The Gulf of Tonkin (480 kmx240 km) lies between Vietnam and China. Notably shallow (less than 60 meters deep), it is the northwest arm of the South China Sea. The Red River flows into the Gulf. Haiphong, Vietnam, and Beihai, China, are the chief ports. The Chinese Hainan Island lies in the Gulf. Other small islands in the gulf include:
Because in several Asian languages, "Tonkin" means both Tonkin and Tokyo, Vietnamese call it the Vịnh Bắc Bộ ("Bac Bo Gulf"; "Gulf/Bay of the North"). Modern Chinese geographers use this convention as well, calling it the Beibu Gulf (北部灣, bɐk1bəʊ6wɑn1 in Cantonese).
TonkinGulf resolution, in U.S. history, Congressional resolution passed in 1964 that authorized military action in Southeast Asia.
On Aug. 4, 1964, North Vietnamese torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin were alleged to have attacked without provocation U.S. destroyers that were reporting intelligence information to South Vietnam.
Gulf of Tonkin - Tonkin, Gulf of Tonkin, Gulf of, NW arm of the South China Sea, c.300 mi (480 km) long and 150 mi...
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