The rapidly warming relations between former Cold War enemies, the United States and Vietnam, were on display earlier this month. A U.S. nuclear super-carrier cruised in waters off the Southeast Asian nation's coast.

Good intentions？[By Jiao Haiyang/China.org.cn]

The USS George Washington's visit was officially billed as a commemoration of last month's 15th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between the former enemies. But the timing also reflects Washington's desire to underline its continuing military presence in the Asia-Pacific.

As the USS George Washington made its way through the disputed waters of the South China Sea, U.S. was sending a message that China is not the region's only big player.

In an online forum at people.com.cn on August 23, Major General Zhu Chenghu from the National Defense University of the People's Liberation Army gave his view on the new US-Vietnam ties.

Zhu stressed that there is no need for China to overreact.

"The U.S. has recently been actively developing relations with Southeast Asian countries including Vietnam. In developing the ties, Vietnam wants to balance China and U.S. But Washington is trying to use Vietnam to contain China."

"But I don't think Vietnam is on the US side despite the joint military exercise. I believe there are differences inside Vietnam. Some people advocate closer ties with the U.S. while others want to develop a constructive partnership with China," Zhu said.