Kamala Harris meets Vietnamese President amid Chinese criticism

US Vice President Kamala Harris met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Wednesday and assured the US assistance to the country to protect its rights in the South China Sea and several other areas, a media report said.

Harris is on a two-day visit to Vietnam to strengthen the bilateral relations between the two nations.

Harris' visit to the South Asian nation comes at a crucial time as during her visit to Singapore on Tuesday she hit out at Beijing as it claims a larger part of the South China Sea. Harris had stressed that the US will stand by its South Asian allies to protect their rights.

Harris was welcomed by Vietnam's vice president Vo Thi Anh at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on Tuesday.

The US has become Viet Nam's biggest buyer and the Southeast Asian nation has emerged as the 10th largest trade partner of the US, Vietnam Government Portal (VGP) said.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, trade between Viet Nam and the US hit a record of USD 90.8 billion last year, and both countries are working hard to raise the figure to USD 100 billion this year, VGP added.

Earlier on Tuesday, Kamala also met with Singapore's President Halimah Yacob at Istana.

( With inputs from ANI )