Likewise, the ecumenist may become so absorbed in the conflict of the church with the totalitarian state in East Germany, the precarious situation of the church in revolutionary China, and the anguish of the church over apartheid in South Africa that he loses close contact with the parish church in its unspectacular but indispensable ministry of worship, pastoral service and counseling, and Christian nurture for a face-to-face group of individuals.

Cutting short a holiday at Hong Kong, the aircraft carriers Lexington and Bennington steamed off into the South China Sea, accompanied by a swarm of destroyers, plus troopships loaded with marines.

* 2003 – The first six-party talks, involving South and North Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, convene to find a peaceful resolution to the security concerns as a result of the North Korean nuclear weapons program.

Azerbaijan currently has diplomatic relations with 160 countries: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, the People's Republic of China, Denmark, Egypt, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Libya, Luxembourg, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Qatar, Republic of India, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Togo, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

These include: Albania, Afghanistan Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chad, Chile, the People's Republic of China, Côte d ' Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, DR Congo, Egypt, East Timor, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Holy See ( Vatican City ), Honduras, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, North Korea, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Libya, Malta, Mauritania, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Norway, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Order of Malta, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Uruguay, and Vietnam.

* Itu Aba Island, in the South China Sea

In recent years, it has given high priority in establishing political dialogue with other strategic actors such as India, Russia, China and South Africa through participation in international groupings such as BASIC, IBSA and BRICS.

These directives implied precise emphasis on: the search for political coordination with emerging and developing countries, namely India, South Africa, Russia and China ; creation of the Union of South American Nations and its derivative bodies, such as the South American Security Council ; strengthening of Mercosul ; projection at the Doha Round and WTO ; maintenance of relations with developed countries, including the United States ; undertaking and narrowing of relations with African countries ; campaign for the reform of the United Nations Security Council and for a permanent seat for Brazil ; and defense of social objectives allowing for a greater equilibrium between the States and populations.

On the draft resolution condemning violence in Syria, Brazil worked with India and South Africa to try to bridge the divide between the Western powers and Russia and China.

Brunei is in Southeastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and Malaysia.

South China Sea 0m

close to vital sea lanes through South China Sea linking Indian and Pacific Oceans ; two parts physically separated by Malaysia ; almost an enclave within Malaysia

Indonesia, South Korea, China, and Malaysia along with Denmark are among the nations that have consistently produced world-class players in the past few decades, with China being the greatest force in both men's and women's competition in recent years.

Population density also has a major impact, where dense urbanisation such as in Japan and the far east has led to the adoption of high capacity long multi-axle buses, often double-deckers, while South America and China are implementing large numbers of articulated buses for bus rapid transit schemes.

by the South China Sea to the north and northwest, the Sulu Sea to the northeast, the Celebes Sea and the Makassar Strait to the east, and the Java Sea and Karimata Strait to the south.

The South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand now submerge the former low-lying areas of the peninsula.

Most of the Mesozoic supercontinent of Pangea was now assembled, although North China ( which would collide in the Latest Carboniferous ), and South China continents were still separated from Laurasia.

Other minor oceans were shrinking and eventually closed-Rheic Ocean ( closed by the assembly of South and North America ), the small, shallow Ural Ocean ( which was closed by the collision of Baltica and Siberia continents, creating the Ural Mountains ) and Proto-Tethys Ocean ( closed by North China collision with Siberia / Kazakhstania ).

These people may have migrated from South Eastern China to the Indochinese Peninsula.

To the southeast of this great basin is the Mekong Delta, which extends through Vietnam to the South China Sea.

The fact that China ( which is obsessed by Formosa -- to Khrushchev a very small matter ) should be supported by North Korea and North Vietnam is highly indicative.

Chinese philosophy is the dominant philosophical thought in China and other countries within the sinosphere, including Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.

* 1967 – Vietnam War: China agrees to give North Vietnam an undisclosed amount of aid in the form of a grant.

Dating back to the Neolithic Age, the first bronze drums, called the Dong Son drums, have been uncovered in and around the Red River Delta regions of Vietnam and Southern China.

Democratic Kampuchea established close ties with the People's Republic of China, and the Cambodian-Vietnamese conflict became part of the Sino-Soviet rivalry, with Moscow backing Vietnam.

The Soviet Union supported a strong Vietnam to maintain a second front against China in case of hostilities and to prevent further Chinese expansion.

In February to March 1979, China and Vietnam would fight the brief Sino-Vietnamese War over the issue.

They divide into two parallel channels, the Mekong River proper and the Basak River, and flow independently through the delta areas of Cambodia and Vietnam to the South China Sea.

A third line is planned to connect Phnom Penh with Vietnam, the last missing link of the planned rail corridor between Singapore and the city of Kunming, China.

The Royal Cambodian Government ( RGC ) has established diplomatic relations with most countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, as well as all of its Asian neighbors, to include the People's Republic of China, India, Vietnam, Laos, South Korea, North Korea, and Thailand.

The Chinese armies conquered Vietnam for around 20 years, while the Chinese fleet sailed the China seas and the Indian Ocean, cruising as far as the east coast of Africa.

Cultures and countries strongly influenced by Confucianism include mainland China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan and Vietnam, as well as various territories settled predominantly by Chinese people, such as Singapore.

Neo-Confucianism held sway in China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam until the 19th century.

Vegetarian cuisine is known as zhāicài ("( Buddhist ) vegetarian food ") in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan ; đồ chay in Vietnam ; in Japan ; sachal eumsik (" temple food ") in Korea and by other names in many countries.

Some Mahayana Buddhists in China, Japan and Vietnam specifically avoid eating strong-smelling plants, traditionally garlic, Allium chinense, asafoetida, shallot, and mountain leek, and refer to these as wǔ hūn ( 五荤, or ' Five Acrid and Strong-smelling Vegetables ') or wǔ xīn ( 五辛 or ' Five Spices ') as they tend to excite senses.

193-Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, People's Republic of China, Colombia, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d ' Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, European Union, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, The Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, North Korea, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Republic of Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Federated States of Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

In the East, Confucius ( 551-479 ), of the State of Lu, was China's most influential ancient philosopher, whose educational outlook continues to influence the societies of China and neighbours like Korea, Japan and Vietnam.

China waged a number of wars against Vietnam throughout history, and after each failure, settled for the tributary relationship.

Vietnam sent tributary missions to China once in three years ( with some periods of disruptions ) until the 19th century.

The latter is often called the Eastern order because Europeans are most familiar with the examples from East Asia, specifically China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam.

* The Soviet flag, with its golden symbols of the hammer and sickle on a red field, was an inspiration to flags of other communist states, such as East Germany, People's Republic of China, Vietnam, Angola, Afghanistan and Mozambique.