hanoi. But, Vietnam has a long history of conflict with China and turned back a cross-border incursion in 1979. China is on which Vietnam border?

A. North

B. West

C. South

D. East

A. Vietnam is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest and Cambodia to the southwest.

Q: There have been recent tensions between China and Vietnam over marine borders they share in the . . .

A. Gulf of Thailand

B. Indian Ocean

C. Sea of Japan

D. South China Sea

D. While the Vietnamese want good relations with the superpower that also sits on the South China Sea, they are discussing upgrading their strategic relationship with the United States to "a new level."

Q: Which nation is the largest importer of Vietnamese goods?

A. Cambodia

B. China

C. Colombia

D. United States

D. Economic ties between the U.S. and Vietnam have grown rapidly since diplomatic relations were normalized in 1995. But, trade with Vietnam is dwarfed by the huge economic exchange between the United States and China.