Politik - Demokratie (2014/1)

Vietnam border shoot-out raises Uighur questions

29.04.2014 By Nga Pham (BBC) - Last weekend Thai authorities said they had arrested a group of 16 suspected illegal migrants thought to be Uighurs from Xinjiang, China.

The arrests came days after a violent incident on the border between Vietnam and China in which seven people died. The 16 Chinese nationals involved in this clash were also believed to be Uighurs.

These events show South East Asia may have become a transit hub for Uighurs leaving China.

Bac Phong Sinh is a remote border crossing nestled in the hills between Vietnam's Quang Ninh province and China's Guangxi. [read more]

Painful memories at Tiananmen museum

28.04.2014 Beatrice Siu (The Standard) - The world's first museum dedicated to the events of June 4 in Tiananmen Square 25 years ago brought back painful memories for some visitors.

Among them was Beijing resident David Chan who visited the June 4 museum in Tsim Sha Tsui along with his 4-year-old son.

Chan was one of the 664 weekend visitors to the museum which opened on Saturday despite the threat of a lawsuit from the building's owners' committee who claim it violates the conditions of its lease.

Chan, who moved to Hong Kong in 1991, said he was a civil engineering student at Beijing University at the time and had participated in various rallies [read more]

Hong Kong: le premier musée commémorant Tiananmen ouvre ses portes

28.04.2014 (Le Nouvel Observateur) - Hong Kong (AFP) - Le premier musée dédié à la répression sanglante sur la place Tiananmen à Pékin en 1989, a été inauguré samedi à Hong Kong, lors d'une cérémonie lourde d'émotion et perturbée par une manifestation pro-chinoise.

L'exposition permanente rend hommage aux victimes de la répression brutale du soulèvement étudiant en faveur de la démocratie les 3 et 4 juin 1989 dans la capitale chinoise.

Dans le reste de la Chine, toute référence à cette épisode sanglant ayant fait plus de mille morts, sans compter les morts en province, selon des sources indépendantes, est interdite. De nombreux Chinois ignorent ainsi toujours cette période noire. Le pouvoir communiste n'a jamais publié de bilan. [en savoir plus]

The New Censors of Hanoi

27.04.2014 By Nguyen Qui Duc (The New York Times) - HANOI, Vietnam — More and more state-owned enterprises in Vietnam, from banks to shipbuilders, are being turned over to private hands. Government-run television stations broadcast competing commercials for consumer goods. For some urban families, weekly trips to megamalls and KFC have become de rigueur. In cafes or on social websites, the young show off branded clothes, electronic toys and photos of trips abroad — while in the streets loudspeakers blare out news of party meetings and decrees.

Communism and capitalism make awkward bedfellows, especially when it comes to culture. The government continues to monitor art exhibitions and music shows, films and TV programs, books and CDs. In classic Communist tradition, it still officially bans “offenses against the state” (an all-encompassing and ill-defined crime), violations of custom (like mannequins without underwear) or behavior it deems deviant (like hair dyed in bright colors). But the new enforcers of these old restrictions are driven less by ideological purity than by a mixed bag of political correctness and market-driven concerns — and this may be hampering artistic creation more than conventional censorship did under classically Communist governments. [read more]

Museum zum Gedenken an Tiananmen-Proteste

27.04.2014 (Südostschweiz) - In Hongkong ist am Samstag ein Museum zum Gedenken an die Tiananmen-Proteste eingeweiht worden. Vor rund 25 Jahren schoss das chinesische Militär auf dem Pekinger Platz des Himmlischen Friedens (Tiananmen) auf Demonstranten.

Auf knapp 75 Quadratmetern werden im Museum vor allem Videos und Fotos der damaligen Ereignisse gezeigt, darunter auch die berühmte Aufnahme von einem Mann in weissem Hemd, der sich todesmutig einer Reihe von Panzern entgegenstellt.

Ins Leben gerufen wurde das Museum von der «Vereinigung zur Unterstützung der Patriotischen Demokratischen Bewegungen in China», die auch jeden Juni Gedenkkundgebungen in Hongkongs Victoria Park organisiert. [Weiterlesen]

World's first Tiananmen museum opens in Hong Kong

27.04.2014 (The Sydney Morning Herald) - Hong Kong: The world's first museum dedicated to the Tiananmen Square crackdown has opened in Hong Kong with an emotive ceremony and protests from pro-China demonstrators.

Almost 25 years after Chinese authorities' brutal repression of pro-democracy protesters in Beijing, the permanent exhibition is one of the only places in China where the massacre of June 3-4, 1989, can be commemorated.

All reference to the crackdown is banned on the mainland, where many remain unaware of it.

"The one thing I remember most vividly was that 25 years ago, right after the massacre, Beijing residents told us one thing - that we must tell the true story of what happened to the world," said Lee Cheuk-yan, chairman of the pro-democracy group which is funding the museum, on Saturday. [read more]

Abre en Hong Kong el primer museo dedicado a la masacre de Tiananmen

27.04.2014 (Euronews) - A poco más de un mes del vigésimo quinto aniversario de la masacre de Tiananmen, un museo dedicado a la represión de los estudiantes chinos en 1989 acaba de ser inaugurado en Hong Kong, uno de los pocos oasis de libertad de expresión en China, donde cualquier referencia a este hecho histórico está prohibida. Para los que crecieron en la China continental los hechos relatados son algo nuevo: “Aquí he aprendido sobre la situación día a día de los estudiantes”, decía una de las primeras visitantes. “Donde crecí no sabíamos nada. Solamente pensábamos que los estudiante estaban quejándose sin motivo de manera poco apropiada. Pero ahora sé que no es verdad: que los estudiantes luchaban por la democracia y la libertad”.

La apertura ha estado ensombrecida por una protesta de seguidores de la versión de Pekín, que se han concentrado en las puertas para contestar al museo y hacer ver que los estudiantes que se manifestaron de abril a junio de hace 25 años eran violentos. [seguir leyendo]

Vietnam Court Suspends Ruling on Corruption Death Sentence

25.04.2014 Tra Mi (VOA) - The high profile corruption case of a Vietnamese shipping executive has taken another unexpected turn, with an appeals court in Hanoi questioning the defendants instead of ruling on their sentences.

Duong Chi Dung, former chairman of the Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines), was convicted and sentenced to death late last year for stealing $1.6 million and then fleeing the country to avoid prosecution. Eight others also were found guilty and give prison terms of seven to 22 years.

Earlier this year, Dung said the country's former deputy minister of public security, Pham Quy Ngo, told him about his impending prosecution, giving him a chance to flee to Cambodia to avoid charges. Ngo, who denied the allegation, died shortly after being accused.

The former shipping executive was later extradited, tried and sentenced to death for embezzlement. Dung testified that he had paid more than $1.5 million in bribes to Ngo. [read more]

Amerikaner wegen Heroinhandels zum Tode verurteilt

23.04.2014 (NZZ) - (ap) Ein Gericht in Vietnam hat gegen einen amerikanischen Bürger wegen Heroinhandels die Todesstrafe verhängt. Wie die Zeitung «Liberated Saigon» am Mittwoch berichtete, wurde der 41-jährige Jason Dinh im vergangenen Juni beim Einchecken für einen Flug nach Australien mit einer ein Kilo schweren Drogenladung erwischt. Das Heroin hatte er demnach in seiner Unterwäsche versteckt. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam sentences American man to death for heroin

22.04.2014 (The Associated Press) - HANOI, Vietnam - State media say a court in Vietnam has sentenced an American to death for heroin trafficking.

The Liberated Saigon newspaper says Jason Dinh, 41, was convicted of trafficking 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of heroin at a one-day trial by Ho Chi Minh City's People's Court on Tuesday.

The paper said Wednesday that Dinh was arrested last June after customs officials found the heroin hidden in his underwear as he was boarding a flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Australia. [read more]

Why China fears the Putin precedent

22.04.2014 John Lee (Business Spectator)- In a visit to Japan last week for discussions with some officials in the Shinzo Abe administration, the topic of Russia’s virtual annexation of Crimea was frequently raised by my Japanese hosts. Although Japan has few interests in that part of the world, the prospect of a military power using force – or at least the threat of it – to seize control of territory claimed and administered by another country is not a worry unique to the former Soviet Union republics. As we all know, Japan has a dispute with China over areas in the East China Sea. China is also in disagreement with the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia over areas in the South China Sea, and with India in Arunachal Pradesh.

Just as the United States (and the Cold War era North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) is forced to stand by helplessly vis-à-vis Russia’s Vladimir Putin bold gambit in Eastern Europe, some in Japan fear that an increasingly assertive China could well use the ‘Putin precedent’ to forcibly seize disputed territory while America and its Asian alliance system also forged during the Cold War proves to be an inadequate deterrent and respondent. Putting aside the issue of whether America would stand by so passively in Northeast and Southeast Asia should China attempt such a move, one might wonder whether the Chinese are cheering on the ‘Putin precedent’ in Crimea. [read more]

After blocking Philippine supply ship, China blocks fishermen from disputed shoal, marine says

22.04.2014 By Jim Gomez, The Associated Press (canada.com) - MANILA, Philippines - Chinese coast guard vessels repeatedly blocked or chased Filipino and Vietnamese fishermen from a disputed shoal where they previously had only tried to block military supply runs, a Philippine marine officer said Tuesday.

Marine 1st Lt. Mike Pelotera said he and his men saw the fishermen being "bullied" away from the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea at least eight times from December to March, when his marine monitoring unit was replaced by a new batch.

He said he shot a video of a Chinese ship chasing a wooden-hulled Vietnamese fishing boat dangerously close to coral outcrops. [read more]

Tensiones de China y vecinos planean en el encuentro de Armadas del Pacífico

22.04.2014 (Univision) - Pekín (EFE).- Unos 140 delegados de 25 fuerzas navales de Asia-Pacífico abrieron hoy en el puerto oriental chino de Qingdao un encuentro con el que buscan mayores consensos en la región, aunque sobre las reuniones planean una vez más las tensiones marítimas entre China y sus vecinos asiáticos, especialmente Japón.

El llamado Simposio Naval del Pacífico Occidental (WPNS), que pese a su nombre también reúne representantes de naciones como EE.UU., Perú, Chile, Canadá y México (como país observador), se celebra por primera vez en China, uno de los 12 fundadores de la organización.

El encuentro de dos días, que mañana culminará con un desfile de buques militares de varios países miembros, analizará incidentes protagonizados en los últimos dos años por navíos militares de la región, debatirá códigos de conducta multilaterales y ampliará la organización con la entrada de Pakistán como observador. [seguir leyendo]

Murder at the China-Vietnam Border

21.04.2014 Written by Rose Tang (Asia Sentinel) - I was speechless for a long time today, looking at a photo my Vietnamese Facebook friend Henry Pham shared with me of several bodies slumped on three small carts like sandbags, some with their hands tied at their backs. A dozen people stood a few meters away looking on.

According to official press on both sides of the Vietnam-China border, five Chinese were killed along with two Vietnamese border guards Friday in a confrontation that began when the border guards sought to stop 16 Chinese from entering Vietnam illegally. According to the official media, some of the detainees grabbed assault rifles from the guards and started shooting. The border guards allegedly shot back, killing the interlopers.  But pictures taken at the border showed some of the dead were already handcuffed.

Henry wrote to me that it took him a long time to calm down and that he almost threw up. Another Vietnamese friend, Vi K. Tran, first alerted me to the story with her translation of Vietnamese media coverage and Facebook postings on Saturday. She was angry and was eager to spread the truth. She said through my Facebook postings she had learned how Uighurs were treated, she wrote to me: “So this is even more upsetting.  I, too, want to stand up against these inhumane treatments from these two regimes (China and Vietnam).”  [read more]

Vietnam Detains 21 More Migrants

20.04.2014 By James Hookway and Nguyen Pham Muoi (The Wall Street Journal) - HANOI—Vietnamese security forces intercepted 21 illegal migrants attempting to cross from China by sea just hours after a clash with another group of migrants left seven people dead, state media reported on Sunday.

The reports have put new focus on how some Chinese migrants appear to view Southeast Asia as a conduit to a new life overseas.

Five Chinese nationals and two Vietnamese border guards died in the initial confrontation on Friday. The guards had detained 16 people and were preparing to return them to Chinese authorities when several of the migrants seized firearms from the Vietnamese security forces and began firing, according to Vietnamese state media. Some of the migrants died after leaping from the multistory building where they were being held, the reports said.

The second group of 21 migrants was intercepted at sea after Vietnamese border guards were tipped off by Chinese authorities, state-controlled VTC News reported. Vietnamese foreign ministry officials didn't respond to calls seeking comment. China's foreign ministry confirmed the earlier, violent incident on its microblogging account.

Growing numbers of Uighurs have tried to escape China through Vietnam and Laos in recent years because of what human-rights organizations describe as religious and political persecution. [read more]

Deadly Clash Reported on Border of China and Vietnam

19.04.2014 By Edward Wong (The New York Times) - BEIJING — Five Chinese civilians and two Vietnamese border guards died Friday during a clash between Vietnamese border guards and Chinese citizens who were trying to enter Vietnam illegally, according to official Vietnamese news reports on Friday and Saturday.

The confrontation began after the guards detained 16 Chinese around noon inside a border post with the intention of returning them to the Chinese authorities, the reports said. Some of the detainees grabbed one or more AK-47 assault rifles from the guards and at some point began firing, the reports said.

An online report from Vietnam citing the state-run newspaper Tien Phong said hundreds of police officers and border guards surrounded the building during the standoff and urged the Chinese inside to surrender. [read more]

Chinesischer Flüchtling erschoss in Vietnam sieben Menschen

18.04.2014 (ORF) - Ein chinesischer Flüchtling hat bei seiner Abschiebung aus dem Nachbarland Vietnam sechs Menschen erschossen und sich dann selbst getötet. Der Mann habe an einem Grenzübergang einem vietnamesischen Soldaten eine automatische Waffe entrissen und das Feuer eröffnet, teilte das Grenzkommando der vietnamesischen Provinz Quang Ninh gestern mit.

Später habe er sich in einem Büro verschanzt und aufgeben wollen, dann aber nochmals um sich geschossen. Bei dem Zwischenfall starben zwei vietnamesische Soldaten und - inklusive des Schützen - fünf chinesische Migranten. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam: 7 morts à la frontière chinoise

18.04.2014 (Le Figaro) - Sept personnes ont été tuées aujourd'hui dans une fusillade entre des garde-frontières vietnamiens et des migrants chinois illégaux à un point de passage isolé entre la Chine et le Vietnam, ont annoncé les autorités vietnamiennes.

Seize Chinois - dix hommes, quatre femmes et deux enfants - avaient été interpellés ce matin après avoir tenté d'entrer au Vietnam, ont précisé dans un communiqué les autorités de la province de Quang Ninh (nord-est).

Alors que les autorités se préparaient à les renvoyer en Chine, "des hommes chinois ont saisi des armes de garde-frontières vietnamiens et tiré sur eux (...), tuant un garde", a ajouté le texte. Les autorités vietnamiennes et chinoises ont cherché à désamorcer la situation, mais les migrants ont refusé de déposer leurs armes et une fusillade a éclaté. [en savoir plus]

Leading the Way: Vietnam’s Push for Gay Rights

Is one of Asia’s most repressive states paving the way for gay marriage?

18.04.2014 By David Mann (The Diplomat) - Ngan and Huong have been together for 10 years. Although both are originally from the countryside, each moved to the more liberal Ho Chi Minh City for university. It was here, over an iced coffee between lectures, that they first met.

“We realized there was a spark straight away,” Ngan, aged 31, says. “It was like everything suddenly clicked into place.”

After secretly dating for a year, both eventually summoned the courage to come out to their respective parents. Ultimately, a lack of understanding from loved ones forced the couple to move in together in 2005. But despite living together for the last nine years, their relationship isn’t recognized under Vietnamese law. ...

Indeed, international human rights groups acknowledge that the CPV may be trying to exploit recent progress on gay rights as a means of “rainbow washing” its questionable record. Gay rights parades and public campaigns on marriage equality are allowed to occur, making this the one prominent area where there is substantive progress on freedoms of speech and assembly. All this is generating international goodwill, which pro-democracy advocates say the CPV is exploiting in order to distract from a recent crackdown on bloggers and dissidents, as seen with numerous high-profile arrests over the past year. [read more]

Les récentes libérations anticipées de dissidents signifient-elles un changement de politique des autorités vietnamiennes?

18.04.2014 (Églises d'Asie) - Le plus ancien prisonnier politique du Vietnam, Nguyên Huu Câu, avait purgé 37 années de détention quand il a été libéré le 21 mars dernier. Les autorités vietnamiennes ont-elles résolu de changer d’attitude ? Toujours est-il qu’au cours de la semaine dernière, elles ont procédé à la libération anticipée de plusieurs prisonniers politiques, tous condamnés pour avoir exprimé publiquement une opinion critique sur le régime. Le docteur en droit Cu Huy Ha Vu a été libéré, bien avant le terme de sa peine, le 7 avril dernier. Deux autres dissidents bien connus, Nguyên Tiên Trung et Vi Duc Hôi, sont également sortis de prison, le 11 avril, avant l’expiration de leur peine.

Ces trois libérations successives ont surpris. Dans un communiqué paru le 14 avril, Amnesty International s’en réjouit, tout en faisant remarquer que ces trois dissidents n’auraient jamais dû être détenus et que de nombreux autres croupissent encore dans leurs cellules. Un autre commentaire prononcé au micro de la BBC replace cette manifestation d’apparente clémence dans le contexte d’une nouvelle stratégie politique qui aurait été adoptée par le Vietnam vis-à-vis des droits de l’homme en général et de la dissidence en particulier. [en savoir plus]

La Commission ‘Justice et Paix’ déplore l’extension du mensonge au sein de la société

15.04.2014 (Églises d'Asie) - Depuis longtemps déjà, aussi bien le discours du magistère catholique que la presse indépendante au Vietnam ont dénoncé la pratique ordinaire au plus haut niveau du mensonge, de la fraude, de la dissimulation de la vérité. Un article paru sur le site Internet de la Commission ‘Justice et Paix’, signé Pierre Nguyên, s’interroge à nouveau à ce sujet (1). Il propose au lecteur « un certain nombre d’hypothèses » susceptibles d’expliquer cette omniprésence oppressante du mensonge au sein de la société vietnamienne d’aujourd’hui.

Selon l’auteur, la falsification de la vérité est l’un des maux les plus graves qui rongent de l’intérieur la société vietnamienne. Elle est à l’œuvre dans presque tous les domaines de la vie quotidienne. Elle se présente sous de nombreuses formes et sous de multiples étiquettes. Sa présence est ressentie comme très ordinaire. Elle est une pratique ordinaire au sein des moyens de communication officiels. Dans les activités politiques, les activités économiques, la recherche scientifique, l’éducation nationale, et même au sein des activités caritatives, partout le mensonge et la fraude font rage. [en savoir plus] - [tiếng Việt]

Philippines: Invite all Southeast Asia to Pacific pact

11.04.2014 (The Asahi Shimbun) - WASHINGTON - An U.S.-backed Pacific free trade pact could cause resentment in Southeast Asia as it would leave some nations in the region better positioned to access America's market than others, a top Philippine official said on April 10.

Philippine Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima proposed inviting all 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership, even if most of them can't for now meet the conditions for joining. [read more]

Web satire fosters change in communist Vietnam

08.04.2014 (The Malay Mail Online) — A critical blog post could land you in jail in communist Vietnam, but a satirical image of Cinderella which mocks the ruling elite? Likely to slip past the censors.

The country’s roughly 33 million Internet users, armed only with laptops and a sense of humour, are driving broader social change in the authoritarian nation than scores of imprisoned firebrand bloggers, experts say.

From their calls for the health minister to resign — a cause so popular that a state-run newspaper briefly took up the campaign — to amusing attacks on ham-fisted censorship, Vietnam’s ever-growing ranks of Internet users are finding their voice.

“The kids creating and sharing these images don’t think of it as activism, for the most part. They’re not necessarily campaigning for anything. They’re just making jokes,” said Patrick Sharbaugh, a digital culture researcher who has worked in Vietnam.

“An ersatz civil society is emerging out of this,” he said. [read more]

Dealing with God

08.04.2014 By Conrado de Quiros, Philippine Daily Inquirer (inquirer.net) - It’s astonishing how China, despite becoming the second most powerful nation in the world, continues to harbor a parochial outlook. It’s astonishing how China, despite heralding the wave of the future, at least compared to the United States which is in the throes of decline, remains trapped in the past. It’s astonishing how China, despite being in a position to become a shaper of the world, barely understands the world.

Nothing shows it more sharply than its response to our move to bring the case on the Ayungin Shoal before the United Nations Arbitral Tribunal at the Hague. “The Philippines’ arbitration proceeding,” expostulated Chinese Embassy spokesperson Zhang Hua, “completely confuses right and wrong, distorts the fact and diverts attentions. The aim of its move is to cover up the illegal nature of the Philippines’ infringement and provocative behavior by the abuse of process against China, and to defraud the international community of its sympathy and support. [read more]

High speed rail could bankrupt Laos, but it’ll keep China happy

07.04.2014 By Keith Barney, Australian National University (The Conversation) - Despite impressive economic growth rates over the last decade, a third of Laos’s population still lives below the extreme poverty line of US$1.25 per day. Most of the extreme poor Laos are ethnic minorities living in rural and upland districts, who depend on local ecological resources for cash income and food.

Expanding transport infrastructure can no doubt be very important for effective poverty reduction – but it would be a stretch to argue that the country’s most urgent human and social development need is a high-speed rail connection between its capital, Vientiane, and its northern neighbour China.

Yet, the Lao government has reiterated its intention to integrate into an emerging ASEAN-China high-speed railway grid. At times, the country’s quest for rail takes on an almost fetishistic quality, with officials simply repeating the mantra that the Laos must move “from land-locked to land-linked”. But for all their zeal, the economic case for high speed rail in Laos remains weak. [read more]

Russland übergibt 2017 zwei „Gepard“-Schiffe an Vietnam

07.04.2014 (Stimme Russlands) - Das Gorki-Schiffsbauwerk in Selenodolsk (Tatarstan) wird 2017 zwei neue Fregatten des Projekts Gepard 3.9 an Vietnam übergeben.

Die Schiffe werden gemäß dem 2011 unterzeichneten Vertrag gebaut. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam to receive two more Gepard frigates in 2017

06.04.2014 (IHS Jane's) - The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) Navy is scheduled to take delivery of its third and fourth Russian-built Gepard 3.9 (Project 11661) light frigates in 2017, according to financial statements released by Russia's Zelenodolsk Shipyard on 1 April.

The PAVN Navy commissioned its first two modified Gepard-class frigates, Dinh Tien Hoang and Ly Thai Ho , in March and August 2011 respectively. The two additional vessels, reported to be anti-submarine warfare (ASW) variants, are being built under a contract signed in late 2011. [read more]

U.S.-Vietnam Naval Exercises Begin Amid SE Asian Tension

07.04.2014 (Bloomberg) - Two U.S. Navy ships began six days of non-combat exercises with the Vietnamese military as the U.S. seeks to bolster its presence in Asia at a time of growing tension between China and its neighbors.

The engagements, the fifth year of joint exercises between the two navies, will focus on military medicine, search and rescue and shipboard damage control, with participation by the missile destroyer USS John S. McCain.

While non-combat in nature, the exercises between two former enemies in Danang carry symbolic weight as the Obama administration pursues closer economic ties with Vietnam through efforts such as the proposed 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact and a deal to sell nuclear fuel and technology to Vietnam. [read more]

Jakarta rejects China's 'nine-dash line'

03.04.2014 By Ann Marie Murphy (AsiaTimes) - In a significant policy shift, Indonesian officials on March 12 announced that China's nine-dash line map outlining its claims in the South China Sea overlaps with Indonesia's Riau province, which includes the Natuna Island chain.

For over two decades, Indonesia has positioned itself as an independent mediator in the South China Sea disputes between its partners in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China. Indonesia and China have no overlapping claims to islands. In Jakarta's view, therefore, Indonesia and China should have no disputes over waters since, under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS), rights to waters are derived from rights to land. [read more]

US Warns China Not to Attempt Crimea-Style Action in Asia

04.04.2014 By David Brunnstrom (Jakarta Globe) - China should not doubt the US commitment to defend its Asian allies and the prospect of economic retaliation should also discourage Beijing from using force to pursue territorial claims in Asia in the way Russia has in Crimea, a senior US official said on Thursday.

Daniel Russel, President Barack Obama’s diplomatic point man for East Asia, said it was difficult to determine what China’s intentions might be, but Russia’s annexation of Crimea had heightened concerns among US allies in the region about the possibility of China using force to pursue its claims.

“The net effect is to put more pressure on China to demonstrate that it remains committed to the peaceful resolution of the problems,” Russel, the US assistant secretary of state for East Asia, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. [read more]

Detained: 42 Vietnamese, Two Cargo Vessels 'Fishing In Troubled Waters'

04.04.2014 (Bernama) - The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has uncovered a 'fishy' business hatched by a group of illegal Vietnamese immigrants to fish undetected in Malaysian waters.

The foreigners, whose tactics were described as "very cunning" by MMEA, had used two Malaysian-registered cargo vessels to fish in the local waters.

They then transferred their bountiful catch to their compatriots in the Malaysia-Vietnam border waters without raising suspicion.

MMEA believes the owner of the vessels had leased the boats to the Vietnamese to fish in Malaysian waters for a fee. [read more]

Vietnam verurteilt korrupte Banker zum Tod

04.04.2013 (krone.at) - In Vietnam geht das autoritäre Regime mit aller Härte gegen korrupte Banker vor: Schon drei Todesurteile wurden im letzten halben Jahr ausgesprochen. Seit Jahren werden Delikte im Finanzwesen derart drakonisch bestraft - dabei geht es, im internationalen Vergleich, oft um relativ geringe Summen.

Im März wurde der 57- jährige Direktor der Vietnam Development Bank zum Tod verurteilt, da er und zwölf Mitangeklagte gefälschte Kredite in Höhe von umgerechnet 65 Millionen Euro genehmigt hatten. Der Mann hatte dafür einen BMW, einen Diamantring und vier Millionen Euro Bestechungsgeld erhalten. Die weiteren Beschuldigten erhielten vietnamesischen Medien zufolge zum Teil lebenslange Haftstrafen.

Menschenrechtsorganisationen sehen die Urteile, die meist nach nur wenigen Tagen Verhandlung gefällt werden, als Show- Veranstaltung mit tödlichem Ausgang. Vietnam gilt als eines der korruptesten Länder der Welt, was in der Bevölkerung des von der Kommunistischen Partei beherrschten Landes für Unmut sorgt. Die harten Strafen sollen offenbar Banker abschrecken und das Volk beruhigen.  [Weiterlesen]

Annexation of Crimea, a Precedent for China? US Ready to Defend Allies Over South China Sea

03.04.2014 (Epoch Times) - WASHINGTON — The United States cautioned China Thursday that it will meet its defense commitments to allies as tensions mount over territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel told a congressional hearing that some Asian countries fear that Russia’s annexation of Crimea could serve as a precedent for Beijing.

In China’s most recent assertive display, its coast guard ships attempted to interdict a Philippine vessel resupplying a small offshore garrison in the Second Thomas Shoal. [read more]

Vietnam is sentencing corrupt bankers to death, by firing squad

03.04.2014 Patrick Winn (Global Post) - BANGKOK — For the most part, American bankers whose rash pursuit of profit brought on the 2008 global financial collapse didn’t get indicted. They got bonuses.

Odds are that scandal would have played out differently in Vietnam, another nation struggling with misbehaving bankers.

The authoritarian Southeast Asian state doesn’t just send unscrupulous financiers to jail. Sometimes, it sends them to death row.

Amid a sweeping cleanup of its financial sector, Vietnam has sentenced three bankers to death in the past six months. [read more]

For Cambodia's Vietnamese, rights abuses abound

02.04.2014 Abby Seiff and Cheng Sokhorng, Kandal (UCANews) - After a lifetime in Cambodia, a battered carnet de residence bearing poorly transliterated Vietnamese names is all that 41-year-old Nguyen Thi Kim has to show for it. Though she, her parents, and her children were born in Cambodia, none possess any other papers suggesting ties to the country.

“We don’t have an ID card because no one has offered it to us,” she says with a shrug. “Maybe it’s not our time yet?”

As Kim speaks, her baby daughter crawls around the shaded platform where she, her five children, and several in-laws have taken refuge from the blazing sun. In front of them, the dusty banks of the Mekong slope toward a few dozen floating homes that appear on the verge of collapse.

“When the water goes up, we have lots of health problems. I really would prefer to live on the land, but I can’t because I have no money,” says Kim. [read more]

Les autorités civiles informent les évêques des dernières directives concernant le recrutement des séminaristes et l’ordination des prêtres

02.04.2014 (Églises d'Asie) - Depuis la fin des années 1980, les conditions imposées par le gouvernement pour les entrées au grand séminaire et les ordinations sacerdotales ont beaucoup varié. Dans la pratique, elles se sont fortement libéralisées, mais, ce faisant, elles ont pris des formes différentes selon les régions. De plus, les dispositions prises en ce domaine par l’Ordonnance sur les croyances et la religion de 2004 et les décrets d’application qui ont suivi étaient nettement en deçà de la pratique concrète à l’époque de la parution de ce texte législatif. C’est sans doute pour remédier à ce flou législatif, que, le 20 mars dernier, le Bureau gouvernemental des Affaires religieuses a organisé un entretien avec le vice-président que la Conférence épiscopale, Mgr Hoang Van Dat, évêque de Bac Ninh. Les fonctionnaires du service législatif des Affaires religieuses ont exprimé le désir d’unifier et de simplifier les formalités administratives exigées pour l’entrée au grand séminaire et pour l’ordination des prêtres.

Dans une lettre adressée aux membres de la Conférence épiscopale et rendue publique le 27 mars dernier par Vietcatholic News, sous le titre « Eclaircissements sur les formalités administratives et sociales concernant l’entrée au grand séminaire et l’ordination des prêtres », l’évêque de Bac Ninh fait un rapport très précis de l’ensemble des dispositions législatives qui lui ont été communiquées. Dans sa lettre, il a même conservé le vocabulaire et le style propres aux fonctionnaires du Bureau des Affaires religieuses [en savoir plus ...]

South China Sea: Manila calls on UN to stop Beijing

01.04.2014 (AsiaNews) - Manila - Storms are brewing in the troubled waters of the South China Sea, which has been at the centre of a long and bitter territorial dispute, now that Beijing and Manila are openly staring down at each other with the United States backing the Philippines.

Washington has urged Beijing to refrain from further provocative behaviour after its coast guard tried to stop a Filipino ship from reaching one of the Spratly Islands. [read more]

Mar Chino meridional, Manila pide ayuda a la Onu para frenar a Beijing

01.04.2014 (AsiaNews) - Manila - Aguas agitadas en el Mar Chino meridional- desde hace tiempo de una áspera contienda territorial- por un nuevo fronte de enfrentamiento que ve contrapuestos a Beijing y manila, esta última apoyada por los EEUU. Washington acusó a China de actitudes provocadoras, después que una embarcación de la Guardia costera trató de bloquear una nave filipina que se dirigía a una de las islas que forman el archipiélago de las Sprattly. Según el departamento de Estado Usa, el tentativo de bloque hecho por Beijing "es una acción provocadora y desestabilizante". Y, en cualidad de aliado de Filipinas, Washington invita a China a "abstenerse de nuevos gestos provocadores", permitiendo a las naves de manila "mantener su presencia" en el área.

A aumentar el frente se enfrentamiento, la decisión del gobierno filipino de presentar una instancia- depositada el 30 de marzo pasado- en el tribunal de las Naciones Unidas, en el cual ilustra los propios derechos y define "ilegal" e "irracional" la llamada "lengua de buey" usada por Beijing para señalar y marcar el territorio. [seguir leyendo]

Filipinas presenta pruebas contra reclamos chinos

31.03.2014 (Yahoo Noticias) - MANILA, Filipinas (AP) — Filipinas presentó pruebas a un tribunal internacional contra las amplias reclamaciones chinas en el Mar de la China Meridional, pasando por alto las advertencias de Beijing de que el caso afectará las relaciones bilaterales.

El secretario de Relaciones Exteriores filipino, Albert del Rosario, dijo el domingo en una conferencia de prensa que los documentos enviados electrónicamente al tribunal de La Haya son casi 4.000 páginas de análisis y pruebas documentales.

El gobierno filipino llevó a un arbitraje internacional su disputa territorial con China en enero de 2013, después que barcos del gobierno chino tomaron el control de un banco frente a la zona noroeste de Filipinas. Funcionarios filipinos pidieron al tribunal que declare ilegal las reclamaciones de Beijing sobre aproximadamente 80% de las aguas estratégicas y la ocupación de ocho bancos y arrecifes en el Mar de la China Meridional. [seguir leyendo]

Japan loses credibility as corruption-tainted aid projects continue

31.03.2014 (The Asahi Shimbun) - Another suspected bribery case related to Japan’s development aid has come to light.

A Tokyo-based railway consulting company allegedly paid a total of 100 million yen ($972,762) in kickbacks to government employees and others from Vietnam, Uzbekistan and Indonesia. The company had been awarded contracts for Japan’s official development assistance projects worth 6 billion yen in these countries.

The Japanese government has been pursuing what it calls “values-based diplomacy” designed to promote democracy and the rule of law in developing countries.

As part of this foreign policy agenda, Japan has pledged to provide 2 trillion yen in aid to Southeast Asian nations. It has also announced plans to expand Japan’s exports of infrastructure-related technologies and services. [read more]

Vietnamese fisherman arrested in South China Sea

31.03.2014 (ABC) - Eleven Vietnamese fishermen have been arrested after they were caught poaching in the South China Sea

Philippine authorities have arrested 11 Vietnamese fishermen found poaching in the nation's waters, close to disputed territories in the South China sea. Environment officials say the Vietnamese fishermen were found with 50 dead sharks aboard their boat near the province of Palawan.

Among the Vietnamese fishermen's catch were great white, bull and hammerhead sharks.

The fishermen will be charged with violation of the Philippines Wildlife Act and Fisheries Law. [read more]

Philippinen durchbrechen Seeblockade

29.03.2014 (ARD) - Im Südchinesischen Meer überschneiden sich die territorialen Ansprüche vieler asiatischer Nationen. Unter anderem streiten sich Vietnam, die Philippinen, China, Malaysia und Taiwan um oftmals kleine Inseln oder unbewohnbare Riffe. In der Region werden Öl- und Gasvorkommen vermutet, teilweise ist die See reich an Fischen.

Auch die Inselgruppe der Spratlys ist umstritten: Seit Ende der 1990er Jahre liegt dort das philippinische Landungsschiff "Sierra Madre" auf einem entlegenen Riff, um den philippinischen Territorialanspruch zu untermauern.

Das Archipel wird inzwischen von Schiffen der chinesischen Küstenwache blockiert, die philippinischen Soldaten an Bord können oft nur unzureichend versorgt werden. Zuletzt war am 9. März ein Schiff von den Chinesen abgewiesen worden. Gelegentlich wirft die philippinische Luftwaffe Güter über dem Schiff ab, die aber nicht immer von der Besatzung erreicht werden können.

Nun ist es einem philippinischen Versorgungsschiff gelungen, die "Sierra Madre" zu erreichen. [Weiterlesen]

State-sponsored hacking is the biggest threat to news organisations, says Google researchers

28.03.2014 James Vincent (The Independent) - News and media websites are most likely to be targeted by state-sponsored hackers, says new research by two Google security engineers.

Twenty-one of the world’s top-25 news organizations have been hit by such attacks, with journalists “massively over-represented” among internet users as targets for attacks designed to steal personal data.

Shane Huntley and Morgan Marquis -Boire presented their research at a Black Hat hacker conference in Singapore on Friday, saying that Google actively “tracks the state actors that attack [it’s] users”.

... “This is the tip of the iceberg,” he said, noting a year-long spate of attacks on journalists and others interested in human rights in Vietnam, including an Associated Press reporter. The attacks usually involved sending the target an infected email attachment masquerading as a human rights document. [read more]

Nationalismus, Sozialismus, Karaoke

28.03.2014 Matthias Lohre (taz) - In Vietnam muss lebendiger Konservatismus zu Hause sein. Denn was ist konservativer als das Befolgen einer einer Jahrhunderte alten Ideologie?

Hier irgendwo muss er sein. In Vietnam leisten sich die Menschen schließlich aus der Zeit gefallene Leidenschaften, zu denen sich Deutsche höchstens betrunken bekennen: Nationalismus, Sozialismus und Karaoke. Und deshalb werde ich ihn hier garantiert finden: lebendigen Konservatismus.

Von Hanoi im Norden bis Ho-Chi-Minh-Stadt im Süden will ich das Land der Länge erkunden. Wie es sich gehört, lese ich mir kurz vor der Landung die wichtigsten Fakten an: Vietnam ist geprägt vom Konfuzianismus, der Gehorsam lehrt gegenüber Staat und Familie. Die Kommunistische Partei herrscht mit einer Mischung aus Dogmatismus und Pragmatismus. Vietnam ist eine Art katholischer Kirche mit Sandstrand. [Weiterlesen]

Raketenbestückte „Schwarze Löcher“

28.03.2014 Alexej Sünnerberg (Stimme Russlands) - Das dritte von den sechs U-Booten, die Vietnam bei Russland bestellt hat, ist an den Auftraggeber übergeben worden. In der Admiralitätswerft von St. Petersburg erwartet man nun die Ankunft seiner vietnamesischen Besatzung, die geschult werden soll.

Die ersten beiden U-Boote stehen bereits in Vietnam, während das vierte U-Boot am 28. März in der Admiralitätswerft vom Stapel laufen soll. Es handelt sich um dieselelektrische U-Boote, die in Russland als „Warschwjanka“ bezeichnet werden, während ihre Nato-Bezeichnung „Kilo“ lautet. [Weiterlesen]

Russia Floats Out Fourth Stealth Submarine for Vietnamese Navy

28.03.2014 Igor Russak (RIA Novosti) - The fourth Russian Varshavyanka-class submarine for delivery to the Vietnamese navy has been launched in a ceremony at the shipyard where it was built, St. Petersburg city officials said Friday.

Vietnam signed a contract in 2009 to buy six of the diesel-electric submarines - dubbed "black holes in the ocean" by US navy officials for their near invisibility - in a deal reportedly worth $2 billion.

Analysts saw the purchase as a move to counterbalance China's expanding maritime influence in the region.

Two of the submarines have already been delivered to Vietnam, with the third currently undergoing sea trials and another now under construction at St. Petersburg's Admiralty Shipyards. [read more]

Is a Philippine-Vietnam Alliance in the Making?

28.03.2014 By Carl Thayer (The Diplomat) - Walden Bellow, a representative of Akbayan (Citizens’ Action Party) in the Philippine House of Representatives, recently wrote an opinion-editorial in Foreign Policy in Focus (March 18) entitled, “A Budding Alliance: Vietnam and the Philippines Confront China.”

Bello argued that, “The Philippines and Vietnam are natural allies in their common struggle against China’s drive for hegemony in East Asia. Already partners in ASEAN, the two are likely to be driven closer together by Beijing’s increasingly brazen displays of power as it enforces its claim to some 80 percent of the South China Sea.” [read more]

España seguirá comprometida con Vietnam en la lucha por la igualdad de género

27.03.2014 (Yahoo Noticias) - Hanoi (EFE) - El ministro de Asuntos Exteriores, José Manuel García-Margallo, aseguró hoy que España seguirá comprometida con la igualdad de género y el derecho de las mujeres en Vietnam, un país en el que pretende seguir financiando proyectos después de haber invertido entre 1997 y 2012 más de 250 millones de euros.

El jefe de la diplomacia española dedicó su segunda jornada de visita oficial en Vietnam a la cooperación y en especial a la igualdad de género, un asunto en el que España trabaja en combatir la violencia hacia las mujeres y el tráfico de personas. [seguir leyendo]

Schmuggelndes Flugpersonal

27.03.2014 Jan Knüsel (Asienspiegel) - Der Job der Flugbegleiterin hat so seine Reize. Man lernt kostenlos die Welt kennen, kann in guten Hotels übernachten und in der Freizeit günstig fliegen. Für einige Flight Attendants und Piloten, die in Schwellenländern leben, lockt zudem noch ein illegaler, dafür aber lukrativer Nebenverdienst.

In Aufenthaltsländern wie Frankreich oder Japan kaufen sie exklusive Produkte wie iPhones, Kleider, Kosmetika oder Medizin und verstauen diese im Handgepäck, um es unbemerkt durch den Zoll zu bringen. Im Heimatland verkaufen sie die geschmuggelte Ware schliesslich für einen teuren Aufpreis.

Gerade bei der Vietnam Airlines haben sich solche Fälle in den letzten Jahren gehäuft, wie Thanh Nien News berichtet. Dabei sind einige Flugangestellte sogar bereit, sich auf kriminelle Händlerringen einzulassen. Erst letzte Woche wurde in Japan eine 25-jährige Flugangestellte verhaftet, weil sie unbemerkt 21 neue Kleidungsstücke im Wert von 125’000 Yen (888 Euro) von Japan nach Vietnam transportieren wollte. Es soll sich laut der Nikkei Shimbun um gestohlene Ware gehandelt haben. [Weiterlesen]

Cops nab 13 Vietnamese women in late night raid

27.03.2014 by Nadirah H. Rodzi (The Star) - KUALA LUMPUR: Police busted a premise and detained 13 Vietnamese women for working without a valid permit in Kepong Thursday night.

The raid, which was led by city police anti-vice, gaming and secret society (D7) officer Deputy Supt Bahrain Che Rose, was conducted at about 9.30pm in Jalan Metro Perdana Barat 3, Taman Usahawan Kepong. [read more]

James Steinberg: U.S., China aware of risks of conflict between superpowers

26.03.2014 By Atsushi Okudera (The Asahi Shimbun) - A Sino-U.S. push to develop a “new model of major power relationship” is attracting keen interest in Japan, which increasingly is feeling sidelined in big picture decisions.

James Steinberg played a central role in formulating U.S. policy toward China for the Obama administration when he served as deputy secretary of state. Steinberg is now dean of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in New York.

The Asahi Shimbun interviewed Steinberg and asked him about the U.S.-China relationship.

Steinberg embraced the decision by the two big powers to seek a way to avoid conflict, but acknowledged problems arose when China established an air defense identification zone in the East China Sea. [read more]

Vietnam suspends four officials over Japan aid graft allegations

26.03.2014 (Japan Today) - HANOI — Vietnam on Tuesday said it had suspended four railway officials following allegations a Japanese firm paid bribes to win a contract linked to a rail project for Hanoi.

Japan’s leading Yomiuri newspaper reported that the head of Japan Transportation Consultants (JTC) admitted his company had paid kickbacks of 130 million yen ($1.3 million) to civil servants in Vietnam, Indonesia and Uzbekistan to win work tied to projects funded by Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA). The report said Tamio Kakinuma, 65, told prosecutors in Tokyo last week that among the illicit payments were 80 million yen paid to officials at Vietnam Railways for a project worth 4.2 billion yen.

The scheme was for part of an overground rail link across Hanoi, partially financed by the ODA. [read more]

Vietnam: soupçons de corruption liée à l'aide japonaise: 4 responsables suspendus

26.03.2014 (Le Huffington Post Quebec) - Le Vietnam a annoncé mardi la suspension de quatre responsables des chemins de fer après des allégations concernant des commissions occultes versées par un cabinet de consultants japonais dans le cadre d'un projet ferroviaire à Hanoï, essentiellement financé par l'aide nippone. Japon Transport Consultants (JTC) a indiqué lundi avoir ouvert une enquête interne après la publication d'articles de presse affirmant que la justice avait interrogé son PDG, Tamio Kakinuma, sur cette affaire.

D'après le quotidien à grand tirage Yomiuri Shimbun, M. Kakinuma aurait admis le versements de pots-de-vin et signé des aveux. Il aurait reconnu que JTC avait versé de l'argent à des fonctionnaires au Vietnam, en Indonésie et en Ouzbékistan, en précisant les dates et montants en jeu. [en savoir plus ...]

Vietnam stewardess arrested in Japan

26.03.2014 (Bangkok Post) - TOKYO - Tokyo police said Wednesday they have arrested a 25-year-old female cabin attendant of Vietnam Airlines on suspicion of attempting to smuggle stolen goods into Vietnam and searched the carrier's Tokyo office.

The Metropolitan Police Department suspects about 20 other Vietnam Airlines employees have also been involved in smuggling and have asked five of them to submit to the department. The five -- a copilot and four cabin attendants -- are currently outside Japan.

The cabin attendant, Nguyen Bich Ngoc, is suspected to have transported 21 items of stolen clothing worth 125,000 yen (40,000 baht) aboard a special bus for the carrier from an Osaka Prefecture hotel to Kansai International Airport last September. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Trägt die Achse Russland–China?

24.03.2014 Junhua Zhang, Politologe (NZZ) - Die Krim ist zu einem Teil Russlands geworden – trotz allen westlichen Warnungen vor einer Annexion. Putins Realpolitik hat für den Moment gesiegt. Die bisherigen von Russland unterzeichneten internationalen Verträge, wie etwa das «Budapest Memorandum», in dem die territoriale Unversehrtheit der Ukraine garantiert wird, zählen für Präsident Putin nicht. Der Westen ist in einer schwachen Position. Weil er keine militärische Option hat und ihn einschneidende Wirtschaftssanktionen selber treffen, hat er bisher nur symbolische Sanktionen gegen Russland verhängt.

Im offiziellen China ist, wie überall im Land zu hören und zu lesen ist, eine prorussische Meinung dominant. Danach hat Putin mit seinem Vorgehen Mut bewiesen, seine Ziele erreicht und dem Westen eine Lektion erteilt. Die öffentliche Meinung scheint einstimmig, in Wirklichkeit aber ist das chinesische Nachdenken über die Krim-Krise unterhalb der Stufe der politischen Entscheidungsträger komplex und widersprüchlich. [Weiterlesen]

Is China preparing for a ‘short, sharp war’ against Japan?

24.03.2014 Authors: Jonathan D. Pollack, Brookings Institution, and Dennis J. Blasko, independent China military analyst (East Asian Forum) - Heightened tensions between China and Japan in recent months have triggered widespread debate over Beijing’s ultimate intentions. There are even predictions of direct armed conflict in the East China Sea. Is an acute crisis likely? What potential actions might China take to protect its interests?

The current dispute focuses on the Senkakus (known by China as the Diaoyus), a group of small uninhabited islands approximately equidistant between mainland China and the Japanese island of Okinawa. Beijing and Tokyo both claim sovereignty over the islands. But Japan has exercised continuous administrative control over the islands since the US returned control to the Japanese in 1972. [read more]

The guns of August in the East China Sea

24.03.2014 By Robert D. Kaplan (Gulf News) - The parallels of history have obsessed the foreign policy elite for years, and are building towards a fever pitch: Is the Asia of 2014 the new Europe of 1914? China is a rising and assertive new power much like Kaiser Wilhelm II’s Germany. An explosion of nationalism has taken hold among dynamic ethnic nations, from Beijing to Tokyo, Hanoi to Manila. And as Asia’s middle-classes enjoy a new and ascendant place in the world, sustained capitalist prosperity has led to military acquisitions. An arms race in Asia is on the loose — as the Australian analyst Desmond Ball reports, progressing to a dangerous phase of actions and reactions, as opposed to a normal, non-threatening build-up. If the First World War was “the first middle-class war in history,” as the Canadian historian Modris Eksteins writes, with literate masses bursting with patriotic pride, no wonder so many see the dark echoes in the Pacific becoming an armed camp. [read more]

Chinese ‘NGO’ Member Barred from United Nations

24.03.2014 By Didi Kirsten Tatlow (The New York Times) - The United Nations has barred a Chinese man from attending the Human Rights Council in Geneva after he photographed at close range a woman who gave testimony about her father who is serving a life sentence in China for his political activities. The United Nations said the photography was “intimidation.”

The incident drew attention to an open secret that is nevertheless rarely so clearly demonstrated — that some Chinese groups listed as nongovernmental organizations are in fact actively working to promote the Communist government’s political goals and may spy on people that Beijing considers hostile to its interests.

“A decision was taken given the gravity of the situation to take his pass away,” said a United Nations spokesman, Rolando Gómez, speaking by telephone on Monday. The council session ends on Friday and the man’s pass was removed until then, but, Mr. Gómez said, “He won’t be able to come back at all.” [read more] 

Japan Firm Probes $1.3m Bribe Claims After Boss ‘Confession’

24.03.2014 (Jakarta Globe) - Tokyo. A Japanese consultancy firm said Monday it was investigating following a report its president had admitted bribing foreign officials in Indonesia and abroad to win contracts linked to multi-million dollar development projects.

Tamio Kakinuma, head of Japan Transportation Consultants (JTC), admitted the 130 million yen ($1.3 million) fraud last week to Tokyo prosecutors, Japan’s top-selling Yomiuri newspaper said, and had signed a confession, it added.

Among the illicit payments were 80 million yen paid to officials at Vietnam Railways to secure a project worth 4.2 billion yen, and 30 million yen in bribes linked to three projects in Indonesia, the paper said. It did not specify the names of the Indonesian projects. [read more]

Saigon : le pape François accepte la démission du cardinal Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Mân. Mgr Paul Bui Van Doc lui succède

24.03.2014 (Églises d'Asie) - Le 22 mars 2014, le bureau de presse du Saint-Siège a annoncé que le pape François acceptait la démission demandée depuis déjà longtemps par l’archevêque de Saigon, le cardinal Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Mân. C’est l’archevêque coadjuteur récemment nommé, Mgr Paul Bui Van Doc, qui lui succède à la tête de l’archidiocèse, précise l'agence VietCatholic News (1).

Le cardinal a fêté son 80e anniversaire le 5 mars dernier. Originaire de Ca Mau, il avait été orienté vers le séminaire par le P. François Buu Diêp, qui, quelques années plus tard, en 1946, pendant la première guerre du Vietnam, sacrifiera sa vie pour ses paroissiens dans des circonstances héroïques. [en savoir plus ...]

Vatikan: Neuer Erzbischof für Vietnam

22.03.2014 (katholisch.de) - Der Vatikan und die kommunistische Staatsführung von Vietnam haben sich offenbar auf einen neuen Erzbischof für Ho-Chi-Minh-Stadt geeinigt. Außerdem hat Papst Franziskus neue vatikanische Botschafter für Estland und Lettland sowie Sri Lanka ernannt.

Wie der Vatikan am Samstag mitteilte, nahm Papst Franziskus das aus Altersgründen eingereichte Rücktrittsersuchen des bisherigen Erzbischofs von Ho-Chi-Minh-Stadt, Kardinal Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man (80), an. Nachfolger wird damit automatisch der bisherige Koadjutor der Erzdiözese und Vorsitzende der nationalen Bischofskonferenz, Paul Bùi Văn Đọc (69). Das Bistum der früher "Saigon" genannten Stadt zählt rund 700.000 Katholiken.

Nach Sri Lanka entsandte Franziskus den bisherigen Botschafter in Costa Rica, den Vietnamesen Pierre Nguyen Van Tot (64). [Weiterlesen]

Can ASEAN Respond to the Chinese Challenge?

ASEAN and China tussle over how to resolve dispute over the South China Sea

22.03.2014 By Carlyle A. Thayer (The Epoche Times) - China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, resumed consultations on the South China Sea in Singapore Tuesday.

ASEAN faces at least two problems in its pursuit of a COC with China. First, although the DOC enjoins the parties “to exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability,” China has continually altered the status quo in its favor through unilateral actions. [read more]

An Asean identity?

22.03.2014 by Amado S. Tolentino Jr. (The Manila Times) - While the main goals of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)– Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam–are described in trade terms (single market and production base, highly competitive economic region, equitable economic development, further integration into the global economy), the documents that have come out of various Asean meetings talk about many other things.

On the matter of an Asean identity, the Asean Charter (2007), the Asean Declaration on Cultural Heritage (2000) and of late, the Asean Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint (2009-20015), specify “The Asean Identity is the basis of Southeast Asia’s regional interests. It is our collective personality, norms, values and beliefs as well as aspirations as one Asean Community…..The strategic objective is …to create a sense of belonging, consolidate unity in diversity and enhance deeper mutual understanding among Asean member countries about their culture, history, religion and civilization……” [read more]

El presidente de la CE confirma su asistencia a cumbre seguridad nuclear

21.03.2014 (Univision) - Bruselas, 21 mar (EFE).- El presidente de la Comisión Europea (CE), José Manuel Duro Barroso, confirmó hoy su participación en la Cumbre sobre Seguridad Nuclear que reunirá en La Haya a más de 50 jefes de Estado y de Gobierno de todo el mundo los días 24 y 25 de marzo.

Convocada por Holanda ya han confirmado su asistencia a la cumbre 58 países y cuatro organizaciones internacionales que durante esos dos días debatirán las maneras de intensificar los esfuerzos globales para poner en seguridad el material nuclear y radiactivo y prevenir el terrorismo nuclear.

El presidente del Ejecutivo comunitario también tendrá reuniones bilaterales con los primeros ministros de Canadá, Stephen Harper, de Nueva Zelanda, y de Vietnam, Nguyen Tan Dung. [seguir leyendo]

Vietnam promises new bridge after plastic bag video goes viral

21.03.2014 (UPI) - SAM LANG, Vietnam -- Vietnamese officials have pledged to build a bridge to a village following the release of an online video showing residents crossing a stream in plastic bags.

Transport Minister Dinh La Thang announced Tuesday the Transport Ministry will construct a suspension bridge over the Nam Po stream in the village of Sam Lang, located in the northern highlands, after a viral video published by the Tuoi Tre newspaper depicted students and teachers in plastic bags being pulled across the stream by strong swimmers amid floodwaters, Thanh Nien reported Friday.

Tong Thi Minh, 23, a teacher who recorded the video, said students and teachers regularly use the plastic bag method to cross the stream. [read more]

Brücke wegen Kindern in Vietnam versprochen

21.03.2014 (Kleine Zeitung) - Berichte über Kinder, die in Plastiksäcken einen reißenden Fluss überqueren, hat Vietnams Regierung zur sofortigen Genehmigung einer Brücke gedrängt. Lokale Medien hatten Aufnahmen davon veröffentlicht, wie Kinder im Nam-Po-Distrikt in der nördlichen Provinz Dien Bien in einen Plastiksack schlüpften und sich von einem erwachsenen Schwimmer darin über einen Fluss ziehen ließen.

Das Ministerium müsse nun handeln, weil es um das Leben von Kindern und Lehrern gehe, erklärte der Vize-Verkehrsminister Nguyen Hong Truong. [Weiterlesen] 

Staatliche Onlinezeitung in Vietnam wegen Artikel über "berüchtigtste Diktatoren" bestraft

21.03.2014 (Forum Vietnam 21) - Hanoi. Staatlichen Medien zufolge hat die Regierung in Hanoi einer staatlich kontrollierten Onlinezeitung eine Strafe von 40 Millionen Dong (umgerechnet 1900 US$) wegen eines Artikels verhängt. Der Artikel hat die vier bekanntesten kommunistischen Führer unter den "zehn berüchtigtsten Diktatoren" der Weltgeschichte aufgelistet. Marxismus-Leninismus ist in dem Ein-Parteien-Staat offizielle Ideologie.

Der Online-Zeitung "Recht und Gesellschaft" (Pháp luật & Xã hội) wurde die Geldstrafe bereits im vergangenen Monat für den am 11. Januar veröffentlichten Artikel für "unwahre Angaben" auferlegt. Der Artikel wurde aus dem Netz entfernt. Die Strafe wurde erst am letzten Dienstag vom Ministerium für Information und Kommunikation bekanntgemacht. Die Online-Zeitung steht unter Regie der Justizbehörde der Stadt Hanoi, der in diesem Fall ein schwerer Fehler in ihrer Zensurarbeit unterlaufen ist. Der Chefredakteur der Onlinezeitung lehnte Kommentare ab. Die Beamten im Ministerium für Information und Kommunikation waren für Stellungnahme nicht verfügbar.

Unter den erwähnten "zehn berüchtigtsten Diktatoren in der Geschichte" waren ehemalige Sowjetführer Wladimir Lenin und Josef Stalin, Kubas Fidel Castro und Chinas Mao Zedong.

In dem Artikel wurde Lenin als der jenige beschrieben, der Tausende in sowjetische Arbeitslager steckte, wo eine "Reihe von Hinrichtungen" stattgefunden hat. "Die meisten Menschen betrachten Kubas Fidel als ein Monster, das Kuba zerstört" war in dem Artikel zu lesen. Ferner wurde erwähnt, die Politik Maos verursache den Tod von Millionen von Chinesen.

"Einige der berühmtesten Figuren in der Geschichte bleiben für ihre schlechten Taten und ihre Diktatur in Erinnerung", "wir haben viele brutale Führer, die die brutalsten Taten begangen hatten, die die Menschheit je erlebt hat", der Artikel weiter.

Die anderen genannten Diktatoren waren Deutschlands Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini in Italien, Spaniens Francisco Franco, Kambodschas Pol Pot, Idi Amin in Uganda und Mexikos Porfirio Diaz.

Der Artikel von "Recht und Gesellschaft" wurde aus der Online-Portal entfernt, bleibt Internetnutzern aber noch auf einigen Dissidentenblogs erhalten. Dieses Ereignis ist ein weiteres Beispiel für Verletzung der Meinungs- und Pressefreiheit in Vietnam obwohl der Staat seit Januar 2014 Mitglied des UN-Menschenrechtsrats ist.  [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam state-run paper fined for calling famous communist leaders 'most notorious dictators'

21.03.2014 (canada.com) - HANOI, Vietnam - Vietnam's government has fined a state-run newspaper 40 million dong ($1,900) for an article that said four of history's most famous communist leaders were also among the "most notorious dictators," state media said Friday.

The online version of Law and Society was fined last month for "untrue information" in the Jan. 11 article, the Journalists and Public Opinion newspaper reported. Among the "most notorious dictators in history" mentioned in the article were former Soviet leaders Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin, Cuba's Fidel Castro and China's Mao Zedong.  [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

U.S.-Vietnam: From Comprehensive to Strategic Partners?

20.03.2014 By Carl Thayer (cogitASIA CSIS) - Lew Stern argues that Vietnam has adopted a new strategic vocabulary that will facilitate an upgrade in U.S.-Vietnam defense relations from a “comprehensive partnership” to a “strategic partnership.”*

Stern ascribes greater efficacy to the term “strategic partner” (đối tác chiến lược) than Vietnamese officials do. How else can one explain why Spain is one of Vietnam’s strategic partners?

In fact, the United States and Vietnam use the term “strategic partner” differently. For the United States the term places a greater emphasis on defence relations. To the Vietnamese a “strategic partnership” is a political term generally used to identify states that have developed comprehensive bilateral relations with Vietnam and which Vietnam considers to be particularly important for the attainment of its national interests. [read more]

Der riskante, lebensgefährliche Weg zur Schule vietnamesischer Schulkinder

Den Fluss überqueren mit Hilfe eines Plastikbeutels

20.03.2014 (Forum Vietnam 21) - Der Weg zur Schule ist in manchen Gegenden Vietnams ein gefährliches Abenteuer. Auf ihrem Weg zur Schule müssen die Grundschulkinder mit Hilfe eines Plastikbeutels einen Fluss überqueren. Wie das geht, zeigt ein von der Zeitung TUOI TRE (Die Jugend) am 17.03.2014 veröffentlichter Videoclip [Video anschauen] Nicht nur die SchülerInnen, auch die LehrerInnen der Gemeinde Na Hy, Kreis Nam Po, Provinz Dien Bien nehmen diese Gefahr in Kauf, um sich einen mehrstündigen Fußmarsch zu ersparen.

Dass bisher noch keine Schülerin/Lehrerin ertrunken ist, grenzt an ein Wunder. Kaum vorstellbar ist die Gefahr, wenn in der Regenzeit der Fluss zu großer Strömung anschwillt.

Auch in der Gemeinde Son Ha, Provinz Quang Ngai, riskieren SchülerInnen tagtäglich ihr Leben, um zur Schule gehen zu können.

Man fragt sich, was die Regierung angesichts dieser Gefahr für Leib und Leben der Kinder tut. Offensichtlich gar nichts ! Die Machthaber kümmern sich lieber um ihre industriellen Millionenprojekte, deren Gelder zum erheblichen Teil in ihre eigene Tasche fließen. Das gefährdete Leben der Kinder betrifft sie nicht. Ministerpräsident Nguyen Tan Dung und seine Minister wurden aufgefordert, die mutigen SchülerInnen von Nam Po auf ihrem täglichen Schulweg zu begleiten. Bisher ist dieser Einladung nicht gefolgt. Sie lassen sich dort nicht blicken. [english] - [español]

Why Should Obama Visit Vietnam?

20.03.2014 Written by Khanh Vu Duc (Asia Sentinel) - US President Obama won’t visit Vietnam unless he gets something out of it.

A visit from the President of the United States to Vietnam would achieve at least two things for Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung: one, he would be able to stand side by side with Obama; and two, he would be able to present this opportunity as proof that he has a “friend” in the White House.

Obama is expected to travel to Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines in late April as part of his bid to increase US diplomatic, economic and security arrangements in the Asia-Pacific. There is no indication at this point that he intends to add Vietnam to his schedule, but that could change under the right circumstances. [read more]

A Budding Alliance: Vietnam and the Philippines Confront China

18.03.2014 By Walden Bello (Foreign Policy In Focus) - The Philippines and Vietnam are natural allies in their common territorial struggles against China. But they should leave Washington out of it.

Last year, the Philippines brought a complaint against China’s aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea to the United Nations Arbitral Tribunal. The Chinese “were really unprepared for that and were really embarrassed by it,” one of Vietnam’s top experts on Chinese diplomacy told me during my recent visit to Hanoi.

It was a master stroke by the Philippine government. The move put China on the defensive, said another Vietnamese analyst, and was one of the factors that prompted Beijing last year to agree in principle to hold discussions with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on a Code of Conduct for the disputed body of water—known in the Philippines as the West Philippine Sea, in Vietnam as the East Sea, and in China as the South China Sea. [read more]

Malaysian Airlines jet disappearance prompts memories of South China Sea rescue for Vietnamese boat people

17.03.2014 By Anne-Gerard Flynn (MassLive) - The fate of the Malaysian Airlines jet, missing since it departed Kuala Lumpur for Beijing on March 8, and speculated to be anywhere in a two million square mile area, that includes the South China Sea, has brought back memories of Vietnamese fleeing on that sea for at least one Springfield resident.

"I hope for the best for them and for them to be safe. It is a very scary situation. Maybe there will be a miracle to save them all," said Thu Pham, who escaped her war-torn country by boat, in 1987, and spent two years in a Thai refugee camp, before coming to the United States. [read more]

Die Wahrheit über den Vietnamkrieg: Die Falschen haben gesiegt!

15.03.2014 von Vera Lengsfeld (Die Freie Welt) - „Wer begann diesen Krieg? Kämpften südvietnamesische Truppen in Nordvietnam? Nein! Überquerten südvietnamesische Guerilleros den 17. Breitengrad, um im Norden pro-kommunistischen Dorfschulzen und ihren Angehörigen den Bauch aufzuschlitzen, den Männern die Zunge herauszureißen, die Geschlechtsteile abzuschneiden und in den Mund zu stecken, bevor sie Männer, Frauen und Kinder aufhängten? Nein! Liquidierte die südvietnamesische Regierung ganze Gesellschaftsschichten, so wie im Norden hunderttausende Grundbesitzer und andere echte oder vermeintliche Opponenten des Regimes umgebracht wurden? Nein!“

Im Norden ein mörderischer Einparteienstaat, im Süden ein Land, in dem mitten im Krieg freie Wahlen abgehalten wurden. Die Sympathien der Demonstranten galten dem eiskalt tötenden Aggressor, nicht dem Verbündeten der Demokratien. [Weiterlesen]

Days not forgotten

14.03.2014 Jonathan London (CogitASIA) - Internationally, the rhythms of Vietnam’s political calendar are not frequently discussed. And yet in the context of escalating regional tensions and of fragile efforts to address them, it is worth noting that January, February, and March of each year are months in which Vietnamese political passions toward China burn especially hot. An appreciation of the reasons for this provides insights into Vietnamese perspectives on China’s current assertive tilt and the complexities Hanoi faces in coping with it.

Relations between Vietnam and China stretch back thousands of years and have had rough patches stretching across centuries. Yet current tensions between the two countries’ states have strikingly recent origins. In the context of Beijing’s creeping efforts to enforce its outsized claims in the South China Sea – the Vietnamese call it the East Sea — three days on the Vietnamese calendar stand out. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Spratly Islands and Crimea: The Fight for Self-Interest

14.03.2014 Written by Khanh Vu Duc (Asia Sentinel) - The current Crimean crisis lends itself for comparison to potential conflicts elsewhere around the globe, particularly the Spratly Islands dispute.

If the world fails in resolving the Ukrainian crisis, claimant states in the Spratlys dispute mighty feel emboldened to expand their existing claims, opening the possibility to a state seizing possessions from another claimant. If such a possibility were in fact to occur, it would mark a serious escalation of force by claimants who so far have restrained themselves to minor skirmishes.

Located in the South China Sea between Vietnam and the Philippines, the islets, atolls, reefs, and rocks are claimed by Brunei, China and Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. The archipelago is believed to sit atop significant reserves of natural resources, as well as rich fishing grounds. [read more]

Indonesia’s Military Flexes Muscle as S. China Sea Dispute Looms

13.03.2014 (Jakarta Globe) - Jakarta. In a move that could have serious repercussions for the security situation in the South China Sea, Indonesian officials on Wednesday acknowledged that China was claiming part of Indonesia’s Riau Islands province as its own territory.

The Indonesian Military’s (TNI) Air Commodore Fahru Zaini, who is a member of the defense strategy unit at the office of the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, said that China had included parts of the Natuna Islands within its so-called nine-dash line.

“We have to continue monitoring the developments in the South China Sea cautiously,” Moeldoko told reporters last week, as quoted by Tempo.co.

He also added that the military would be adding at least one Army battalion in addition to strengthening its existing naval base in Natuna.

“We will also prepare fighter aircraft in the area,” he said. [read more]

Manila to challenge China blockade in S.China Sea

13.03.2014 (Reuters) - The Philippines is planning another challenge of a Chinese naval blockade of a disputed shoal in the South China Sea by sending civilian ships with supplies to its troops stationed there, a senior military official said on Thursday.

Chinese coastguard ships patrolling waters around Second Thomas Shoal, known in China as the Ren'ai reef and in the Philippines as Ayungin, ordered the same vessels to leave the area on Sunday.

Beijing claims Manila is trying to start construction on the disputed reef after it ran aground an old transport ship in 1999 to mark its territory and stationed marines on the ship. Manila claims the shoal is part of the Philippine's continental shelf.

"We are on a humanitarian mission," said a marine colonel, who declined to be identified because he was not authorised to speak to the media. "We are sending back the civilian ships to bring food and fresh water because they are running out of supplies. Fresh water supply is critically low." [read more]

Por qué las protestas no llevarán a una ‘Primavera Camboyana’

13.03.2014 Escrito por Mong Palatino, Traducido por César Pérez (Global Voices Español) - Faine Greenwood escribe acerca de la charla que presentó en Stanford el activista de derechos humanos camboyano Ou Virak. En respuesta a la interrogante de las protestas contra el gobierno que se desarrollan en Camboya, Ou Virak explicó [en] que no se llegará a una ‘primavera política':

No creo que ocurra una primavera en Camboya, o que algo así sea deseable… Ni siquiera hay una palabra en nuestra lengua jemer para ‘primavera'. La palabra más cercana es revolución, la cual trae a la memoria a los Jemeres Rojos. [seguir leyendo]

US: China blocking Filipino boats 'provocative'

12.03.2014 By Matthew Pennington (Associated Press) -  WASHINGTON (AP) -- China's blocking of supplies to a Philippine outpost in the South China Sea is "provocative" and raises tensions, the United States said Wednesday, in its latest criticism of China's assertive conduct in disputed seas of East Asia.

The Philippines, a U.S. ally, protested to China Tuesday its prevention of two Filipino vessels from taking supplies to troops on a decrepit military hospital ship that ran aground 15 years ago on the shallow coral outcrop of the Second Thomas Shoal. The rusty ship has since become the symbol of Philippine sovereignty over the area. [read more]

Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia find common ground against Beijing's "imperialism"

11.03.2014 by Paul N. Hung (AsiaNews) - Hanoi - Kuala Lumpur - Hanoi and Manila are boosting their ties to counter Beijing's hegemony in the South China Sea, reacting to the Chinese Navy's unremitting violations of the rights of Vietnamese, Filipino and Malaysian commercial ships or fishing vessels in disputed waters.

The United States back the claims of South Asian nations. For Washington, China's "cow tongue line" is both illegal and irrational.

The Philippines continues its lawsuit against China after the international court accepted its case, asking Manila to present legal arguments and evidence on 3 March 2014. [read more]

Vietnam, Filipinas y Malasia. Un frente común contra el "imperialismo" de Beijing

11.03.2014 de Paul N. Hung (AsiaNews) - Hanoi - Hanói (AsiaNews). Se refuerza el eje entre Kuala Lumpur, Hánoi y Manila para contrastar la hegemonía de Beijing en el mar Chino meridional, mientras en las aguas contendidas las violaciones de la Marina china en relación de las naves comerciales o pesqueros vietnamitas, filipinos y malayos. Para sostener las reivindicaciones de los Países del Sud-este asiático están los EEUU, que verias veces han juzgado de "ielgales" e "irracionales" la llamada "lengua de buey", usada por Beijing para marcar el territorio. Mientras tanto prosigue la cuestión internacional iniciada por Filipinas contra China: El tribunal acogió el recurso y el 3 de marzo pidió a Manila recoger y presentar las pruebas en aula en vista de la audiencia.

De hace tiempo, Vietnam y Filipinas manifiestan crecientes preocupaciones por el "imperialismo" de Beijing en los mares (merional y oriental); el gobierno chino reivindica una feta consistente de océano, que comprende islas peleadas entre Vietnam, taiwan, Filipinas, Brunei y malasia (casi el 80% de los territorios). En los últimos meses China promovió iniciativas de naturaleza política, económica y diplomática para impedir el regular desarrollo de la pesca o de la navegación d las embarcaciones extranjeras en las aguas disputadas. [seguir leyendo]

Philippines protests China stopping troop resupply

11.03.2014 (The Asahi Shimbun) - AP MANILA--The Philippines protested on March 11 actions by the Chinese coast guard that prevented delivery of supplies to a small group of Filipino soldiers guarding a shoal in a disputed area in the South China Sea.

Chinese ships prevented two Filipino civilian vessels hired by the Philippine navy from reaching Second Thomas Shoal on March 9, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The shoal is called Ayungin Shoal by Manila and Ren'ai Reef by the Chinese.

"Ayungin Shoal is part of the continental shelf of the Philippines and therefore, the Philippines is entitled to exercise sovereignty rights and jurisdiction in the area without the permission of other states," the statement said. [read more]

Une Chine moins « pacifique » accroît les craintes de ses voisins

06.03.2014 Propos recueillis par Edouard Pflimlin (Le Monde) - La Chine a annoncé, mercredi 5 mars, une augmentation de 12,2 % de ses dépenses militaires en 2014, à 808,23 milliards de yuans, soit 132 milliards de dollars ou 95,9 milliards d'euros. Cette hausse marque une accélération après celle de 10,7 % l'an dernier à 114 milliards de dollars. Le budget militaire chinois s'élève au deuxième rang mondial, derrière celui des Etats-Unis, prévu à 526,8 milliards de dollars (383,6 milliards d'euros) en 2014. Les experts occidentaux se disent toutefois convaincus que les dépenses militaires réelles de Pékin dépassent très largement les montants annoncés. Le Pentagone a ainsi estimé que la Chine avait dépensé en 2012 pour sa défense entre 135 et 215 milliards de dollars (98 et 156 milliards d'euros).

Valérie Niquet, maîtresse de recherche et responsable du pôle Asie à la Fondation pour la recherche stratégique (FRS), et Emmanuel Puig, chercheur à Asia Centre et enseignant à Sciences Po, analysent les raisons de cette hausse sensible des dépenses militaires chinoises. [en savoir plus ...]

Less money, less faith in US 'pivot'

06.03.2014 By Khanh Vu Duc & Duvien Tran (Asia Times) - The United States' military of the 21st century will be leaner, not by strategic choice but rather fiscal necessity. The new US defense budget aims to reduce army personnel to levels not seen since before World War II. While a heavily indebted US must learn to do more with less, its strategic partners around the globe, including in Asia, must likewise downgrade their expectations and boost their burden-sharing.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a research institute focused on global security issues, 4.4% of US gross domestic produce was spent on defense in 2012, a slight dip from the decade-high 4.8% spent in 2009 and 2010. Even at this reduced level, military spending was still US$689 billion, or about 19% of the total federal budget. Under the new budget proposal, spending will be reduced to $496 billion. [read more]

China's civilian fleet a potent force in Asia's disputed seas

06.03.2014 By Megha Rajagopalan & Greg Torode 89 - (Reuters) - From harassing Filipino fishing boats and monitoring oil exploration off Vietnam to playing cat-and-mouse with the Japanese coastguard, China's expanding fleet of civilian patrol vessels have become the enforcers in disputed Asian waters.

The ships of the recently unified Chinese coastguard are a fixture around the disputed islands and shoals of the South and East China Seas. While the ships don't have the weaponry of military vessels, thus reducing the risk a confrontation could get out of control, they still represent a potent show of sovereignty.

The coastguard is funded by China's State Oceanic Administration, a civilian body, although one U.S. naval officer and security experts said it coordinates its operations with the People's Liberation Army (PLA). [read more]

Vietnam risks TPP slot on labor reality

06.03.2014 By Khai Nguyen (AsiaTimes) - The United States-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement, which is under negotiation among a dozen countries including Vietnam, requires that members adopt and maintain strong and enforceable labor provisions, including freedom of association, allowances for collective bargaining and zero tolerance for child and forced labor. If negotiators hold fast to these requirements, Vietnam will necessarily be barred entry to the partnership.

The legitimacy of Vietnam's one-party regime now rests solely on poverty reduction and high economic performance. The ruling Communist Party of Vietnam has thus placed high priority on joining the TPP. As China is excluded from the agreement, Vietnam would potentially be the trade grouping's main source of low wage labor. HSBC estimates Vietnam's participation in the pact would boost current gross domestic product by as much as 10% by 2020. A round of talks held in Singapore earlier this week failed to seal a final deal. [read more]

Kambodschas Opposition macht mit Rassismus Politik

05.03.2014 Rodion Ebbighausen (DW) - Seit 1985 herrscht Hun Sen in Kambodscha. Sein stärkster Herausforderer ist Sam Rainsy, der im Machtkampf den weit verbreiteten Rassismus gegen Vietnamesen instrumentalisiert.

"Wir müssen unser Land aus den Händen der Regierung befreien!", so Sam Rainsy bei einer Rede in den USA. "Die Führung ist dabei unser Land zu zerstören, es Stück für Stück umzubringen. Sie gibt den 'Yuon' die Möglichkeit, Kambodscha zu töten." "Yuon", das ist in der kambodschanischen Sprache Khmer eine abwertende Bezeichnung für Vietnamesen. Immer wieder nutzt der charismatische Politiker und Führer der Oppositionskoalition "Cambodian National Rescue Party" (CNRP) Sam Rainsy Ressentiments gegen Vietnam und die vietnamesischstämmige ethnische Minderheit, zu der etwa fünf Prozent der Bevölkerung zählen.

Karl-Heinz Golzio, ein Historiker der unter anderem ein Buch zur Geschichte Kambodschas geschrieben hat, sieht diese Entwicklung mit großer Sorge. Rainsy wolle sich mit seinen fremdenfeindlichen Äußerungen politisch profilieren. Gleichzeitig kritisiert der Historiker aber auch die "korrupte Vetternwirtschaft" von Regierungschef Hun Sen. "In Kambodschas Politik, so scheint es fast, hat man nur die Wahl zwischen Korruption oder Pogrom", sagt er im Gespräch mit der Deutschen Welle. [Weiterlesen]

Does Women’s Leadership in Vietnam Matter?

03.03.2014 by Victoria Kwakwa (World Bank) - High primary enrollment ratios for girls and impressive female labour force participation rates are two striking examples of Vietnam’s progress on gender equality. On female leadership, however, Vietnam has a huge unfinished agenda. The good news is that a recent study by Grant Thornton (2013) shows women’s leadership in business is growing and 30 percent of Board of Director roles in Vietnam are held by women compared to the global average of 19 percent. Women’s membership in the Communist Party has also risen from over 20 percent in 2005 to more than 30 percent in 2010. The not so good news is that across business, government and political spheres, the face of leadership in Vietnam is still overwhelmingly male.

In the last decade and a half, the share of women in the National Assembly has been declining. Only one out of nine chairs of National Assembly Committees is female. Women’s representation remains low in key bodies of the Communist Party: the Politburo (two out of 16), the Central Committee and the Secretariat. In Government, the civil service has a large percentage of women but their representation in leadership is small and tends to be at lower levels: 11 percent at the division level, 5 percent at director level and only 3 percent at ministerial level (UNDP, 2012). [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Tagebuch 1989

02.03.2014 von Vera Lengsfeld (Die Freie Welt) - Eine DDR-Oppositionsgruppe, in der sich sogenannte „Antragsteller“ zusammengeschlossen haben, veröffentlicht eine Erklärung, in der neben der Forderung auf das Recht, das Land verlassen zu können, sich auch die Ankündigung fand, kirchliche Friedensgruppen in ihrem Anliegen zur gesellschaftlichen Erneuerung zu unterstützen. ...

... Viel schlimmer erging es den Vietnamesen, denen jeglicher Kontakt zu DDR-Bürgern von ihrer eigenen Regierung untersagt war. Wer sich nicht daran hielt, wurde sofort nach Vietnam zurückgeschickt und dort bestraft. [Weiterlesen]

Russia Says Its Building Naval Bases in Asia, Latin America

28.02.2014 By Zachary Keck (The Diplomat) - A senior Russian defense official has announced that Moscow is looking to build military bases throughout different countries in Asia and the Western Hemisphere.

According to RIA Novosti, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russia is looking to build military bases in Vietnam, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, the Seychelles, Singapore and several other countries.

“The talks are under way, and we are close to signing the relevant documents,” Shoigu said, according to RIA Novosti. The newspaper noted that “Moscow currently has only one naval base outside the former Soviet Union – in Tartus, Syria, but the fate of this naval facility is uncertain because of the ongoing civil war in that country.”

The comments are probably intended in part to shore up domestic support for Vladimir Putin among Russian nationalists who are likely reassessing his leadership abilities in light of the events in the Ukraine in past weeks. [read more]

Vietnam’s Russian Restocking: More Frigates Ordered

27.02.2014 (Defense Industry Daily) - Frigates. Vietnam has reportedly ordered 2 more Gepard Class/ Project 11661K frigates from Russia’s Gorky Shipyard, which will bring their fleet to 6.

None of the announcements discuss terms, or mention which variant is buying this time. The small 2,100t frigates have space limitations, which forces equipment tradeoffs. Current orders involve 2 Gepards ordered in 2006 and optimized for surface strike with anti-ship missiles (q.v. March 5/11), plus 2 frigates ordered in 2011 and equipped as anti-submarine specialists (q.v. Dec 7/11). [read more]

The Ex-Enemy - Vietnam: No. 12 in Obama's 25 Awkward Allies

27.02.2014 By John Sifton (Politico) - For two decades now, the United States and Vietnam have been forging an ever-closer relationship. Reciprocal visits began in the early 1990s, including trips to Hanoi by Sens. John McCain and John Kerry, both Vietnam War veterans. The two countries officially restored diplomatic ties in 1995, and President Bill Clinton visited in 2000 to discuss trade and security issues. Bilateral trade agreements were reached in 2001 and 2003, and U.S. support for further trade normalization led to Vietnam’s entry into the World Trade Organization in 2007. ...

In the face of this repression, a growing number of Vietnamese in recent years have been engaging in various forms of dissent, questioning government policies, exposing corruption or calling for alternatives to one-party rule. But in response, the government has only intensified its crackdown. At least 63 political prisoners were convicted for free speech acts in 2013, an increase from the 40 convictions in 2012 and the 33 from the year before that. Vietnam now has at least 150 political prisoners, and possibly more than 200. The numbers might have grown larger, but the message sent by more recent arrests has been enough to deter others from speaking out and risking detention. [read more]

Manila asks KL, Hanoi to join case against Beijing's South China Sea claims

27.02.2014 By Raul Dancel (The Straits Times) - MANILA - The Philippines on Thursday pleaded with Malaysia and Vietnam to join its case before an international tribunal challenging China's vast claims over the South China Sea.

"We wish that Malaysia and Vietnam will join us. We wish they can join us in our case or file their own cases," the Philippine government's chief counsel Francis Jardeleza said at a roundtable discussion at the University of the Philippines. [read more]

Russia Seeks Several Military Bases Abroad – Defense Minister

26.02.2014 (RIA Novosti) - MOSCOW, February 26 (RIA Novosti) – Russia is planning to expand its permanent military presence outside its borders by placing military bases in a number of foreign countries, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday.

Shoigu said the list includes Vietnam, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, the Seychelles, Singapore and several other countries.

“The talks are under way, and we are close to signing the relevant documents,” Shoigu told reporters in Moscow. [read more]

Schoigu: Russland verhandelt über Militärbasen in mehreren Ländern

26.02.2014 (Stimme Russlands) - Russland beabsichtige, die Zahl der Militärstützpunkte im Ausland zu erhöhen, und halte Verhandlungen mit einer Reihe von Ländern, einschließlich Vietnam, Kuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Seychellen, Singapur, ab, sagte am Mittwoch in Moskau der russische Verteidigungsminister Sergei Schoigu vor Journalisten.

Wie der Minister feststellte, betreffen die Gespräche nicht nur die Einrichtung von Militärbasen, sondern auch die Erleichterung des Anlaufens der Häfen dieser Länder durch Schiffe sowie Möglichkeiten zum Nachtanken von Langstrecken-Fliegerkräften. [Weiterlesen]

Chinese Vietnam Veterans Petition Regime for Promised Benefits

26.02.2014 By Carol Wickenkamp (Epoch Times) - On the eve of the 35th anniversary of China’s brief border war with Vietnam, crowds of veterans gathered in Beijing to appeal to the regime for benefits and support promised them decades ago.

By mid morning on Monday, the area near Communist Party offices was filled with petitioners in their military uniforms, displaying banners with their aspirations, demands, and grievances. Many of the veterans voiced resentment at the regime for not fulfilling enlistment promises, leaving some veterans in dire straits.

The petitioners were rounded up and taken to Jiujingzhuang, a holding center for petitioners in Beijing, where representatives negotiated with officials over improvements to the pensions and living conditions. [read more]

China's cash welcome, but Hanoi has Hun Sen's heart

25.02.2014 Nirmal Ghosh, The Straits Times (asia one) - When an ethnic Vietnamese crashed his motorcycle into an ethnic Khmer's car in Phnom Penh's Meanchey district last Saturday night, he was attacked by Khmers shouting the racially charged term for Vietnamese - "yuon" - and beaten to death.

That an ordinary traffic accident turned into a racist attack underlines the importance of managing ethnic fault lines in Cambodia - and the country's complex relationship with Vietnam, Cambodia's longtime regional rival, but also an ally of Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Tens of thousands of ethnic Vietnamese - some born in Cambodia, but others recent immigrants - have the right to vote in Cambodia. Mr Hun Sen needs their support in his rivalry with the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), says Dr Sok Touch of the International Relations Institute in Phnom Penh. [read more]

Vietnamese in Ukraine Reeling From Violent Clashes

25.02.2014 Trung Nguyen (VOA) - The violence and political turmoil in Ukraine are taking a toll not just on Ukrainians, but on foreigners such as Vietnamese who now call it their home.

Tran Manh Hung, a businessman in Kyiv, said lingering tension in the Ukrainian capital has affected business. “Many Vietnamese people earn their living in retail markets, and the trading has not been good lately with loss of profit as the result of protests,” he said.

Phi Van Tiep, another Vietnamese businessman in Kharkiv where the largest Vietnamese community resides, said Ukrainians of Vietnamese origin have concentrated on making ends meet. [read more]

China, Vietnam vow more substantial progress in joint maritime cooperation

24.02.2014 (individual.com) - China and Vietnam on Monday vowed to jointly promote their cooperation in areas including maritime, onshore and finance, and achieve more substantial progress.

The pledge came out of a meeting between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and visiting President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan.

Li said he hoped the two sides would give full play of mechanisms such as the guiding committee for bilateral cooperation and three working groups on joint maritime development, infrastructure and financial cooperation, to achieve substantial progress. [read more]

Roundup: Vietnam to pause conducting confidence vote

21.02.2014 (Individual.com) - HANOI (Xinhua via COMTEX) - Vietnam will pause the confidence vote for those holding positions that have been elected or approved by the Vietnam's National Assembly (NA) and People's Council at the upcoming NA session.

Nguyen Thi Nuong, Head of NA Committee for Deputy Affairs said at a session of the NA Standing Committee on Friday that the vote of confidence will not be conducted at the upcoming seventh session of the 13th NA scheduled in May 2014.

Nuong said the pause in conducting of confidence vote is to wait for specific guidance of uniform implementation nationwide, which is regulated in the Announcement 149 released by the Politburo earlier on Dec. 2013 [read more]

Corruption Allegations Linger After Vietnamese Official's Death

20.02.2014 Tra Mi, Trung Nguyen (VOA) - Vietnamese human rights lawyers and other activists say the sudden death of the country's deputy minister of public security, Pham Quy Ngo, came as a shock to many but also leaves allegations of corruption unanswered.

Ngo, who will be given the funeral of a high-ranking official, died Tuesday after a reported battle with liver cancer.

Ngo died one day after a senior official proposed that he be suspended in connection with the investigation of his activities. He previously had denied the allegations raised against him.[read more]

Submarines: Vietnam Gets Game Against China

20.02.2014 (StrategyPage) - On the last day of 2013 Vietnam received its first submarine, a Russian made Kilo class boat. This is the first of six Kilos, which were ordered in 2009 and cost $2.1 billion. The Kilos are based at Cam Ranh Bay, a deep water port developed by the United States during the 1960s and has since then been a major shipping and ship maintenance facility. The Russian fleet has used the facilities there for three decades.

The Kilos weigh 2,300 tons (surface displacement), have six torpedo tubes, and a crew of 57. [read more]

Sack Reis

17.02.2014 (Die Welt) - Mit ungewöhnlichen Mitteln haben die Behörden in Vietnam offenbar eine Protestkundgebung unterbunden: Als gestern in der Hauptstadt Hanoi chinakritische Demonstranten Kränze an einem Denkmal niederlegen wollten, ... [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam: Dancing with the Scars of ‘79

Anti-China protesters put Vietnamese authorities in an awkward position over the weekend.

17.02.2014 By Luke Hunt (The Diplomat) - Governments and their militaries have well established traditions when it comes to commemorating battles that define a nation. Those traditions dictate that formal ceremonies are held every five and 10 years to remember the fallen.

Such traditions apply to conflicts big and small. The overriding message is to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice. The focus is not on the politics behind the conflict, something that put the Vietnamese government in a difficult spot over the weekend.

Given Vietnam’s long running stand-off with China over Beijing’s territorial ambitions in the South China Seas – known as the East Sea in Hanoi and the West Philippine Sea in Manila – the emergence of veterans over the weekend to commemorate battles won in 1979 provided an awkward twist. [read more]

Despliegan a bailarinas contra protestas en Vietnam

16.02.2014 Por Candy Gomez | Fuente: AP (starMedia) - El gobierno de Vietnam desplegó un grupo de bailarinas para dispersar una manifestación de opositores a China, y que buscaban colocar flores al pie de una famosa estatua vietnamita.

Los manifestantes sospechan que el gobierno desplegó a los bailarines como una forma para evitar que se acercaran a la estatua y que pudieran escucharse sus discursos. Los pocos que intentaron acercarse a la estatua de Ly Thai To, fundador de Hanoi y un ícono nacionalista, fueron ahuyentados.

Los manifestantes buscaban recordar el 35 aniversario de una guerra fronteriza sangrienta entre China y Vietnam, en momentos en que ha aumentado el enojo por las creciente reclamaciones territoriales de Beijing sobre islas en el sur del Mar de China, que Hanoi insiste le pertenecen.[seguir leyendo]

Vietnam: Regierung setzt Tänzer gegen unliebsame Demonstration ein

16.02.2014 (Deutschlandradio) - Statt auf Polizisten greift die vietnamesische Regierung offenbar auf Tänzer zurück.

Wie die Nachrichtenagentur AP berichtet, haben die Behörden so eine Gedenkveranstaltung zum Jahrestag des Grenzkrieges zwischen China und Vietnam verhindert. [Weiterlesen]

Des Vietnamiens commémorent la guerre Chine-Vietnam d'il y a 35 ans

16/02/2014 (Yahoo News France) - Des militants nationalistes vietnamiens ont marqué dimanche le 35e anniversaire d'une guerre frontalière meurtrière avec la Chine, entonnant des slogans et des chants patriotiques avant de déposer des gerbes de fleurs dans le centre d'Hanoi. ...

Dimanche, une centaine de manifestants ont voulu déposer des gerbes en centre-ville devant la statue de Ly Thai To, le fondateur d'Hanoi et figure des nationalistes.

Mais des dizaines de personnes se trouvaient sur les lieux depuis le petit matin, faisant retentir de la musique à grand bruit et conduisant des danses, empêchant ainsi les manifestants de tenir leur cérémonie. [en savoir plus...]

Vietnam deploys dancers to foil protests

16.02.2014 (Bangkok Post) - HANOI (AP) — Anti-China protesters hoping to lay wreaths at a famous statue in the Vietnamese capital on Sunday were obstructed by an unusual sight of ballroom dancers and an energetic aerobics class held to a thumping sound system.

The demonstrators suspect the government deployed the dancers as a way to stop them from getting close to the statue and make their speeches inaudible. The few who tried to get close to the statue of Ly Thai To, the founder of Hanoi and a nationalist icon, were shooed away.

The protesters were marking the 35th anniversary of a bloody border war between China and Vietnam, where anger over Beijing's increasingly assertive territorial claims on islands in the South China Sea that Hanoi insists belong to it is already running high. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam anti-China activists mark 1979 border war

16.02.2014 By Cat Barton (yahoo news) - Hanoi (AFP) - Vietnamese activists on Sunday marked the 35th anniversary of a bloody border war with China, chanting slogans, singing patriotic songs and laying flowers at a temple in central Hanoi.

The two communist countries are locked in long-standing territorial disputes over the Paracel and Spratly islands in the South China Sea, and often trade diplomatic barbs over oil exploration and fishing rights in the contested waters...

"Vietnamese leaders may have received pressure from China, so they don't want to talk about that war. They seem to want to deny the past," Nguyen Trong Vinh, a former Vietnamese ambassador to China, told AFP. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Nowhere to call home

14.02.2014 (The Phnom Penh Post) - Sok* doesn’t know if he’s Cambodian or yuon. The 30-year-old, who has been an undocumented immigrant his entire adult life, speaks the Khmer Krom dialect, which sounds similar to Vietnamese and contains loanwords. It has brought him abuse on both sides of the border.

“When I was in Kampuchea Krom, they called me Khmer, and in Cambodia, they call me yuon,” he said, referring to the Khmer word for Vietnamese which many consider racially offensive. [read more]

Proposal of firing 100,000 civil servants stirs debate in Vietnam

14.02.2014 (Shanghai Daily) - HANOI (Xinhua) -- A proposal initiated by Vietnam's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to cut down 100,000 incompetent civil servants has prompted debate in Vietnam.

Local people argued on the feasibility of the idea aimed at increasing efficiency of the public service.

According to the proposal, during the 2014-2020 period, Vietnam will slash approximately 100,000 people from public sector with the total estimated expense of eight trillion Vietnamese dong (379 million U.S. dollars). Among those to be reduced, 80 percent by early retirement and the rest by dismissal. [read more] Thai Quang Toan, head of Department of Staff and Organization under MHA, told local VTC News online newspaper on Monday that there are four levels to determine working performance of a civil servant. [read more]

Vietnam Muted Ahead of Border War Anniversary

12.02.2014 Trung Nguyen (VOA) - Vietnamese media have gone silent prior to the 35th anniversary of the Sino-Vietnamese border war that once strained relations between the two neighboring countries.

A senior editor in Vietnam, who wishes to remain anonymous, told VOA’s Vietnamese service that his newspaper received ‘confidential’ instructions from a propaganda watchdog, tightly restricting coverage of the anniversary of the bloody conflict.

“Many dailies have prepared materials for the commemoration of the event, which happened over three decades ago, but they are now in a dilemma,” the unnamed source said.

China’s invasion of Vietnam’s northernmost provinces on February 17, 1979 claimed tens of thousands of lives on both sides. [read more] -[tiếng Việt]

Vietnam and China: A Dangerous Incident

12.02.2014 By Scott Bentley (The Diplomat) - In early January 2014, video of a recent CCTV4 documentary “Blue Frontiers Guard” appeared online, providing a detailed history of the China Marine Surveillance (CMS) spanning from roughly 2007 up until the present. The documentary, in Chinese with English subtitles, begins with footage of an incident that occurred on June 30, 2007 between various government vessels from Vietnam and China in the disputed waters off the Paracel islands in the South China Sea. The incident, having previously gone largely unreported, is covered in tremendous detail, providing a new frame of reference for analyzing wider debates over Chinese assertiveness and the U.S. “rebalance” to the region. In addition, the video also provides a number of new insights into organizations such as CMS and its parent organization, the State Oceanic Administration (SOA), including the tactics and command and control arrangements of their vessels when out at sea.

The 2007 incident apparently resulted from an attempt by a China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) survey vessel to conduct what the documentary termed “normal operations” in the waters off the Western Paracel islands beginning on June 26 of that year. Such operations are seen as anything but normal by the Vietnamese, who continue to claim the islands despite China having forcefully occupied them since 1974. Hanoi dispatched a fleet consisting largely of naval auxiliary vessels to prevent the Chinese from surveying the waters. A tense standoff ensued, culminating in reckless maneuvers by Chinese CMS vessels that led to a number of serious collisions, threatening the safety of all crews. [read more]

Kambodscha: Mit Rassismus gegen den Autokraten

12.02.2014 (derStandard.at) - Seit der letzten Wahl demonstriert die Opposition gegen Premier Hun Sen. Mobilisiert wird auch mit dem Hass auf den großen Nachbarn.

Ou Virak muss schmunzeln. Morddrohungen ist der kambodschanische Menschenrechtler mittlerweile gewohnt, nur konnte er sie früher regierungsnahen Kreisen oder großen Unternehmen zurechnen, die Hauptadressaten seiner beruflichen Kritik. Was in den vergangenen Wochen aber auf ihn hereinbrach, via E-Mail oder in sozialen Netzwerken, hatte einen vollkommen neuen Beigeschmack. Die Hassbotschaften stammen nämlich aus dem Lager der Oppositionellen, mit denen gemeinsam Ou eigentlich gegen Langzeitpremier Hun Sen anzukämpfen pflegt. Der Grund: Die Protestbewegung mobilisiert unter anderem mit Rassismus gegen den Regierungschef. Das kritisierte Ou - und wurde dafür als Verräter beschimpft.

... Schon weit vor der aktuellen Protestwelle wetterte Rainsy in aller Regelmäßigkeit gegen Vietnamesen. Sie nehmen den Kambodschanern das Land und die Arbeit weg, sagt er in populistischer Manier und kündigt an, alle Vietnamesen des Landes zu verweisen, wenn er denn endlich an der Macht sei. Und genau damit rennt er bei vielen Kambodschanern offene Türen ein. [Weiterlesen]

China decries U.S. comments on South China Sea as 'not constructive'

09.02.2014 (The Asahi Shimbun) - BEIJING--China has accused the United States of undermining peace and development in the Asia-Pacific after a senior U.S. official said concern was mounting over China's claims in the South China Sea.

"These actions are not constructive," Hong Lei, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, said in a statement issued late on Feb. 8.

"We urge the U.S. to hold a rational and fair attitude, so as to have a constructive role in the peace and development of the region, and not the opposite," Lei said. [read more]

Kalaschnikow vor dem Aus in Vietnam: Israelische Sturmgewehre gewinnen Wettbewerb

10.02.2014 (RIA Novosti) - Der russische Waffenbauer Kalaschnikow ist aus einem Wettbewerb für den Bau einer Fabrik in Vietnam ausgeschieden. Statt mit den russischen werden sich die vietnamesischen Soldaten mit israelischen Sturmgewehren wappnen.

Der Grund für die Absage an Kalaschnikow, das seit fast 50 Jahren bei der vietnamesischen Armee im Dienst steht, ist der hohe Preis des russischen Angebots, wie die Zeitung Kommersant.ru berichtet. Dass Vietnam israelische Sturmgewehre selbständig bauen wird, berichtete der vietnamesische TV-Sender QPVN. Die israelische Firma Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) soll in Thanh Hóa eine Fabrik errichten, in der künftig bis zu 50.000 Sturmgewehre der Typen Galil ACE-31 und ACE-32 im Jahr hergestellt werden sollen. [Weiterlesen] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam cambiara los fusiles Kalashnikov por Galil

10.02.2014 (RIA Novosti) - El ministerio de Defensa de Vietnam anunció planes de sustituir los fusiles Kalashnikov que tiene su ejército, por fusiles IWI Galil israelíes, informó la televisión vietnamita QPVN.

Según esta fuente, próximamente en el país asiático comienza a operar una planta para la fabricación de fusiles automáticos Galil ACE 31 y ACE32 de calibre 7,62 milímetros.

La fábrica en Vietnam fue construida por la empresa Israel Weapon Industries, según un contrato de 100 millones de dólares suscrito entre ambos países. [seguir leyendo] - [tiếng Việt]

China beschimpft philippinischen Präsidenten als Amateur

06.02.2014 (Süddeutsche Zeitung) - Verbalattacke auf Benigno Aquino: Chinas staatliche Nachrichtenagentur poltert gegen den philippinischen Präsidenten, weil er im Inselstreit im Südchinesischen Meer eine historische Parallele zog. Pekings Groll richtet sich auch gegen einen anderen Spitzenpolitiker.

Der Schlagabtausch zwischen Manila und anderen Nachbarländern mit Peking ist Teil des Gebietsstreits im Südchinesischen Meer. Teile des Seegebietes, vor allem die Spratly- sowie die Paracel-Inseln, werden von Peking und gleichzeitig von den Asean-Mitgliedern Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia und den Philippinen sowie von Taiwan beansprucht. [Weiterlesen]

Senior U.S. diplomat: Growing concern with China's behavior at sea

06.02.2014 (The Asahi Shimbun) - WASHINGTON--The United States has growing concerns that China's maritime claims in the disputed South China Sea are an effort to gain creeping control of oceans in the Asia-Pacific region, a senior U.S. official said on Feb. 5.

In congressional testimony, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel said China's vague territorial claims in the South China Sea had "created uncertainty, insecurity and instability" among its neighbors.

While the United States says it does not take sides in disputes, Russel said it has an interest in seeing maritime disputes resolved peacefully. The United States has also stepped up its military presence in the region as part of a strategic "pivot" toward Asia. [read more]

Konflikt mit China - Philippinischer Präsident alarmiert mit Hitler-Vergleich

05.02.2014 (Süddeutschen Zeitung) - "An welchem Punkt sagen Sie: 'Genug ist genug'?" Der philippinische Staatschef Benigno Aquino vergleicht die aktuelle Situation im Pazifik mit der vor Ausbruch des Zweiten Weltkriegs. Die japanische Regierung hatte jüngst eine ähnliche Parallele gezogen.

Der philippinische Präsident Benigno Aquino hat vor einer dramatischen Eskalation im Südchinesischen Meer gewarnt. Der New York Times zufolge verglich er die aktuelle Lage mit der vor dem Zweiten Weltkrieg in Europa 1938 und forderte Unterstützung gegen chinesische Gebietsansprüche. "An welchem Punkt sagen Sie: 'Genug ist genug'? Die Welt muss dies sagen - erinnern Sie sich daran, dass das Sudentenland Hitler überlassen wurde, um den Zweiten Weltkrieg zu verhindern", sagte Aquino [Weiterlesen] - [tiếng Việt]

Philippinischer Präsident warnt vor Krieg im Südchinesischen Meer

05.02.2014 (derStandard.at) - Manila/New York - Der philippinische Präsident Benigno Aquino hat vor einer dramatischen Eskalation im Südchinesischen Meer gewarnt. In einem Interview mit der "New York Times" verglich er die Lage mit der vor dem Zweiten Weltkrieg in Europa und forderte Unterstützung gegen chinesische Gebietsansprüche.

"An welchem Punkt sagen Sie 'Genug ist genug'? Die Welt muss das sagen - erinnern Sie sich daran, dass das Sudetenland Hitler überlassen wurde, um den Zweiten Weltkrieg zu verhindern", sagte Aquino in dem Interview. [Weiterlesen] - [tiếng Việt]

Philippine Leader Sounds Alarm on China

04.02.2014 By Keith Bradsherfeb (The New York Times) - MANILA — President Benigno S. Aquino III called on Tuesday for nations around the world to do more to support the Philippines in resisting China’s assertive claims to the seas near his country, drawing a comparison to the West’s failure to support Czechoslovakia against Hitler’s demands for Czech land in 1938.

Like Czechoslovakia, the Philippines faces demands to surrender territory piecemeal to a much stronger foreign power and needs more robust foreign support for the rule of international law if it is to resist, President Aquino said in a 90-minute interview in the wood-paneled music room of the presidential palace. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnamese diplomat seeks asylum in Switzerland

03.02.2014 (The Star Malaysia) - GENEVA: A Vietnamese diplomat once posted at the country's consulate in Geneva said he has sought political asylum in Switzerland, just days before a UN review of Vietnam's human rights record.

Dang Xuong Hung, who served as the consul from 2008 to 2012, when he formally withdrew from the Vietnamese Communist Party, told Geneva station Leman Bleu on Sunday that he had applied for Swiss asylum last October.

"The Vietnamese Communist Party persists with its aim to continue the dictatorship, to continue with a one-party regime."

Dang, who began working for the Vietnamese foreign ministry in 1983, blamed the one-party system for "the total crisis" Vietnam was experiencing in all areas. The news came ahead of a review before the UN's top human rights body of Vietnam's rights record. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnams Ex-Konsul will Schweizer Asyl

03.02.2014 (20 minuten) Der ehemalige Genfer Generalkonsul will mit einem Asylantrag die «Diktatur» des kommunistischen Regimes in Vietnam anprangern. Er ist seit Oktober wieder in der Schweiz.

Der frühere Generalkonsul Vietnams in Genf, Dang Xuong Hung, hat in der Schweiz um politisches Asyl ersucht. Das gab er am Sonntag in einer Sendung im Genfer Regionalfernsehen Léman Bleu bekannt.

... Mit seinem Asylgesuch wolle er die «Diktatur» des kommunistischen Regimes in Vietnam anprangern, sagte er. Dieses bedrohe Menschen, die sich für Demokratie und Menschenrechte einsetzten, und stecke diese ins Gefängnis. Er wolle andere ermuntern, sich gegen die vietnamesische Regierung aufzulehnen. [Weiterlesen] - [tiếng Việt]

Défection d'un diplomate vietnamien en Suisse

03.02.2014 (Le Monde) - L'ancien consul général du Vietnam à Genève, Dang Xuong Hung, a déposé une demande d'asile politique en Suisse, a-t-il déclaré dimanche soir lors de l'émission « Le grand Genève à chaud » de la télévision locale Léman Bleu. « Je suis arrivé le 18 octobre » en Suisse et « j'ai fait ma demande » dans un centre de requérants d'asile, a précisé l'ex-fonctionnaire. Il était en poste à Genève entre 2008 et 2012.

Par ce geste, il entend dénoncer la « dictature » du régime communiste vietnamien, qui « menace et emprisonne » les militants luttant pour la démocratie et les droits de l'homme. Il espère que sa décision entraînera d'autres défections. [en savoir plus...] - [tiếng Việt]

China denies plan to set up new air defence zone in South China Sea

02.02.2014 By PTI (The Economic Times, India) - BEIJING: China has dismissed reports that it plans to set up an Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the South China Sea, similar to the one it had put up last year near the disputed islands in East China Sea.

"In a general view, the Chinese side has yet to feel any air security threat from the ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) countries and is optimistic about its relations with the neighbouring countries and the general situation in the South China Sea region," ... [read more]

New hope in the New Year for Vietnamese democracy?

01.02.2014 Author: Huong Le Thu, ISEAS (East Asia Forum) - Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung released a New Year’s message on the first day of 2014 to the surprise of the Vietnamese nation.

The message was different from others so far, which were usually released by the Party or head of state and usually for the occasion of Tet (Lunar New Year). But the most important differentiator was the content, which notably raised the issue of innovation in Vietnamese official institutions, including ministries; removing the prevalence of monopolies in the economy, which will be important to achieving market-economy status; and the transition to democracy. [read more]

Beijing preparing new air defense zone in South China Sea

31.01.2014 By Nanae Kurashige (The Asahi Shimbun) - BEIJING--China is laying out plans to define another new air defense identification zone, but this time in the South China Sea, sources said, which could further escalate tensions in the region.

The disclosure is sure to provoke Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan, all of whom claim sovereignty over parts or all of the disputed territory, which includes hundreds of islands, cays, shoals and reefs.

The move comes on the heels of China’s announcement in November of its new ADIZ in the East China Sea, which drew angry reactions from Japan, the United States and South Korea. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Why is the US helping China look for oil in the South China Sea?

27.01.2014 By Adam Pasick (Quartz) - Political tensions in the South China Sea have seldom been higher, with China’s  “marine identification zone” deemed a provocative threat to peace by neighboring countries and the United States. The vast area, variously claimed by China, the Philippines, Vietnam, and other southeast Asian countries, is hotly contested in part because it is thought to hold vast reserves of oil and natural gas.

It’s easy, then, to foresee some sticky scenarios emerging from an unusual joint research trip set to embark this week. Thirty-one geologists from 10 countries—including 13 from China and nine from the United States—will spend two months drilling rock samples in the South China Sea. The trip is funded mostly by China, but will take place on a US-operated drilling vessel, the JOIDES Resolution, under the auspices of the International Ocean Discovery Program. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam’s Ex-Banker Gets Life Over $230m Fraud Case

27.01.2014 (Jakarta Globe) AFP - Hanoi. A Vietnamese court Monday sentenced a former banker to life in prison for a fraud involving more than $230 million, one of the communist country’s largest-ever such cases.

Huynh Thi Huyen Nhu, 37, was convicted alongside 22 other defendants who were given sentences of up to 20 years in prison after a three-week trial ended Monday, a clerk at the People’s Court in the southern metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City told AFP.

Nhu raised some $231 million in loans from individuals, companies and other banks when she worked for the state-run Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank). [read more]

Una ejecutiva de un banco condenada a cadena perpetua por desfalco en Vietnam

27.01.2014 (lainformacion) - Bangkok - Un tribunal condenó hoy a cadena perpetua a una ejecutiva de un banco en Vietnam y a penas de prisión de entre uno y 20 años a otros 22 colaboradores por apropiarse 188 millones de dólares, informa la prensa local.

La corte de Ciudad Ho Chi Minh (antigua Saigón), halló a la exdirectiva de Vietinbank, Huynh Thi Huyen Nhu, de 36 años, culpable de apropiarse el dinero prestado por otros tres bancos, nueve empresas y tres particulares, y por falsificación documental.

Según el portal "Tuoi Tre", Nhu logró entre 2010 y 2011 préstamos de unos 231 millones de dólares con el falso pretexto de movilizar fondos entre sucursales del banco. [seguir leyendo]

Chinese ships patrol area contested by Malaysia

26.01.2014 (Reuters) - Three Chinese ships on Sunday patrolled the James Shoal, an area also claimed by Malaysia, and soldiers and officers on board swore to safeguard its sovereignty, in the latest sign of Beijing's territorial assertiveness in the South China Sea.

The group was made up of an amphibious landing craft, the Changbaishan, and two destroyers, state news agency Xinhua said.

"During the ceremony held in the Zengmu Reef area, soldiers and officers aboard swore an oath of determination to safeguard the country's sovereignty and maritime interests," Xinhua said. Zengmu Reef is the Chinese term for James Shoal. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Hanoi's Symbolic Pushback Against Chinese Expansionism

22.01.2014 Gordon G. Chang (World Affairs) - For the first time, Hanoi has formally marked the deaths of 74 South Vietnamese sailors killed in an attempt to dislodge Chinese forces occupying several of the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea. The Vietnamese government, many believe, is trying to stay ahead of public sentiment. On Sunday, the 40th anniversary of the sea battle, activists in Vietnam’s capital shouted anti-China slogans and laid flowers at the statue of Ly Thai To, a nationalist figure. Police allowed the unauthorized event to go on for about a half hour before dispersing the crowd.

... For years, Hanoi sought to suppress nationalist sentiment, embarrassed that the communist government, having been dependent on Beijing’s massive aid at the time, did not oppose China’s moves in 1974. [read more]

Offshore-Leaks Chinas Elite hortet Geld in Steueroasen

21.01.2014  Von Bastian Brinkmann, Christoph Giesen, Bastian Obermayer & Frederik Obermaier (Spiegel Online) - Offshore-Leaks-Daten belegen: Enge Verwandte hochrangiger chinesischer Politiker schaffen Vermögen in die Karibik. Auch mithilfe der Deutschen Bank verbergen reiche Familien ihren Wohlstand vor der Öffentlichkeit.

Chinas Machtelite wickelt offenbar seit etlichen Jahren heimlich und in großem Stil lukrative Geschäfte über Steueroasen ab. Auch nahe Verwandte wichtiger chinesischer Politiker steuern Transaktionen über anonyme Briefkastenfirmen in der Karibik. Das geht aus bislang vertraulichen Unterlagen - den sogenannten Offshore-Leaks-Daten - hervor. [Weiterlesen]

China websites suffer breach in suspected attack

22.01.2014 By Eileen Yu (ZDNet) - Several websites in China on Tuesday afternoon were redirected to a blank webpage operated by a U.S. technology company, in what was suspected to be a DNS attack.

Online users in the country were unable to access any website hosted on the mainland or overseas with top-level domains such as ".com", ".net", and ".org", according to a South China Morning Post (SCMP) report, which cited incidents reported by several major ISPs (internet service providers). Web addresses ending in the ".cn" country code were unaffected.

... Dynamic Internet Technology's president, Bill Xia, confirmed it owned the web address of the redirected site, but insisted the incident was the result of the Chinese government's online filtering system which backfired. [read more]

Countries tighten visa policies for Vietnamese tourists

22.01.2014 (eTurboNews) - Several countries and territories have tightened their visa policies for Vietnamese tourists due to the large number of tourists overstaying their visas to work illegally, heard a recent tourism conference.

Tran Doan The Duy, deputy director general of tourism company Vietravel, told the meeting that it is getting more difficulty to acquire visa for destinations like Europe, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, and Taiwan, Thoi bao Kinh te Saigon (Saigon Times) Online reported

It is impossible for working age Vietnamese to get visas to Israel, he said. [read more]

Christians and Buddhists honour Vietnamese "heroes" who died fighting China over the Spratly

21.01.2014 by Paul N. Hung (AsiaNews) - Vietnamese Catholics and Buddhists held a memorial service for the heroic soldiers who lost their lives in the 1970s defending a group of islands in the South China Sea that are still at the centre of a dispute with Beijing.

For decades, the Vietnamese government has banned public demonstrations in memory of the soldiers and the tens of thousands of civilians (at least 50,000) who died along the northern border with China in the Sino-Vietnamese War of 1979.

The Communist Party, which is closely tied to its Chinese counterpart, has always banned these ceremonies and commemorations. This year, Da Nang provincial authorities pre-empted a public event scheduled for last Saturday.

This decision has led to dissatisfaction and unhappiness among locals and represents "an insult to the nation" according to Professor Dinh, a prominent historian and researcher. [read more]

Vietnam bekämpft Blogger nicht mehr nur im eigenen Land

21.01.2014 Von Anna Biselli (netzpolitik) - Sucht man auf netzpolitik.org nach dem Schlüsselwort “Vietnam“, bekommt man primär Artikel über die Einschränkung der Meinungsfreiheit im Land und die Verhaftung oder Einschüchterung von Bloggern, weil sie regimekritische Artikel veröffentlicht haben. Auch der Report Bloggers and Netizens Behind Bars: Restrictions on Internet Freedom in Vietnam zeigt auf, wie das Recht auf freie Meinungsäußerung im Land täglich mit Füßen getreten wird.

Jetzt sind Fälle bekannt geworden, in denen sich die Aktivitäten Vietnams, kritische Stimmen zu unterdrücken, auch gegen Personen im Ausland gerichtet haben: Gegen einen Reporter der Nachrichtenagentur Associated Press, einen vietnamesischen (aber in Frankreich lebenden) Mathematikprofessor und Aktivisten sowie Mitglieder der Electronic Frontier Foundation Amerika. [Weiterlesen]

Hackers Get Personal With Bespoke Malware Attacks

21.01.2014 By Vernon Silver (Bloomberg) - Just before Christmas, two staff members at the Electronic Frontier Foundation received e-mails that contained links they were fortunate not to click. Under the subject line “Oxfam Conference,” the message from someone named Andrew Oxfam appeared to contain an invitation and meeting information. At a glance, it would seem to be related to the antipoverty organization Oxfam International.

Instead, a click on links in the e-mails would have downloaded malicious software and enslaved the target computer to a command server used in attacks related to Vietnam, a country whose Internet censorship the EFF has criticized. “This marks the first time we have detected a targeted malware attack against our organization by what appear to be state-aligned actors,” the San Francisco-based EFF said in a new report about attacks on itself and others that have worked on Vietnamese issues. [read more]

EFF claims Vietnam targeted its staff with spear phishing attack

Is this Chinese soft power in action?

21.01.2014 By Phil Muncaster (The Register) - Advocacy group the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has warned of an uptick in targeted malware attacks by “state-aligned actors” in Vietnam against foreign activists and journalists.

In a blog post this week the group complained of a new campaign targeting its own staff – the first of its kind.

A suspicious looking email inviting EFF activists to an Oxfam conference in Asia was found to contain malicious links and attachments, with the malware in question detected by just one AV vendor in 47, according to VirusTotal.

The same malware was apparently sent to a Vietnam-based AP reporter, this time in an email purporting to come from Human Rights Watch and containing a link to a white paper. [read more]

Vietnam Activists Protest Disruption of Anniversary Ceremony

20.01.2014 Trung Nguyen (VOA) - Vietnamese activists are criticizing the government for disrupting their ceremony to mark the 40th anniversary of a bloody naval battle in the South China Sea.

Dozens of anti-China activists were quickly dispersed Sunday when they gathered in Hanoi. In video posted to social networks, some protesters are heard shouting slogans against China. But their voices are drowned out by warnings from the loudspeakers of security officials.

According to Nguyen Xuan Dien, a Vietnamese expert on Chinese culture who attended the event, the security force doubled the number of those who were attending. [read more]

Vietnamese Malware Gets Very Personal

19.01.2014 By Eva Galperin & Morgan Marquis-Boire (EFF) - Malware is a tool that most states have their toolbox, and Vietnam is no exception. For the last several years, the communist government of Vietnam has used malware and RATs to spy on journalists, activists, dissidents, and bloggers, while it cracks down on dissent. Vietnam’s Internet spying campaign dates back to at least March 2010, when engineers at Google discovered malware broadly targeting Vietnamese computer users. The infected machines were used to spy on their owners as well as participating in DDoS attacks against dissident websites. The Vietnamese government has cracked down sharply on anti-government bloggers, who represent the country’s only independent press. It is currently holding 18 bloggers and journalists, 14 from a year earlier, according to a report issued by the Committee to Protect Journalists in 2013. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam's 'cyber troops' take fight to US, France

20.01.2014 by Chris Brummitt (Phys.org) - Working on her blog in California one day, Vietnamese democracy activist Ngoc Thu sensed something was wrong. The keyboard was sticky. Cut-and-paste wasn't working. She had "a feeling that somebody was there" inside her computer. Her hunch turned out to be right.

A few days later, her personal emails and photos were displayed on the blog, along with defamatory messages. She couldn't delete them; she was blocked out of her own site for several days as her attackers kept posting private details.

"They hurt me and my family. They humiliated us, so that we don't do the blog anymore," said Thu, who is a U.S citizen. She has resumed blogging, but now the Vietnamese government is blocking her posts. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Paracel Islands dispute still lingers on after 40 years

19.01.2014 Veeramalla Anjaiah (Jakarta Post) - Exactly four decades ago a bloody war was fought by Asian giant China and its neighbor Vietnam (then South Vietnam) over the control of the disputed Paracel Islands group, an archipelago in the South China Sea (SCS).

The 1974 Battle of the Paracel was won by China, which gained full control over the entire archipelago, but it set a bad precedent in the history of solving territorial disputes. Instead of pursuing a negotiated settlement, China opted for war in pursuit of its territorial claims in the SCS, an act which created fear, suspicion and uneasiness among not only its neighbors but also Southeast Asian countries.

Even after 40 years of China’s control over the Paracel Islands, which were incorporated into Hainan province by Beijing, the problem is not solved as Taiwan and Vietnam still reject China’s sovereignty over these 30 or so islets, sandbanks and reefs. [read more]

Vietnam: rassemblement de militants anti-chinois 19.01.2014 (Libération) - Des militants vietnamiens ont scandé des slogans anti-chinois dimanche lors d'un rassemblement à l'occasion du 40e anniversaire de l'invasion chinoise des Paracels, îles contestées en mer de Chine méridionale. Des dizaines de militants criant "Hoang Sa (Paracels), Truong Sa (Spratleys) appartiennent au Vietnam!" ont déposé des fleurs devant la statue de Ly Thai To -figure nationaliste et fondateur de Hanoï-, avant d'être dispersés par des centaines de policiers.

"La mémoire des Vietnamiens est vive. Personne ne peut effacer cette mémoire", a commenté l'universitaire Nguyen Quang A. [en savoir plus...] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam Anti-China Activists Mark Paracels Defeat

19.01.2014 (Jakarta Globe) - Hanoi. Activists chanted anti-China slogans and laid flowers Sunday at a protest in Hanoi marking the 40th anniversary of the Chinese invasion of contested islands in the South China Sea.

In 1974, as US troops withdrew from Vietnam, China invaded the Paracel Islands, which were held by the US-backed South Vietnamese regime.

More than 70 Vietnamese soldiers died during the invasion and China has controlled the island chain ever since.

The two countries are locked in long-standing territorial disputes over the Paracel and Spratly islands, which both claim, and often trade diplomatic barbs over oil exploration and fishing rights in the contested waters.

On Sunday, dozens of activists laid flowers at a statue of Ly Thai To — the founder of Hanoi and a nationalist figurehead — in the center of the capital. Photo: Political blogger JB Nguyen Huu Vinh (L) argues with a policeman during a gathering to mark the 40th anniversary of the Chinese occupation of the disputed Paracels islands in the South China Sea, in Hanoi, Jan. 19, 2014.  [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam: rassemblement de militants anti-chinois

19.01.2014 (L'Hebdo, Suisse) - Des militants vietnamiens ont scandé des slogans anti-chinois dimanche 19 janvier lors d'un rassemblement à l'occasion du 40e anniversaire de l'invasion chinoise des Paracels, îles contestées en mer de Chine méridionale. Video, Durée: 00:41  [en savoir plus...]

Vietnam marks 1974 battle with China

18.01.2014 (Jakarta Post) - Vietnamese state-run media is marking for the first time the anniversary of a 1974 naval battle with China in which 74 soldiers from US-backed South Vietnam were killed.

The move appears to be aimed at boosting the legitimacy of the government in regards to its tricky dealings with China, which is the subject of popular, nationalist anger. [read more]

Asia worries about China, not Japan

18.01.2014 By Kenichiro Sasae (Gulf News) - Beijing’s unparalleled military buildup and its use of military and mercantile coercion against neighbouring states is a cause of concern. China has been conducting a global propaganda campaign against Japan, the most recent example of which was the January 10 Washington Post op-ed by Cui Tiankai, China’s ambassador to the US. But his op-ed was wrong, and China’s leaders clearly misread global attitudes. It is not Japan that most of Asia and the international community worry about; it is China.

... Japan’s defence posture is quite modest. In contrast, as a result of annual increases of more than 10 per cent, China has quadrupled its military expenditures, which are hardly transparent, in the past decade. During the same period, Japan has decreased its expenditures by 6 per cent. We have increased our defence budget for the first time in 11 years, only by 0.8 per cent in the current budget. [read more]

China continues pressing territorial claims in East and South China Seas

18.01.2014 By Stuart Leavenworth, McClatchy Foreign Staff (NewsObserver) - BEIJING — Two months after China declared an “air defense identification zone” off its coast that rattled Japan and other neighbors, tensions in the region continue to rise, along with the risk of a maritime mishap that could escalate into a full-blown military conflict.

A close call occurred last month when a Chinese military vessel nearly collided with a U.S. guided-missile cruiser, the Cowpens, as the Navy ship was observing China’s new aircraft carrier, which was operating in the area.

This month, China’s Hainan Province issued new regulations that require foreign fishing vessels to obtain permission from the government before casting their nets in parts of the South China Sea that Beijing claims. Vietnam, the Philippines and Japan protested the edict, seeing it as a threat to their food security and an attempt by China to claim nearly the entire South China Sea as its own. [read more]

The Paracel Islands Battle: 40 years later 17.01.2014 Written by Khanh Vu Duc and Duvien Tran (Asia Sentinel) - f the US intends to remain relevant in the Pacific, it must establish clear goals and find a way to grow with China. This Jan.19, it will have been 40 years since China wrested control of the Paracel Islands from Vietnam, then South Vietnam. East of Vietnam and south of China’s Hainan Island, the Paracels remain a sore point between the two neighboring countries, already embroiled in other territorial and maritime disputes. Prior to the 1974 invasion, occupation of the Paracels was split between China and South Vietnam, the former controlling the set of islands known as the Amphitrite Group, and the latter controlling the cluster known as the Crescent Group. [read more]

Corruption Trials Reveal Political Rift in Vietnam

17.01.2014 Marianne Brown (VOA) - HANOI — In the last few months Vietnam has held several high profile corruption trials as part of a crackdown on graft. The government says it is using severe punishments, including death, to deter corrupt practices. However, critics say the trials are also part of an ongoing power struggle in the top leadership.

... However, some critics say the anti-corruption purge has more to do with an internal power struggle between Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Chairman of the Communist Party Nguyen Phu Trong.

Vuving said the prime minister is part of the “rent-seekers” faction - a group that uses their position to enrich themselves without benefiting society. Opposed to them is the “anti-corruption” faction under Trong, who is leading the crackdown. [read more]

Shift as Vietnam marks South China Sea battle

15.01.2013 By Nga Pham (BBC) - Forty years ago dozens of Vietnamese soldiers were killed in a bloody battle with Chinese troops over disputed islands in the South China Sea. This year, for the first time, Vietnam's state media is publicly marking the event, printing numerous articles on the battle.

The move comes in the month that the Chinese government published new rules requiring foreign fishing vessels to seek Beijing's permission to operate in most of the South China Sea - an action likely to further raise anti-China rhetoric in the Vietnamese press. [read more]

Maritime Law Enforcement Conference Will Enhance Multilateral Cooperation

15.01.2013 (Bernama) - HANOI, Jan 15 (Bernama) -- The third commanders' forum of the Gulf of Thailand maritime law enforcement kicked off in the central city of Da Nang on Tuesday to strengthen cooperation, share information and maintain security and safety at sea, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported.

Twenty-four marine police and law enforcement delegates from Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia are attending the three-day event. [read more]

El Gobierno de Filipinas no reconoce la nueva ley marítima de China

14.01.2014 (Univision) - Manila, 14 ene (EFE).- El Gobierno de Filipinas dijo hoy que no reconoce la nueva ley establecida por autoridades chinas que obliga a cualquier barco extranjero a pedirles autorización para faenar en la mayor parte del mar de China Meridional.

"No la reconocemos y por eso protestamos por su declaración e implementación", indicó hoy el portavoz del Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores de Filipinas, Raúl Hernández.

La provincia china de Hainan aprobó el pasado mes de noviembre esta normativa que entró en vigor el 1 de enero de este año y que afecta a una parte del mar de China Meridional que se disputan Pekín y Manila. [seguir leyendo]

Die Nationen Ostasiens rüsten ihre Seestreitkräfte mehr und mehr auf

Gleichzeitig fehlt es aber an sicherheitspolitischen Absprachen und Verhaltensregeln. Das Risiko eines kriegerischen Zwischenfalls steigt.

13.01.2014 Rodion Ebbighausen (dw) - Pünktlich zum neuen Jahr ist das erste von sechs russischen Jagd-U-Booten der Kilo-Klasse im Tiefseehafen von Cam Ranh in Vietnam eingetroffen. "Hanoi", so der Name des ersten Bootes, wird von Presse und Regierung in Vietnam gefeiert. Die Ankunft markiere "einen gewaltigen Fortschritt für die Verteidigungsfähigkeit Vietnams", so Carlyle A. Thayer. Der emeritierte australische Vietnamexperte von der Universität New South Wales fährt fort: "Das vietnamesische Militär kann nun in vier Dimensionen operieren: An Land, auf See, in der Luft und unter Wasser."

Asienexperte Gerhard Will von der Berliner Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik sieht die Aufrüstung und Modernisierung der Seestreitkräfte mit Skepsis. "Vom Militärstrategischen muss man sagen: ein Gleichgewicht wird sich da nicht herstellen lassen."

Die U-Boote haben vermutlich ein anderes Ziel. "Diese Ankäufe sind mehr als innenpolitische Machtdemonstration zu verstehen", sagt Will. [Weiterlesen]

Philippines, Vietnam condemn China's fishing law

10.01.2014 (AP) - MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- The Philippines and Vietnam on Friday condemned a new Chinese law that requires foreign fishermen to seek Beijing's approval to operate in much of the South China Sea, where overlapping territorial claims have escalated tensions.

China's assertiveness in pressing its claims in the waters, which are believed to have significant seabed gas and oil deposits, has are unnerved its smaller neighbors and created a potential military flashpoint. Anger is especially acute in Philippines and Vietnam, which believe they have strong claims on waters off their shores. [read more]

Vietnam’s Charm Fades

10.01.2014 By Anthony Fensom (The Diplomat) - The country has some reforms to make before it can fulfill its long-term potential.

Vietnam’s “timeless charm” slogan may have attracted tourists, but after seven straight years of below-average growth hopes of a sustained boom have dimmed. Can the liberalizing socialist economy get its mojo back?

On Wednesday, a corruption scandal involving state shipping company Vinalines attracted further damaging headlines for the political establishment. The company’s former chairman, Duong Chi Dung told a Hanoi court he had bribed a leading communist party official in an attempt to avoid arrest after a tip-off from an insider. [read more]

Anti-Vietnamese sentiment boils in Cambodia

10.01.2014 Abby Seiff & Neou Vannarin, Phnom Penh (UCA) - After riot police had come through their homes, dragging out friends and beating them; after those officials opened fire and killed at least four; after it was clear that all they had fought for was going to slip away, a handful of angry young men planned revenge.

It was the Chinese, Taiwanese and Singaporean factory owners who had underpaid them for years, pushing them to this brink. And it was their own Cambodian government who sent armed police to break up their protests. But after months of being told by opposition leaders how much better their lives would be without the Vietnamese taking over their jobs and land, the men who wanted revenge had a single target in mind.

At least three Vietnamese-owned businesses along the stretch of Phnom Penh’s Veng Sreng boulevard, where fighting broke out between police and garment workers last week, were ransacked that Friday afternoon. During the attacks, mobs of young men chased Vietnamese employees and looted or wrecked tens of thousands of dollars worth of furniture and equipment. [read more]

Washington: Beijing's programs in South China Sea "provocative and dangerous"

10.01.2014 (AsiaNews) - The U.S. government criticizes the Chinese government's new norms, which impose limitations and restrictions on foreign vessels in disputed waters. There is no justification in international law and the move threatens to exacerbate already tense relations in the area. Hanoi intervenes in the dispute.

Beijing ( AsiaNews / Agencies) - The United States has branded Beijing's new norms which impose limitations and restrictions on the navigation of vessels and foreign vessels in disputed waters of the South China Sea as "provocative and potentially dangerous". For Washington, they are likely to exacerbate already tense relations in the Asia- Pacific region, particularly between China, Vietnam and the Philippines. The government of Manila , through its diplomatic mission , has already asked Beijing for further clarification, while analysts and international policy experts point to the growing fear of an armed conflict in the region.

According to a law passed in November last year by Hainan province , in the far south of China, and in force since January 1, ships will have to ask for a " prior permission" to transit. This is an area that includes about two of the 3.5 million km2 forming the South China Sea , a strategic area for both businesses as well as for the presence of natural resources (oil and gas) in the subsurface. [read more]

Washington: "Provocadores y peligrosos" los programas de Beijing para el Mar chino meridional

10.01.2014 (AsiaNews) - El gobierno de EEUU critica las nuevas normas del gobierno chino, que imponen límites y restricciones a las embarcaciones extranjeras en las aguas en litigio. No existen justificaciones en el derecho internacional y pueden exasperar las ya tensas relaciones en la zona. También interviene Hanoi.

Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencias)- Los EEUU tachan de "provocativas y potencialmente peligrosas" las nuevas normas, emitidas por Beijing, que imponen límites y restricciones a la navegación de barcos de pesca y embarcaciones extranjeras en las aguas en litigio del Mar chino meridional. Para Washington estas hacen exasperar las relaciones ya tensas en el área Asia- Pacífico, en particular entre China, Vietnam y filipinas. El gobierno de Manila, a travpes de su propia representación diplomática, ya pidió ulteriores esclarecimientos a Beijing, mientras que analistas y expertos de política internacional subrayan el temor creciente de un enfrentamiento armado en la región.

Según cuanto dispone una norma aprobada en noviembre pasado por la administración provincial de Hainan, en el extremo sur de China y en vigor desde el 1 de enero, las naves deberán pedir un "permiso preventivo" para el tránsito. Se trata de un área que comprende unos 3,5 millones de km2 que forman el mar chino meridional, zona estratégica tanto para los comercios, cuánto por la presencia de recursos naturales (gas y petróleo) en el subsuelo.  [seguir leyendo]

Vietnam will russische Panzer T-90 kaufen

09.01.2014 (Stimme Russlands) - Die vietnamesischen Streitkräfte prüfen, ob eine Partie von Kampfpanzern T-90 bei Russland gekauft werden könnte.

Die vietnamesische Armee braucht dringend moderne Panzer, weil die Stärke der Bodentruppen der benachbarten Staaten aktiv zunimmt. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam: Reportan disturbios en fábrica de Samsung

09.01.2014 (Univision) - HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Un grupo de trabajadores que laboran en la construcción de una enorme fábrica de Samsung en el norte de Vietnam se enfrentaron en jueves con guardias de seguridad e incendiaron motocicletas.

Reportes de medios estatales indican que los disturbios se registraron tras una discusión entre un guardia y un trabajador que llegó tarde a las instalaciones. [seguir leyendo]

Workers building Samsung factory riot in Vietnam

09.01.2014 (AP) - HANOI, Vietnam - Workers building a massive Samsung factory in northern Vietnam battled police and torched motorbikes on Thursday, in a rare outbreak of labor violence in the tightly controlled country.

Samsung and other tech companies such as Intel and Nokia are increasingly moving production to Vietnam, where labor costs are cheaper than in neighboring China. The country's Communist rulers are encouraging them with tax breaks, eager to move away from traditional exports of clothes, shoes and shrimps to higher value products

The riot at the Samsung complex in northern Vietnam, footage of which was taken by bystanders and posted on YouTube within hours of it breaking out, will concern authorities and tech company executives alike. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Death row Vietnam executive in ‘shock’ graft trial claim

08.01.2014 (The Malaysian Insider) - The former boss of a scandal-mired Vietnamese state shipping firm alleged he paid bribes to senior communist party officials to try to evade arrest, state media said today.

Vinalines chairman Duong Tri Dung, who is under sentence of death, was giving incendiary testimony at the trial of his brother, a former policeman.

Dung, who briefly fled Vietnam as scandal engulfed his debt-ridden firm in May 2012, gave a "shocking" account of paying large sums to a senior Communist Party figure to try to avoid prosecution, according to the state-run Tuoi Tre news website. [read more]

Vietnam/corruption: un ex-colonel de police condamné à 18 ans de prison

08.01.2014 (Huffington Post Québec) - Un ex-haut responsable de la police vietnamienne a été condamné mercredi à 18 ans de prison pour avoir aidé son frère, ex-PDG d'un grand groupe accusé de corruption, à fuir à l'étranger.

L'ex-colonel Duong Tu Trong, 52 ans, a été reconnu coupable d'avoir organisé la fuite de son frère aîné Duong Tri Dung, condamné à mort en décembre dernier pour détournement de fonds dans le scandale de la société de transport maritime Vinalines, a rapporté la presse officielle.

Celui-ci a fait sensation en témoignant lors du procès de son frère, qui s'est déroulé sur deux jours à Hanoï. Il a en effet affirmé avoir fui le pays après avoir reçu des informations du vice-ministre de la Sécurité publique Pham Quy Ngo, a indiqué le journal Tuoi Tre. [en savoir plus...]

Senior Vietnamese Official Identified in Corruption Trial

07.01.2013 Trung Nguyen (VOA) - A man sentenced to death in Vietnam last month for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars in state funds says Deputy Minister of Public Affairs Nguyen Quy Ngo informed him of the order to prosecute him, prompting him to flee the country to avoid being arrested.

Duong Chi Dung made the confession Tuesday as a witness at the trial of his younger brother Duong Tu Trong. Trong is charged with helping his older brother, a former executive of Vietnam's state-owned Vinalines shipping, escape to Cambodia in March 2012. The disgraced Duong was caught and extradited to Vietnam six months later.

The revelation has rocked Vietnam's political arena and sparked heated debate on social networks. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam's new constitution shows limits of reform

06.01.2013 Rodion Ebbighausen / sb (Deutsche Welle) - Vietnam has had a new constitution since the beginning of this year, after a near-unanimous vote by the National Assembly in November 2013. But it leaves much to be desired in terms of political and economic reform.

The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) has been in power in the Southeast Asian nation for 68 years. That makes it one of the longest-ruling parties in the world. But the party's power is under threat. In order to save itself, it has imposed a new constitution.

With the slowdown of economic development following the global financial crisis of 2007-2008, the party lost one of its pillars of legitimacy. Le Hong Hiep of the University of Ho Chi Minh City believes the Communist Party of Vietnam is facing "an economic crisis, a leadership crisis, and a crisis of confidence in its rule." [read more]

Cambodia crackdown

05.01.2014 Lindsay Murdoch (Sydney Morning Herald) - Cambodian authorities have implemented a brutal crackdown on dissent a day after four people were shot dead during a protest by striking garment workers.

In a sign that strongman prime minister Hun Sen has hardened the government's response to opposition and labor protests, police were joined by unidentified men carrying steel pipes as they forced opposition supporters from their rally base in Phnom Penh on Saturday.

Monks and women were among those chased and beaten.

The government has banned all rallies and marches through the streets of the capital, citing security reasons. [read more]

Proteste von Textilarbeitern - Nervosität bei Kambodschas Regierung

04.01.2014 Sascha Zastiral, Bangkok (NZZ) - Im Süden von Kambodschas Hauptstadt Phnom Penh haben Polizisten am Freitag das Feuer auf demonstrierende Textilarbeiter eröffnet und mindestens drei von ihnen getötet. Zuvor blockierten die Demonstranten laut Berichten eine Strasse und warfen Steine auf die Beamten. Die Demonstranten fordern eine Anhebung des Mindestlohns auf 160 Dollar im Monat. Die Regierung ist bisher lediglich gewillt, 100 Dollar zu bezahlen. Dessen ungeachtet hat Machthaber Hun Sen im August ein weiteres Mal die Regierung gebildet. Die Opposition vertritt den Standpunkt, dass dies einen Verfassungsbruch darstelle, weil das Parlament nicht über ausreichend Abgeordneten verfüge, um zusammenzutreten.

Der 61-jährige Hun Sen ist seit beinahe drei Jahrzehnten im Amt. Als ehemaliger Kader der Roten Khmer floh er vor den brutalen Säuberungen in den eigenen Reihen nach Vietnam. Er arbeitete eng mit den vietnamesischen Besatzern zusammen, die 1979 das brutale Regime gestürzt und eine neue Regierung eingesetzt hatten. 1985 wurde er zum ersten Mal Regierungschef. Ihm werden zahlreiche schwere Menschenrechtsverletzungen zur Last gelegt. Seine Cambodia Peoples Party (CPP) hat weite Teile des Staatsapparats monopolisiert. [Weiterlesen]

Kambodscha - Der hohe Preis der billigen Kleidung

03.01.2014 Von Till Fähnders & Julia Löhr (FAZ) - In Kambodscha kämpfen die Textilarbeiter für höhere Löhne. Nun sind mindestens drei Menschen ums Leben gekommen, als die Polizei das Feuer auf Streikende eröffnete. Die Modeketten reagieren. Sie schauen sich anderswo um.

Gewöhnlich rattern im „Canadia Industrial Park“ in Kambodschas Hauptstadt Phnom Penh die Nähmaschinen. Ob Boxershorts, Bikinis, Jeans oder T-Shirts – der Industriepark ist eines der Zentren der Textilindustrie in dem südostasiatischen Land. Seit Freitag aber steht sein Name vor allem für eines: die Eskalation der Gewalt. Mindestens drei Menschen kamen ums Leben, als die Polizei das Feuer auf streikende Arbeiter eröffnete, die für höhere Löhne demonstrierten. [Weiterlesen]

Neues Jahr, neues Unglück

03.01.2014 Josef Bordat (Blog jobo72) - In Vietnam zementiert eine Verfassungsänderung die führende Rolle der Kommunistischen Partei.

Vietnam hat seit dem 01.01.2014 eine neue Verfassung, wie die Deutsche Welle berichtet. Geändert wurden Artikel 4, der die Rolle der Kommunistischen Partei Vietnams (KPV) definiert, und Artikel 14, der die Geltungskraft der Menschenrechte bestimmt. Wer nun an Reformen denkt, die der KPV neue Grenzen setzt und den Menschenrechten neue Chance einräumt, ist leider zu optimistisch. Die Realität in Vietnam sieht anders aus, ganz anders. [Weiterlesen] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnams neue Verfassung tritt in Kraft

02.01.2014 Autor Rodion Ebbighausen (DW) - Seit Neujahr 2014 hat Vietnam eine neue Verfassung – fast einstimmig verabschiedet von der Nationalversammlung im November. Aber Hoffnungen auf eine politische und wirtschaftliche Öffnung werden enttäuscht.

Die KPV hatte für die Überarbeitung der Verfassung eigens ein Komitee gebildet, das den Entwurf koordinieren sollte. 2013 rief das Komitee dann die Bevölkerung auf, den ersten Entwurf zu kommentieren. Es sammelte eigenen Angaben zufolge Millionen Kommentare von Bürgern und hielt eine Vielzahl öffentlicher Versammlungen und Diskussionen ab. Diese Praxis ist in Vietnam nichts Neues: Öffentliche Diskussionen gibt es seit der letzten Verfassungsrevision von 1992, wie der emeritierte australische Vietnamexperte Carlyle Thayer von der Universität New South Wales schreibt. "Die Aufforderung zum Feedback ist ein Weg, die Autorität des Einparteiensystems zu legitimieren." Es entstehe der Eindruck, dass die Bürger mitentscheiden könnten. [Weiterlesen]