Politik - Demokratie (2014/5)

What Beijing Wants From APEC

31.10.2014 by Elizabeth C. Economy (Council on Foreign Relations) - The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum is just around the corner, and Beijing is pulling out all the stops. Elegant Chinese limousines will ferry the region’s leaders to and fro. The Gods—or maybe just the Communist Party, in this case—have preordained clear skies (since all factories within polluting distance will be shut down and each day half of all cars will be banned from the road). And Beijing is working hard to patch up political rifts with neighbors such as Vietnam and Japan to ensure that a spirit of collaboration rather than confrontation prevails.

On substance, the APEC agenda is tailor-made for China. The forum reflects all of Beijing’s top domestic priorities, including an antigraft initiative that will be signed at the meeting. And the main themes for the forum read like Chinese President Xi Jinping’s China dream: [read more]

La ONU alerta que la integración en Asia puede favorecer al crimen organizado

31.10.2014 (Univision) - Bangkok (EFE).- Naciones Unidas llamó hoy a los países del Sudeste Asiático a tomar medidas para evitar que el aumento de los flujos comercial y migratorio propiciado por el proceso de integración regional favorezca la expansión del crimen organizado.

Según la Oficina contra las Drogas y el Delito (UNODC), el desarrollo de sistemas de transportes y la eliminación coordinada de barreras comerciales y de visado que los países del Sudeste de Asia planean para 2015 conlleva riesgos que los líderes regionales no han valorado suficientemente. [seguir leyendo]

Is Vietnam in denial on military strategy?

30.10.2014 Author: Shang-su Wu, RSIS (East Asia Forum) - Vietnam’s recent, and significant, investment in military hardware is aimed at coping with a changing strategic environment. But will it make any significant difference in balancing against China’s military might in the South China Sea?

Over the last ten years, Vietnam has been especially focusing defence investment in its air and naval capability. This has included the purchase of Su-30MK2 fighter bombers, Project 636 submarines, as well as several types of surface vessels and missiles. These purchases may reveal Vietnam’s inclination towards an anti-access and area denial (A2/AD) strategy aimed at preventing foreign access or activities in its territorial waters. But in the face of the superior Chinese military power, Vietnam’s military procurements appear inadequate for pursuing an A2/AD strategy and may not achieve their intended goal. [read more]

Pursue National Interest, Disregard China Claims

30.10.2014 (The New Indian Express) - The defence agreement India and Vietnam have signed during Vietnamese prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s visit to New Delhi is a sign of the growing ties between the two nations.

There is no neighbouring country with which China does not have a boundary dispute.

The Modi government has already indicated that it would not compromise India’s border security to please the Chinese. [read more]

Indien will Raketen an Vietnam liefern

29.10.2014 (FAZ) - Mit der möglichen Lieferung von Brahmos-Raketen an Vietnam provoziert Indien den Rivalen China. Der neue Regierungschef Narendra Modi vertritt Indiens Interessen in der Region aggressiver als seine Vorgänger.

Indien will seinen Einfluss in Asien ausbauen - und könnte den Konflikt mit China dadurch verschärfen. Bei einem Besuch des vietnamesischen Premierministers Nguyen Tan Dung in Neu Delhi sicherte der indische Regierungschef Narendra Modi zu, Vietnam mit neuen Waffen zu unterstützen.

„Die Kooperation in der Verteidigungspolitik mit Vietnam gehört zu den wichtigsten für uns“, sagte Modi bei dem Treffen. „Indien sieht sich in der Pflicht, Vietnams Streit- und Sicherheitskräfte zu modernisieren“.

Modi zeigte sich der „Times of India“ zufolge auch bereit dazu, die vom Vietnam gewünschten Kurzstreckenraketen vom Typ Brahmos zu liefern. [Weiterlesen]

Delhi und Hanoi gegen Peking - Des Feindes Feind

29.10.2014 (NZZ) - Indien und Vietnam bauen mit Blick auf Peking ihre wirtschaftliche und militärische Zusammenarbeit aus. Im Rahmen eines Besuchs des vietnamesischen Regierungschefs Nguyen Tan Dung bei seinem indischen Amtskollegen Narendra Modi am Dienstag in Delhi wurde eine Vereinbarung über den Verkauf von vier indischen Kriegsschiffen an Vietnam geschlossen. Am selben Tag unterzeichneten die staatlichen Erdölunternehmen der beiden Länder, die indische Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) und PetroVietnam, ein Abkommen über den Ausbau der indischen Beteiligung an Probebohrungen im Südchinesischen Meer.

 In Bezug auf die vietnamesisch-indischen Probebohrungen liess Peking verlauten, dass man solche Aktivitäten innerhalb der exklusiven Wirtschaftszone Chinas scharf verurteile. [Weiterlesen]

India ignores China's frown, offers defence boost to Vietnam

29.10.2014 Indrani Bagchi (The Times of India) - After his meeting with visiting Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Narendra Modi said, "Our defence cooperation with Vietnam is among our most important ones.

For the first time, India sent clear signals that it may be willing to sell the Brahmos short range cruise missiles to Vietnam, a long-standing demand by Hanoi. The previous Indian government was a little hesitant, citing reservations by Russia (which is a co-developer). Russia has now indicated its willingness. [read more]

Interview: Voices Calling for Democracy in Vietnam Must be Heard

28.10.2014 (RFA) - A week after being deported to the United States following his release from a prison in Vietnam, dissident blogger Nguyen Van Hai, also known by his pen name Dieu Cay, spoke to RFA's Vietnamese Service about his plans to continue working to bring democracy to the Southeast Asian communist state.

Q: The voice of an activist in exile may not be as effective as his voice in Vietnam. The government of Vietnam knows this very well, and that is why they force prisoners of conscience out of Vietnam whenever they have to free them. Can you tell us if you have found a new method of struggle?

A: Other people have asked me this question, and what I can say is this:  We worked as free journalists on the Internet, and the Internet has no borders. In Vietnam, we joined protests against China, encouraging a boycott of the [2008] Beijing Olympics. The Club of Free Journalists took the leading role in those protests. But when we were arrested, the protests still continued, and these later protests involved more people than the previous ones.

So, apart from having kindled a flame at the beginning, we didn’t need to join all the protests and we could still help our fellows, our people, and our movement, and at the same time initiate protests against China. Even though I have now gone abroad, there is no distance on the Internet. So I don’t think that I will not be able to continue my work simply because I am separated from the society of Vietnam. [read more]

How Vietnam Woos China and India Simultaneously

28.10.2014 By Carl Thayer (The Diplomat) - In managing relations with India and China, Vietnamese diplomacy has grown dynamic and creative. - Vietnam is a master of using its multilateral relations with external powers to insulate itself from unwanted pressures from any of the major powers. Vietnam’s agility to pursue multilateral balancing will be put to the test this week by two separate but interrelated events.

First, China’s State Councilor Yang Jiechi will return to Hanoi for a two-day visit from October 27-28 to attend the seventh Vietnam-China Steering Committee for Bilateral Relations. Second, simultaneously, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung will travel to India for a three-day visit from October 27-29.

Council Yang last visited Hanoi on June 18, ostensibly to attend a “leaders’ meeting” of the joint Steering Committee according to Chinese sources cited by Kristine Kwok of the South China Morning Post. This meeting solely focused on the oil rig crisis and was marked by the public exchange of recriminations over South China Sea sovereignty disputes. [read more]

As China flexes its muscles, Vietnam seeks India’s ‘active support’ on South China Sea row

27.10.2014 (The Times Of India) - NEW DELHI: As disputed South China Sea witnesses increased Chinese influence, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Monday pitched for India's "active support" to peacefully resolve all disputes and sought its greater linkages across the region.

Tan, who will hold talks on a range of issues with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, also made it clear that Vietnam has and will continue to allow ships from India. The remarks came a month after an Indian naval ship INS Airavat was asked to exit Chinese waters as it was approaching a Vietnamese port.

"The proper settlement of disputes in the East Sea for peace, stability, maritime security and safety and freedom of navigation in the region is in the common interest of countries in the region and beyond. [read more]

La Chine et le Vietnam cherchent à réduire leurs tensions territoriales

27.10.2014 (Romandie) - Hanoï - Pékin et Hanoï ont affiché lundi leur volonté de réduire leurs tensions territoriales, alors que les voisins communistes étaient jusqu'ici à couteau tiré autour la Mer de Chine méridionale.

Les deux parties reconnaissent que le règlement des questions maritimes est très important, a déclaré le ministre des Affaires étrangères vietnamien Pham Binh Minh, cité dans un communiqué, après la visite lundi d'un haut responsable chinois à Hanoï. [en savoir plus]

Will look into Vietnam offer of oil blocks in South China Sea: India

27.10.2014 (The Indian Express) - India has said it is examining Vietnam’s offer of additional oil blocks in the South China Sea. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung is scheduled to arrive in the country Monday for a two-day visit.

“Vietnam has offered some oil blocks in South China Sea. We are examining it and if they are commercially viable for us we will take that into account and proceed further,” the Ministry of External Affairs’ spokesperson said Friday.

Asked whether China’s concern on India’s presence in the South China Sea will be an impediment in the country accepting Vietnam’s offer of five additional oil blocks, he said, “India and Vietnam relationship is not contingent on other countries. Our relationship is a bilateral one and we focus on those bilateral issues.” [read more]

Three states miss launch of Asian bank

27.10.2014 (Independent Online) - Reuters Shanghai - AUSTRALIA, Indonesia and South Korea skipped the launch of a China-backed Asian infrastructure bank on Friday as the US said it had concerns about the new rival to Western-dominated multilateral lenders.

China’s $50 billion (R547bn) Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is seen as a challenge to the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, both of which count Washington and its allies as their biggest financial backers.

China, which is keen to extend its influence and soft power in the region, has limited voting rights in these existing banks despite being the world’s second-largest economy.

Indonesia was not present and neither were South Korea and Australia, according to a pool report.

Japan, China’s main rival in Asia and which dominates the $175bn Asian Development Bank along with the US, was also not present, but it was not expected to be. [read more]

China seen risking naval confrontation with Spratly claimants

26.10.2014 By Jaime Laude (The Philippine Star) - MANILA, Philippines - China appears to be risking an open confrontation with Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan with its announcement of a plan to build air and naval bases on the reclaimed Kagitingan (Fiery Cross) Reef, Kalayaan island town Mayor Eugenio Bito-onon Jr. said yesterday.

“Do you think Vietnam, as well as Taiwan and Malaysia, will just take it sitting down? These countries have occupied areas in the region that are very close to those that are being occupied and being reclaimed by China,” Bito-onon said.

He said China is even eyeing an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the area. [read more]

Chinese Nuclear Submarines, 'Boomers' Missiles Could Hit Hawaii, Alaska: Report

25.10.2014 By Charles Poladian (IBT) - China may launch this year a new class of submarines carrying fully armed nuclear missiles for the first time -- so-called boomers -- according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited a report by the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence, or ONI. The new submarines would be equipped with missiles that could potentially hit either the continental U.S. from the mid-Pacific Ocean or Alaska and Hawaii from East Asia.

The Journal detailed a few of the latest milestones in the growth of China’s nuclear submarine fleet, including the first known trip taken by one of its subs to the Indian Ocean from the Pacific Ocean. Its account of the ONI report indicated China has four boomers, three of which could be seen at a base recently close to a resort for tourists in the country’s Hainan province. Based on available evidence, the ONI concluded the additions to China’s sub fleet could voyage beyond coastal waters into the Pacific Ocean, which would open the possibility of a potential strike on the U.S. [read more]

South China Sea deal with Vietnam?

25.10.2014 (The Asian Age) - Ahead of the visit of Vietnamese PM Nguyen Tan Dung to India next week, India on Friday indicated that it is open to accepting Vietnam’s offer, if found commercially viable, of participation in additional oil blocks in the South China Sea, despite Chinese concerns.

Asked if China’s concern on India’s presence in the South China Sea will be an impediment in the country accepting Vietnam’s offer of additional oil blocks to it, MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said, “Vietnam has offered some oil blocks in the South China Sea. We are examining it and if they are commercially viable for us we will take that into account and proceed further. India and Vietnam relationship is not contingent on other countries. Our relationship is a bilateral one and we focus on those bilateral issues.” [read more]

China-Japan Maritime Dispute: China Recalls Navy Ships, But Sends More Fishing Boats

24.10.2014 (IBT) - China’s military may be backing down when it comes to patrolling the waters surrounding the disputed islands in the East China Sea, known as the Diaoyu in China and the Senkaku in Japan, but that does not mean it is retreating. New reports show that the number of Chinese military surveillance ships in the disputed maritime zone has decreased following a warming of diplomatic relations between the two countries -- but Chinese fishing boats in the area have more than doubled. [read more]

S. Korea, Australia, Indonesia absent as China launches regional bank

24.10.2014 (Yonhap News Agency) - BEIJING, Oct. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea, Australia and Indonesia on Friday did not join the launch of a regional bank led by China to fund infrastructure projects in Asia, amid Washington's concerns over the new regional lender seen as a counterweight to established multilateral lenders such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

China is pushing to set up the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as a potential rival to the ADB and the World Bank, dominated by the United States, Japan and Western economic powers, as it seeks to increase its economic clout in Asia.

Representatives from China and 20 nations, including India, Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines, signed a memorandum of understanding at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

The ADB has a capital of US$162.8 billion as of last year, with Japan and the U.S. having a 15.7 percent and a 15.6 percent stake each. South Korea has a 5.1 percent stake in the ADB, while China holds a 6.5 percent stake, according to the Manila-based lender. [read more]

China treibt asiatische Infrastruktur-Bank voran

24.10.2014 (derStandard) - Peking - Unter Chinas Führung nimmt eine neue Entwicklungsbank für Asien Gestalt an. In Peking unterzeichnete China am Freitag zusammen mit 20 Partnerländern eine Absichtserklärung für den Aufbau das Institut. Die Vertreter der Staaten einigten sich darauf, dass die Asiatische Infrastruktur-Investmentbank (AIIB) künftig ihren Hauptsitz in Peking haben werde, wie Chinas Nachrichtenagentur Xinhua berichtete.

Die Bank gilt als Konkurrent für die Weltbank und die Asiatische Entwicklungsbank (ADB). Für China ist die Bank ein wichtiger Schritt, seinen Einfluss in der Region auszubauen. Zu den beteiligten Ländern zählen unter anderem Indien, Pakistan, die Philippinen und Vietnam. [Weiterlesen]

Phnom Penh, police arrest 10 activists for attempting to overthrow government

24.10.2014 (AsiaNews) - Phnom Penh - Cambodian police have arrested 10 people accused of having organized an armed unit with the aim of overthrowing the legitimate government of Prime Minister Hun Sen.

According to the police spokesman the detainees would be part of the Khmer National Liberation Front (KNLF), a movement based in Denmark and branded as "terrorist" by the authorities in Phnom Penh. They were arrested the night between October 22 and 23 and charged with "conspiracy" to overthrow the government.

The 10, most of whom are farmers, intended to promote peaceful demonstrations outside the Vietnamese embassy in Phnom Penh, to ask the Hanoi government to comply with the Paris agreements. Signed in 1973, the agreements - which marked the end of the Vietnam War - provide for the recognition of the fundamental rights of Cambodians, including sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity.

Even today, many Cambodians complain that Vietnam has too much influence on internal affairs. [read more]

A Deepening Partnership With Vietnam

24.10.2014 (NYT) - Two decades after normalizing relations with Vietnam, the United States is seeking to forge even closer ties as the two countries face a common challenge in China. To that end, the Obama administration recently eased a longtime ban on providing lethal weapons to Vietnam and approved the sale of technology for a civilian nuclear energy program. Both initiatives should be carried out with great care so as to ensure regional stability.

Private companies eager to invest in Vietnam have been the main drivers of a better relationship. Trade and investment exploded after the United States lifted its economic embargo in 1994. In 2011, President Obama announced plans to give Asia greater emphasis in his foreign policy — a rebalancing aimed at strengthening ties with countries that, like the United States, are wary about an increasingly aggressive China. [read more]

China's top diplomat to visit Vietnam again amid sea dispute

24.10.2014 (Reuters) - BEIJING - China's top diplomat will visit Vietnam next week, China said on Friday, five months after he last visited during a period of tension over a Chinese oil drilling rig working in part of the South China Sea both countries claim.

State Councillor Yang Jiechi, who outranks the foreign minister, will arrive in Vietnam on Monday for meetings with Vietnam Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, China's foreign ministry said in a statement.

The two would discuss "Sino-Vietnam bilateral cooperation", the ministry said. It did not elaborate. [read more]

Vietnam Boat Attacked by Chinese Surveillance Ship

23.10.2014 By John Boudreau and Mai Ngoc Chau (Bloomberg) - A Vietnamese fishing boat captain said his vessel was attacked this month by the crew of a Chinese law enforcement ship near the disputed Paracel islands, risking a fresh escalation in tensions in the South China Sea.

The Vietnamese were threatened with guns and batons on Oct. 14 after they were chased by Chinese surveillance ship No.46106, said Nguyen Ngoc Khanh, 41, owner and captain of the 15-meter-long wooden fishing boat. The equipment on the five-crew fishing vessel was destroyed, he said by phone. [read more]

China-Vietnam Defense Hotline Agreed: What Next?

20.10.2014 By Carl Thayer (The Diplomat) - Beijing and Hanoi are looking to reset bilateral relations following a turbulent year. When the China-Vietnam oil rig crisis broke out in May, regional analysts opined that bilateral relations had been set back several decades as a result of the worst crisis since the 1979 border war. This assessment was premature. There are now signs that Beijing and Hanoi are moving to reset their relations and pick up where they were prior to the oil rig crisis.

The oil rig crisis witnessed physical confrontations by Chinese and Vietnamese civilian law enforcement vessels, an upsurge in anti-China sentiment in Vietnam including violent anti-China riots, the evacuation of Chinese workers from Vietnam, a drop in Chinese tourism to Vietnam, and Vietnamese threats to take international legal action against China. There were even calls by Vietnam’s political elite “to exit China’s orbit.” [read more]

China tries softer approach to win over world

20.10.2014 Gaku Shimada, Nikkei staff writer (Nikkei Asian Review) - BEIJING -- Taking a page right out of Sun Tzu's "The Art of War", China is looking to win the battle for global dominance without ever fighting. The strategy is to win over the international community with culture and values. But Beijing's playbook may be missing some important chapters.

"China's excellent culture and tradition is the strongest soft power we have," Xi said in a meeting with high-ranking Communist Party officials on Oct. 13.

The Chinese government frequently uses Confucius as the symbol of Chinese culture and tradition. This includes the Confucius Peace Prize. This year's shortlist, announced Sept. 28, includes former CIA employee Edward Snowden, South Korean President Park Geun-hye, former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama -- and Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Another example of the use of Confucius is the Confucius Institute. Many schools, including the University of Chicago and Pennsylvania State University, have decided to end their Confucius Institute programs. [read more]

Vietnam’s Education System

19.10.2014 Written by David Brown (Asia Sentinel) - Still under construction. For Vietnamese youth, a university degree is the entry ticket to the middle class and a promise, often unfulfilled, of an urban professional job. Vietnam’s enrollment in higher education has grown from 162,000 in 1992 to more than 2 million last year, some 25 percent of the nation’s college-age population. Business, finance and foreign trade degrees are prized, a consequence of the Vietnamese economy’s globalization.

To meet demand for diplomas, universities have sprouted like weeds. Study after study reports that curricula are outdated; teachers overmatched and underpaid; and graduates lacking in job-ready skills. ‘We have an excess of low quality universities and a dearth of high quality ones,’ Minister of Education Pham Vu Luan told the nation’s National Assembly late in 2011 [read more]

Vatican and Vietnam Edge Closer to Restoring Diplomatic Ties

19.10.2014 (Yahoo News) - Vatican City. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung met Pope Francis in Rome Saturday with both saying they were committed to restoring diplomatic relations.

The country’s communist regime broke off diplomatic ties with the Vatican in 1975, but both sides have been working on warming relations since 2007.

The meeting marked “an important step in the process of reinforcing relations between the Holy See and Vietnam,” a Vatican statement said after the meeting. [read more]

China and Vietnam Pledge to ‘Address and Control’ Maritime Disputes

17.10.2014 (Jakarta Globe) - China and Vietnam have agreed to “address and control” maritime disputes, state media said on Friday, as differences over the potentially energy-rich South China Sea have roiled relations between the two countries and other neighbors.

Ties between the Communist countries sank to a three-decade low this year after China deployed a $1 billion-oil rig to the disputed waters which straddle key shipping lanes.

The two countries should “properly address and control maritime differences” to create favorable conditions for bilateral cooperation, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Thursday on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Milan.

“Thanks to efforts from both sides, China-Vietnam relations have ridden out the recent rough patch and gradually recovered,” the official Xinhua news agency cited Li as saying.

Xinhua said Dung agreed and endorsed boosting “cooperation in infrastructure, finance and maritime exploration”.

The comments were a reiteration of earlier pledges by leaders from the two countries. [read more]

Communist Vietnam's Neo-Colonizing Policies Must Be Stopped to Prevent the Destabilization of Southeast Asia and the Continuing Human Rights Violations of the Indigenous Populations

17.10.2014 (PRNewswire) - PHILADELPHIA -- A Southeast Asia Conference was recently held in Washington, D.C., featuring diverse, local and international, speakers from Hawaii, Thailand and France as well as Laotians, Khmers, Montagnards and Americans with related expertise and experiences from academic institutions, business communities, and Law firm and past US government involvements. There were also screenings of interviews with Mr. Sovan Pen, the very first Prime Minister of Cambodia during the Vietnamese occupation and former prisoner in Hanoi on the Vietnamese government true objectives on Cambodia, and Dr. Mong Hay Lao on geopolitics of Southeast Asia. Vietnam neo-colonization of Cambodia and Laos had been further explored by the audience's questions & answers session and open discussions. The conference participants were very actively engaged in drawing up the conference 14-point Resolutions, of which an unsigned copy is as follows: [read more]

Cambodia's immigrant census stokes fears among Vietnamese

17.10.2014 Abby Seiff, Phnom Penh (ucanews) - Located just a ten-minute ferry ride from Phnom Penh, the floating village of Kandal’s Preaek Akrei Khsat commune is a world apart. Everyone speaks Vietnamese. Some speak Khmer, but many more speak it poorly or not at all. Houses are moored to one another — rising in the rainy season, dropping in the dry season, and able to move at a moment’s notice should the authorities clear them out. Almost everyone has a residency card but almost no one has an ID card or citizenship documents. Born and raised in Cambodia, these ethnic Vietnamese are excluded from almost everything afforded to ethnic Khmers: schools, health care, job opportunities, land, assimilation.

“We’re just living in the same country, but we’re treated worse. We can’t say anything. We have to be afraid of them,” Dy Ya, 31, said with an air of resignation. [read more]

Concerns fester in Vietnam over China policy, industrial pollution

16.10.2014 Ari Nakano (The Asahi Shimbun) - Many times I have heard intellectuals critical of Vietnam's system of Communist Party rule say, "This country's political system will change in a few years."

I do not know in how many years exactly, but some experts among those demanding the enactment of civil rights--such as free elections with multiple parties, freedom of speech, expression and assembly and so on--who portray the near future as seeing the destruction of the Communist Party system. What is certain is that little by little, Vietnamese citizens are taking more action and yearning more for political democratization--even if they are not dramatic as the changes in Eastern Europe at the end of the 1980s. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

China threat requires an Asian NATO

16.10.2014 Anders Corr (Nikkei Asian Review) - China's increasing belligerence in the East and South China seas, and toward India, has fundamentally destabilized the security dynamics of Asia. Japan is seeking a closer alliance with India and is likely seeking advanced offensive weapons from the U.S. Vietnam is considering a U.S. alliance. China increasingly makes common cause with Russia, using unethical and illegal practices in trade and geopolitics.

While existing bilateral alliances go partway toward defending against the resurgent autocratic threat, only a formalized multilateral treaty organization would provide the coordination necessary to defend democracy and international law in Asia against emerging threats. To survive, Asian democracies must create what might be called an Asian Treaty Organization, patterned after the successful North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Europe and North America. [read more]

Journalisten und Medienexperten aus Vietnam zu Besuch in Berlin

16.10.2014 (KAS) Vietnam - Auf Einladung der Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung hält sich in dieser Woche eine Gruppe von Journalisten und Medienexperten in Berlin auf. Der Besuch ist ein wichtiger Baustein in der weiteren Entwicklung unserer Medienarbeit in Vietnam. Durch Gespräche in der KAS, im Bereich der Regierung sowie des Bundestages und der Wissenschaft wird die wichtige Netzwerkbildung gefördert.

Durch Gespräche mit deutschen Journalisten und Medienschaffenden werden Kooperationen mit den vietnamesischen Partnern vertieft, und ein Austausch auf Augenhöhe ist möglich. Das Programm bietet der KAS die Möglichkeit, das aktuelle Netzwerk durch zusätzliche Entscheidungsträger des vietnamesischen Mediensektors zu erweitern. [Weiterlesen]

Hong Kong, Taiwan, Philippines, Vietnam and Japan: A public relations disaster for China PRC

16.10.2014 By James Lee (eTurboNews) - HONG KONG, China – China’s public image is being severely battered across Asia ever since the start of the year as the China government is hardening its stance following a repressive movement launched by China President Xi Jinping who has embarked into a consolidation of power for the Communist Party and is muzzling any signs of discontent. Internally, international media and observers are talking about increasing repression against human rights defenders, lawyers, or social media. A worrying sign for many observers, is a strong comeback of references to Mao Zedong in today’s official speeches - not a sign of a greater openness. Violence used in Hong Kong against the “Umbrella Revolution” movement is also a clear sign of China’s hardening, and at the same time, it shows the increasing rejection of the model of society wished by the China Communist Party.

Abroad, China’s aggressive attitude is also likely to deeply damage the country’s image with its neighbors, generating a phenomenon of rejection - certainly a short-sighted vision of China’s communist leaders, especially as ASEAN is gaining strength. Despite all the money that China is pouring into ASEAN countries to “help” with the development of infrastructure, the empirical view of the country is seen as authoritarian and increasingly aggressive, and will raise suspicion. [read more]

Vietnams Position im Territorialkonflikt

16.10.2014 Autor Rodion Ebbighausen (DW) - China baut seine Präsenz im Südchinesischen Meer aus. Vietnam setzt unterdessen auf Verständigung, will aber seine Rechte wahren. Dabei kommt eine Rüstungsvereinbarung mit den USA gerade recht.

Trotz Taifunsaison baut China seine Präsenz im Südchinesischen Meer weiter aus. Aktuelle Satellitenbilder der Abteilung "Defence and Space" des Flugzeugherstellers Airbus (s. Artikelbild) belegen den Bau einer künstlichen Insel auf den Gaven-Riffen, die von China, Vietnam und den Philippinen beansprucht werden. Die Riffgruppe gehört zu den seit Jahrzehnten umstrittenen Spratly-Inseln und liegt auf halber Strecke zwischen Vietnam und den Philippinen mitten im Südchinesischen Meer. [Weiterlesen]

Taiwan considers permanent armed ships for disputed South China Sea island

16.10.2014 By Michael Gold (Yahoo News) - TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan is considering stationing armed vessels permanently on a disputed South China Sea island, officials said, a move bound to renew friction in a region claimed almost wholly by China, with Vietnam already dismissing such a plan as "illegal".

The potentially energy-rich Spratly islands are one of the main flashpoints in the South China Sea, with claims also from Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei, and are closely watched by the United States after China placed a giant oil rig in nearby waters also claimed by Vietnam. [read more]

"Vietnam und China müssen Vertrauen aufbauen"

16.10.2014 Autor Rodion Ebbighausen (DW) - Eine Eskalation der Gebietsstreitigkeiten zwischen Vietnam und China in der Südchinesischen See könnten Auswirkungen weit über die Region hinaus haben, sagt Vietnams Premier Nguyen Tan Dung im DW-Exklusiv-Interview.

Deutsche Welle: Sehr geehrter Herr Premierminister, Sie haben einmal auf einer Sicherheitskonferenz gesagt: "Das Entscheidende für die Zusammenarbeit von Staaten ist strategisches Vertrauen." In diesem Jahr gab es verschiedene Zwischenfälle mit der Volksrepublik China in der Südchinesischen See. Wie steht es um das strategische Vertrauen zwischen Vietnam und China?

Nguyen Tan Dung: Vietnam ist Mitglied der Vereinten Nationen. Wir verfolgen konsequent eine unabhängige, diversifizierte und multilaterale Außenpolitik. [Weiterlesen]

Bundestagspräsident Lammert: Vietnam auch demokratisch weiter entwickeln

15.10.2014 (Deutscher Bundestag) - Bundestagspräsident Norbert Lammert hat seine Erwartung zum Ausdruck gebracht, dass Vietnam sich nicht nur wirtschaftlich, sondern auch in seinen demokratischen und rechtsstaatlichen Strukturen weiter entwickelt. Gegenüber dem vietnamesischen Premierminister Nguyen Tan Dung hob Lammert die Bedeutung Vietnams als herausragender politischer und wirtschaftlicher Partner Deutschlands in Asien hervor. Damit verbinde sich, insbesondere auch zum 40. Jubiläum der Aufnahme diplomatischer Beziehungen im kommenden Jahr, die Erwartung einer weiteren politischen Öffnung.

Der Bundestagspräsident sprach unter anderem auch die neue vietnamesische Verfassung an, die bei den westlichen Partnern hinter den Erwartungen zurückgeblieben sei. Man würde es begrüßen, wenn Vietnam bei der Bewegung hin zu mehr Demokratie und Rechtstaatlichkeit einen ähnlichen Ehrgeiz entwickle wie beim Aufbau marktwirtschaftlicher Strukturen. Letztlich seien verlässliche rechtsstaatliche Strukturen auch entscheidend für die Entwicklung stabiler wirtschaftlicher Verhältnisse.

Das neue Parlamentsgebäude in der vietnamesischen Hauptstadt Hanoi, das von einem deutschen Architekten entworfen worden sei, wünsche man sich nicht nur als neues Gebäude, sondern auch als Ort einer neuen demokratischen Ordnung. Im Gedenkjahr 2014/2015 wies Lammert auf die historischen Erfahrungen in Deutschland hin. Zugleich erinnerte der Bundestagspräsident, der im Frühjahr 2015 zur jährlichen Konferenz der Interparlamentarischen Union nach Vietnam reisen wird, daran, dass Deutschland als erstes Land der EU das europäisch-vietnamesische Freihandelsabkommen ratifiziert habe. - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam muss keine Mahnungen aus Deutschland fürchten

Vietnams kommunistische Führung steckt Demokratieaktivisten ins Gefängnis, jedes Jahr sterben Menschen in Haft. Die deutsche Politik ist eher an Geschäften interessiert.

14.10.2014 Von Matthias Lohre (ZEIT) - Bereits vor drei Jahren unterzeichnete Angela Merkel bei einem Besuch im südostasiatischen Land die Hanoier Erklärung. Beide Länder wollen seither ihre "strategische Partnerschaft" in Politik, Kultur und Wirtschaft ausbauen.

Vermutlich sprechen die Regierungschefs auch über die angespannte Situation im Südchinesischen Meer. Dort liefert sich die aufstrebende Weltmacht China mit Vietnam und anderen Anliegerstaaten Scharmützel um zwei strategisch wichtige Inselgruppen.

Einerseits will Deutschland dabei seinen immens wichtigen Handelspartner China nicht vergraulen. Andererseits freuen sich nicht nur deutsche Diplomaten über Bestrebungen asiatischer Staaten, dem wachsenden Einfluss des Riesenreichs Grenzen zu setzen. [Weiterlesen]

La UE concede a Vietnam 400 millones euros en ayuda a desarrollo en 2014-2020

13.10.2014 (Univision) - Bruselas (EFE) - La Unión Europea concederá a Vietnam 400 millones de euros en concepto de ayuda al desarrollo en el periodo 2014-2020, según un documento que firmaron hoy las dos partes en Bruselas.

El presidente de la Comisión Europea, José Manuel Durao Barroso, y el primer ministro de Vietnam, Nguyen Tang Dung, presenciaron la firma de una carta que detalla el programa plurianual de la UE para el país asiático en esos siete años, que contará con 400 millones de euros, según indicaron ambos mandatarios en una declaración a la prensa. [seguir leyendo]

Asian Cold War: Escalating Conflict in North-East Asia Bigger Threat Than War on Terror

13.10.2014 By Shar Adams (Epoch Times) - CANBERRA—The world may be focused on the “war on terror”, but the arms build up in North-East Asia poses a far greater threat to global stability, says Professor Desmond Ball, a senior defence and security expert at the Australian National University (ANU).

A former head of ANU’s Strategic & Defence Studies Centre, Professor Ball is no lightweight when it comes to security concerns. It is Professor Ball’s expertise in command and control systems, particularly in relation to nuclear war, that underlies his concerns about North-East Asia.

China, Japan and South Korea – countries that are “economic engines of the global economy” – are embroiled in an arms race of unprecedented proportions, punctuated by “very dangerous military activities”, he says. [read more]

Vietnam's PM looking to boost trade ties with the EU

13.10.2014 Author Rodion Ebbighausen (DW) - According to the European Commission data, the EU is Vietnam's second largest trading partner, and the Southeast Asian nation has enjoyed a comfortable trade surplus for years. Over the past decade, bilateral commerce has increased from around five billion euros to more than 26 billion euros. the EU calls for strict competition rules and stronger intellectual property laws. State-owned enterprises in Vietnam, for instance, play a significant role in the nation's economy. Banks and other financial institutions in the country prefer to lend credit to these firms than to private companies, and the deal with the EU would put an end to such practices.

The EU Commission, for its part, wants to include human rights aspects in the agreement. "There are disagreements between Hanoi and Brussels over crucial issues," [read more]

America partially lifts an arms embargo against a former foe

11.10.2014 (The Economist) - ... On October 2nd Vietnam’s foreign minister, Pham Binh Minh, called on John Kerry. The American secretary of state told Mr Minh that the United States would partially ease its long-standing ban on sales of weapons to Vietnam. The embargo, in place since 1984, has persisted even as ties have warmed—Vietnam’s record on human rights, after all, is dismal.

An American diplomat says that Vietnam has made some progress in terms of its human-rights record, including the release this year of 11 prisoners of conscience. But a full lifting of the lethal-arms embargo, the diplomat says, would depend on “additional progress”. That may be some way off. Yet Tuong Vu, a Vietnam expert at the University of Oregon, says the American shift is a “clear case” of strategic interests trumping human rights. Many dissidents remain behind bars, and the one-party state continues to arrest its critics under worryingly vague national-security laws. [read more]

China Gets Aggressive in the Pacific -- and Gives U.S. Arms Dealers a New Customer

11.10.2014 By Rich Smith (The Motley Fool) - On March 29, 1973, the U.S. declared an end to the Vietnam War, withdrawing the last American "combat soldiers" from South Vietnam. Forty-one years later, it looks like we're going back.

Last week, the U.S. State Department confirmed that the United States will resume sale of military weapons to Vietnam. They specifically denied that the move is related to reports of increased military threats to Vietnam at the hands of the Chinese Navy, referencing instead the Vietnamese government's improved record on human rights, and alluding to China only by mentioning unspecified "U.S. security interests."

In the air, the two most obvious candidates to benefit for Vietnamese arms buying for maritime security are the two firms that DN has already highlighted -- Boeing, which makes Poseidon, arguably the world's most advanced maritime patrol aircraft, and Embraer/Sierra Nevada, which builds the Super Tucano prop-driven fighter plane -- bargain-priced for countries with sub-$10 billion defense budgets [read more]

Vietnams Premier auf Europatour

10.10.2014 Autor Rodion Ebbighausen (DW) - Nach Angaben der Europäischen Kommission ist die EU der zweitgrößte Handelspartner Vietnams. Dabei erzielt Vietnam seit Jahren einen komfortablen Handelsbilanzüberschuss. Das bilaterale Handelsvolumen ist in den letzten zehn Jahren von fünf auf über 26 Milliarden Euro angestiegen.

Auf dieser Grundlage will Vietnams Premierminister Nguyen Tan Dung die Wirtschaftsbeziehungen ausbauen und wirbt in Deutschland und der EU für ein Freihandelsabkommen, über das seit 2010 verhandelt wird.

Das europäisch-vietnamesische Freihandelsabkommen (EVFTA) soll Zölle und andere Handelshürden abbauen, Rechtssicherheit schaffen, Investitionen und geistiges Eigentum schützen. Rechtliche Aspekte sind die größte Hürde für einen Abschluss der Verhandlungen.

Nicht zuletzt will die EU-Kommission den Schutz der Menschenrechte in dem Abkommen festschreiben. Insgesamt stellt die Studie der KAS fest: "In entscheidenden Punkten herrscht zwischen Brüssel und Hanoi Uneinigkeit." Unter anderem deshalb sah es im Frühjahr 2014 noch so aus, dass die Verhandlungen scheitern würden. [Weiterlesen]

Brief des Forums Vietnam 21 an Bundeskanzlerin anlässlich des Besuches des vietnamesischen Premierministers

Sehr geehrte Frau Bundeskanzlerin,

mit großem Interesse haben wir die Nachricht von Ihrem Treffen mit dem vietnamesischen Premierminister Nguyen Tan-Dung am 15.10.2014 aufgenommen.

Wir wissen es zu schätzen, dass Sie im Gespräch mit Nguyen Tan-Dung und den vietnamesischen Regierungsmitgliedern neben wirtschaftspolitischen Themen auch Aspekte der Umwelt und Menschenrechte anschneiden werden.

Fast vierzig Jahre nach dem Ende des Kriegs ist Vietnam im 21.Jahrhundert alles andere als ein demokratisches Land. Das kommunistische Regime in Vietnam regiert mit harter Hand. Hanoi missachtet und verletzt den Internationalen Pakt über bürgerliche und politische Rechte (Zivilpakt) der Vereinten Nationen, den Vietnam selbst ratifiziert hat. Vietnam ist auch bekannt als einer der größten Feinde des Internets. Regimekritische Blogger, Menschenrechtler, Demokratieaktivisten, Menschenrechtsanwälte, Katholiken und Buddhisten, die nicht den sog. Staatskirchen angehören, u.a.m. werden willkürlich verhaftet und zu langjährigen Haftstrafen verurteilt. Auch Todesstrafen sind an der Tagesordnung. Seit 2013 sind 530 Gefangene in Vietnam zum Tode verurteilt worden.... [Weiterlesen] - [tiếng Việt]

Bundeskanzlerin Merkel empfängt den Premierminister der Sozialistischen Republik Vietnam, Nguyen Tan Dung

10.10.2014 (Presse- und Informationsamt der Bundesregierung) - Die stellv. Sprecherin der Bundesregierung, Christiane Wirtz, teilt mit: Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel empfängt am 15. Oktober 2014 um 11.45 Uhr den Premierminister der Sozialistischen Republik Vietnam, Nguyen Tan Dung, mit militärischen Ehren im Bundeskanzleramt. Bei einem anschließenden Meinungsaustausch im Rahmen eines Mittagessens stehen die bilateralen Beziehungen, wirtschaftliche Fragen sowie regionale und sicherheitspolitische Themen im Mittelpunkt.

China’s Curious Restraint

10.10.2014 By Ted Galen Carpenter (CATO) - Beijing’s behavior on the international stage over the past few months has been surprisingly restrained—in marked contrast to an earlier, lengthy period of assertive, if not abrasive, conduct toward its neighbors. Not too long ago, policymakers in the United States and throughout East Asia were alarmed by China’s initiatives. Beijing’s territorial claims in the South China Sea were breathtakingly broad, leading to nasty incidents with the Philippines, Vietnam, and other nations.

Two developments illustrate the new, less confrontational trend in China’s policy. One is Beijing’s concerted diplomatic courtship of such countries as South Korea, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka.

The other sign of uncharacteristic restraint is Beijing’s handling of the ongoing pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong. True, there are indications that the Chinese government may have organized and paid for counterdemonstrators to confront and harass democracy activists. But, at least to this point, there is no indication that Xi Jinping’s government intends to intervene directly with its security forces, much less trigger a bloodbath reminiscent of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. [read more]

China criticizes U.S. decision on Vietnam arms

10.10.2014 By Richard Tomkins (UPI) - WASHINGTON -- China objected Friday to the U.S. decision to partially lift its ban on selling weapons to Vietnam, calling it an interfering and destabilizing action.

The objection came in a news story printed by People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Beijing government.

"This is not a sensible course of action," it said in a carefully worded presentation.

In May, China's state-owned China National Offshore Oil Company moved an oil rig to an area Vietnam claims was within its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone, while in August Chinese naval vessels stopped and searched Vietnamese fishing boats and seized equipment.

Sovereignty over the Paracels, as well as territorial claims over the Spratley Islands, have pitted China against not only Vietnam but also the Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia and others. [read more]

Rohstoff-Ansprüche: China baut weitere Insel im Südchinesischen Meer

China treibt seine Gebietsansprüche im Südchinesischen Meer voran: Satellitenbilder zeigen, dass Peking in den Gewässern um die Spratly-Inseln ein weiteres künstliches Eiland angelegt hat.

10.10.2014 (Spiegel Online) - Hamburg - Der Streit zwischen China und Vietnam um Rohstoffe im Südchinesischen Meer droht erneut zu eskalieren. China hat nach einer ersten nun eine zweite künstliche Insel in der Region angelegt. Wie der Militär-Nachrichtendienst "Jane's" berichtet, zeigen Satellitenbilder eine neue Struktur an den Gaven-Riffen, die in Vietnam als Dá Ga Ven und Dá Lac, in China als Nanxun Jiao und Xinan Jiao und in den Philippinen als Burgos-Riff bezeichnet werden.

China hatte zuvor bereits eine Betonplattform an der Westseite des Riffs errichtet, die mit Flugabwehr- und Schiffskanonen sowie Kommunikationssystemen ausgestattet gewesen sei. [Weiterlesen]

China's Island Factory

New islands are being made in the disputed South China Sea by the might of the Chinese state. But a group of marooned Filipinos on a rusting wreck is trying to stand in the way.

09.09.2014 By Rupert Wingfield-Hayes (BBC) - ... The appearance of these new islands has happened suddenly and is a dramatic new move in a longstanding territorial struggle in the South China Sea.

At the beginning of this year, the Chinese presence in the Spratly Islands consisted of a handful of outposts, a collection of concrete blockhouses perched atop coral atolls.

Now it is building substantial new islands on five different reefs. [read more]

Study: Vietnamese, Chinese choose capitalist road

09.10.2014 By Paul Wiseman, AP Economics Writer (MSN) - WASHINGTON — Enthusiasm for free markets runs higher in communist China and Vietnam than in traditional capitalist bastions the United States and United Kingdom, the Pew Research Center reports.

A world-topping 95 percent of Vietnamese say that most people are better off in free-market economies, and 76 percent of Chinese agree, according to a Pew survey of nearly 49,000 people worldwide that might have astonished Ho Chi Minh and Mao Zedong. Seventy percent of Americans and 65 percent of those in the UK expressed support for a free-market economic system. [read more]

China construye pista de aterrizaje en isla disputada con Vietnam

08.10.2014 (emol.com) - BEIJING.- Beijing construyó una pista de aviación en una isla del mar de China meridional destinada a aparatos militares, una acción que podría provocar la indignación de Vietnam y Taiwán, que también reivindican su soberanía.

La pista, de 2 kilómetros de longitud, fue construida en el archipiélago de las Paracelso, en una isla de únicamente 2 kilómetros cuadrados que China denomina Yongxing, indicó el martes por la noche la agencia oficial Xinhua.

Esta isla, vanguardia de las ambiciones marítimas de Beijing, se encuentra en el mar de China meridional, una zona estratégica atravesada por vías internacionales, y en cuyas profundidades podrían hallarse importantes reservas de gas y petróleo. [seguir leyendo]

China builds military airstrip on disputed island, reports state media

08.10.2014 (The Japan Times) - BEIJING – Beijing has completed a runway for military aircraft on a South China Sea island also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan, state-run media reported Tuesday.

The newly built facility stretches across Woody Island, part of the Paracel chain, China’s Xinhua news agency said.

Tensions between Beijing and Hanoi rose this year over Chinese construction and oil exploration at the Paracels. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

China unhappy over India-US reference to South China Sea

08.10.2014 Ananth Krishnan (indiatoday) - China on Wednesday warned India and the United States against interfering in the South China Sea dispute. Both countries had during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to the US, expressed concern about rising maritime tensions in the region.

The joint statement issued following talks between Modi and US President Barack Obama said both leaders "expressed concern about rising tensions over maritime territorial disputes. The two leaders also stressed the need to ensure "freedom of navigation and over flight throughout the region, especially in the South China Sea".

This was the first specific reference in an India-US joint statement to the South China Sea. India had, in the past, not specifically mentioned the dispute considering China's sensitivities. [read more]

Vietnam Hunts for Missing Diesel Tanker Amid Sea-Hijacking Probe

08.10.2014 By John Boudreau and Mai Ngoc Chau (Bloomberg) - A Vietnamese oil tanker missing for five days may have been hijacked after sailing from Singapore last week, say maritime officials searching for the vessel.

The Sunrise 689 vanished from radar at 1:21 p.m. Vietnam time on Oct. 3, about 20 hours after leaving the city-state, according to Dao Van Quang, chairman and chief executive officer of Hai Phong Sea Product Shipbuilding Co., the registered owner. The vessel, with a crew of 18 and carrying 5,200 metric tons of diesel with an estimated value of $4 million, was scheduled to arrive today in the central province of Quang Tri, he said.

“We strongly suspect she has been hijacked,” John Robin, the duty officer at the International Maritime Bureau’s piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur, said by phone. “We don’t know for certain. There could also be a communication breakdown. We know a vessel went missing several days ago.” [read more]

Wird es ein chinesisches oder asiatisches Jahrhundert?

07.10.2014 Von Theo Sommer (Zeit Oline) - Wir alle starren in diesen Tagen gespannt und gebannt auf die Ukraine-Krise und auf die gewalttätigen Umbrüche im Mittleren Osten. Dabei gerät uns völlig aus dem Blick, dass sich zur gleichen Zeit im asiatisch-pazifischen Raum eine geopolitische Umwälzung historischen Ausmaßes vollzieht. In der bevölkerungsreichsten und dynamischsten Region der Welt geht es im Kräfteviereck China – Indien – Japan – Amerika um die Herausbildung eines neuen Mächtemusters. Es wird dem 21. Jahrhundert eine entscheidende Prägung geben...

Es fehlt in Asien nicht an Konfliktherden. Woran es fehlt, ist eine Regional-Organisation, unter deren Ägide vertrauensbildende Maßnahmen den Absturz in kriegerische Konflikte verhindern können. [Weiterlesen]

Cambodians Say Land Grabs Have Led To Crime Against Humanity; Want The ICC To Investigate

07.10.2014 Megha Bahree (Forbes) - A few Cambodian citizens are filing a complaint today at the Hague against a group of politicians, security chiefs and business tycoons, alleging that a systematic and sustained land grab by them amounts to a crime against humanity that needs to be tried at the International Criminal Court.

The allegation, which is called a Communication in ICC parlance, needs to go through a few steps before it can be considered a claim that will be investigated by the ICC. [read more]

Worker influx, affinity with China fuel anti-Vietnam sentiment in Cambodia

07.10.2014 By Manabu Sasaki (The Asahi Shimbun) - PHNOM PENH--A succession of anti-Vietnam protests here highlights growing anger over a border issue coupled with an influx of cheap labor from Cambodia's powerful neighbor.

Anti-Hanoi sentiment has been gathering steam for some time. In the latest protest, held Oct. 6, dozens of monks and demonstrators assembled in front of the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh around noon.

There is a widely-held sentiment among Cambodians that Vietnam has no right to claim the Mekong River Delta region. Recently though, low-wage factory workers have also begun participating in the rallies [read more]

Hong Kong’s protests cast a shadow across Asia

06.10.2014 Ishaan Tharoor (The Washington Post) - HONG KONG -- Last Thursday as tens of thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators massed in Hong Kong's streets, a parallel rally took place 500 miles to the east in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. Thousands of Taiwanese chanted "Go Hong Kong" in a public park and held up banners in support of Hong Kong's students seeking democratic reforms in the Chinese territory. One banner read, "Today Hong Kong, Tomorrow Taiwan," echoing a larger fear among Taiwanese of what may happen to their island's democracy should it reunify with China in decades to come. [read more]

Mar de China: Con el fin de contener a Beijing, Washington quiere vender armas al ex enemigo vietnamita

06.10.2014 By Paul N. Hung (AsiaNews) - Ho Chi Minh City - Seguridad en el Mar de China del Sur (y oriental), el fortalecimiento de la cooperación bilateral en vista de los 20 años de la reanudación de las relaciones diplomáticas entre los dos países (1995-2015), la aplicación de los acuerdos alcanzados en el pasado reciente. Estos son los temas centrales de la reunión entre el Secretario de Estado John Kerry y el Viceprimer Ministro Pham Binh Minh en Hanoi, durante los dos días de la visita oficial del alto funcionario vietnamita a los Estados Unidos. La reunión se celebró los días 1 y 2 de octubre en Washington y cubrió algunos temas de actualidad en la región Asia-Pacífico, incluyendo la "imperialista" política de Pekín en los mares que preocupa a un número creciente de naciones del área. En este sentido, los Estados Unidos pronto podría suministrar al antiguo enemigo vietnamita con "armas y medios de defensa". [seguir leyendo]

The US Lifts Arms Embargo: The Ball Is in Vietnam’s Court

06.10.2014 By Carl Thayer (The Diplomat) - The United States partially lifted the embargo. The next move will be Vietnam’s. On October 2, Secretary of State John Kerry finally met officially with his Vietnamese counterpart Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh in Washington. In May, Secretary Kerry invited Minh to visit but the invitation was not taken up immediately. Vietnamese officials privately told The Diplomat at the time that Binh’s visit was “too sensitive” because of the oil rig crisis with China.

Under the terms of the Comprehensive Partnership agreed in July 2013, a ministerial-level mechanism was created to oversee all aspects of the bilateral relationship. The meeting between Secretary Kerry and Foreign Minister Minh was held to review developments over the past year under the Comprehensive Partnership Agreement.

In remarks prior to their meeting Secretary Kerry noted that significant progress had been made on a number of issues including the civilian 123 nuclear program, the Proliferation Security Agreement, and economic and other issues. [read more]

Washington to sell weapons to former foe to contain Beijing in South China Sea

06.10.2014 By Paul N. Hung (AsiaNews) - Ho Chi Minh City - US Secretary of State John Kerry and Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh met to discuss current issues during an official two-day visit (1-2 October) by the Vietnamese official in Washington.

The two discussed security in the South and East China Seas, Beijing's "imperialism" in the region, strengthening bilateral partnership ahead of the 20th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries (1995-2015), as well as implementing past agreements.

In view of this, the United States could soon supply its former Vietnamese foe with weapons and defence equipment. [read more]

US-Viet Weapons Deal: No Room for Human Rights

05.10.2014 Written by Khanh Vu Duc and Duvien Tran (Asia Sentinel) - The US decision to partially lift arms embargo will be met with enthusiasm in Hanoi but will be received with some concern by human rights groups

Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh can return to Hanoi content, if not delighted. His meeting with Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington, D.C., concluded late last week with the announcement that the United States would ease its arms embargo on Vietnam.

Although the partial lifting of the ban remains a promise for the moment, a reversal appears extremely unlikely. In announcing the US’s intentions to ease its arms embargo, the State Department made clear that any sale of lethal weapons to Vietnam would be considered on a strict case-by-case basis.

this cautious approach was not well-received by human rights advocacy groups, including Human Rights Watch, who have argued that Hanoi’s record on human rights remains deplorable. Even a partial lifting of the ban could weaken the US’s position in negotiating for improved human rights in Vietnam. [read more]

Hong Kong Protesters Influence Vietnam Activists

05.10.2014 (VOA) - Activists in Vietnam are closely watching the crowds filling the streets of Hong Kong. The Hong Kong dissenters are demonstrating anger with the mainland Chinese government about elections in 2017. They also demand democratic reforms and the resignation of the territory’s chief official.

In nearby Vietnam, feeling against China also is strong. That is especially true because of Vietnamese and Chinese competing claims of territorial rights in the South China Sea. But police usually quickly end protests in Vietnam.

Many Vietnamese now are using the Internet to support the pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong. Many Vietnamese are changing their Facebook profile pictures to the symbol of a dove (a white bird that represents peace) tied with a yellow ribbon. [read more]

An Inconvenient Protest for Both China and the U.S.

03.10.2014 By Mark Landler (NYT) - Washington — President Obama is scheduled to visit China next month, and with tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters on the streets of Hong Kong, human rights could force itself onto the agenda between the United States and the Chinese in a way not seen in many years.

A major caveat, of course, is that the fervent crowds in Hong Kong could be long gone by Nov. 10, when Mr. Obama and 20 Pacific Rim leaders gather in Beijing for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting. That would certainly be a relief to the Chinese host, President Xi Jinping, and perhaps to Mr. Obama, too. [read more]

Obispos vietnamitas: por la paz en Asia y en el mundo, China se convierta a la Virgen de Fátima

03.10.2014 (AsiaNews) - Hanoi - La política imperialista de Beijing en el mar Chino meridional, no sólo no terminaros después de la remoción de la plataforma petrolífera, sino que se han "intensificado en una modalidad inquietante". Los chinos están transformando "en una gigantesca obra" un trecho de la costa de las islas Paracels, violando "en modo gravísimo" la "soberanía de Vietnam" y "poniendo en grave peligro la paz" en la región Asia-Pacífico. Es cuánto denuncian los vértices de la Comisión episcopal Justicia y Paz de la Iglesia católica en Vietnam, en una larga carta enviada "al pueblo de Dios dentro y fuera del país" y publicada por la Eglise D´Asie (EdA).

Los obispos auspician que "los dirigentes de nuestro país sepan conducir una política conforme a la moral tradicional de nuestro pueblo" y "los que tienen el poder en China aprendan a respetar la justicia y la paz". Beijing debe "deshacerse de la ideología de la "Gran China" y dar por finalizados los tentativos de invasión, respetando las convenciones internacionales". [seguir leyendo]

For Vietnamese bishops, peace in Asia and the world require China to convert to the Virgin of Fatima

03.10.2014 (AsiaNews) - Hanoi - Beijing's imperialist policy in the South China Sea did not end with the removal of a controversial oilrig. On the contrary, it has "intensified in a disturbing way," said the leaders of the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace of the Catholic Church in Vietnam, in a long letter addressed to "the people of God within and outside the country" published by Église d'Asie (EDA).

The Chinese are turning a stretch of the coast of the Paracel Islands "into a giant construction site," seriously violating the "sovereignty of Vietnam" and "jeopardising peace" in the Asia-Pacific region.

The bishops hope that "the leaders of our country will be able to pursue a policy in accordance with the traditional morality of our people" and that "those in power in China will learn respect for justice and peace."

Beijing must "get rid of the its 'Greater China' ideology and immediately put an end to its invasion attempts, and respect international conventions." [read more]

Vietnamese 'targeted' in Cambodia

03.10.2014 (BBC) - Growing anti-Vietnamese sentiment is behind a five-day protest that is due to start in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh this weekend.

Tensions have been brewing for months and there are fears they will soon boil over.

Although the protest is being led by the minority Khmer Krom community, it highlights increasing animosity towards Vietnam and the ethnic Vietnamese living in Cambodia. Nga Pham reports. [Video]  

Vietnam’s Weapons of War for China

03.10.2014 By Zachary Keck (The Diplomat) - Earlier this week on Flashpoints, Carl Thayer outlined the strategic logic behind Vietnam’s counterinvention strategy towards China. Coincidentally, the same day that we published Thayer’s piece Real Clear Defense published a piece by Kyle Mizokami outlining the five weapon systems Vietnam will need to implement this strategy. They complement each other nicely.

A Council of Foreign Relations-sponsored Task Force, which was chaired by General David H. Petraeus and Robert B. Zoellick, released a new report this week arguing that the U.S. should pivot to, well… America. Specifically, the task force argues that U.S. policy should prioritize strengthening the integration of North America — that is, the United States, Canada and Mexico. [read more]

US loosens arms embargo on Vietnam. Why now?

03.10.2014 By Michael Holtz, Staff writer (The Christian Science Monitor) - The United States has partially lifted a 40-year ban on lethal weapons to Vietnam, a move that comes at a tense time in the South China Sea.

The easing of the ban applies only to maritime equipment. But the decision reflects growing concern in Washington over China’s rising assertiveness in the region as Beijing pushes its claims to resource-rich territorial waters and islands that other countries claim as well.

The State Department said the decision to lift the ban, which was established after the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, comes amid warming ties and modest improvements in Vietnam’s human rights record.

But human rights organizations were quick to object. John Sifton, spokesman for Human Rights Watch, said that “Vietnam’s record on political prisoners is "bad and getting worse," according to the Associated Press. Amnesty International said the country detains scores of people for exercising their right to freedom of expression. [read more]

Why the US Shouldn't be Selling Arms to Vietnam

03.10.2014 John Sifton (HRW) - The Obama administration announced on Oct. 2 that it was relaxing a decades-old ban on sales of lethal military equipment to Vietnam. The United States will now allow the Pentagon and U.S. companies to provide Vietnam with "maritime security-related defense articles." The move coincided with a visit to Washington by Deputy Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh -- where he met with Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel -- and came without much warning. This may have been intentional given the controversy surrounding it.

The U.S. government defends the policy change by claiming that maritime equipment cannot be used to stifle dissent. This argument misses the point. Of course, Hanoi won't fire U.S.-made torpedoes at protesting crowds. Vietnam's security forces don't need complicated military equipment to quiet critics. When they arrest dissidents and bloggers, they just drive to protest sites, or people's homes, and arrest them. Vietnam does not need to purchase firearms, batons, and tear gas from the United States at all -- its security forces can purchase these inexpensive items in existing markets. [read more]

Estados Unidos levanta parcialmente el embargo de armas a Vietnam tras 40 años

03.10.2014 (rtve.es) - Estados Unidos ha levantado parcialmente el embargo de armas de fuego letal que mantenía sobre Vietnam desde hace cerca de 40 años para ayudar a la mejora de la seguridad marítima tras observar que el país da pasos en la buena dirección hacia el respeto de los derechos humanos. Aunque las organizaciones en defensa de estos derechos no coinciden en este punto, Washington ve en este paso una oportunidad para restaurar el equilibrio en Asia-Pacífico.

“El Departamento de Estado ha tomado medidas para permitir la transferencia de artículos de defensa relacionados con la seguridad marítima a Vietnam en el futuro”, ha explicado la portavoz del organismo, Jen Psaki, en una rueda de prensa. [seguir leyendo]

USA lockern Waffenembargo gegen Vietnam

03.10.2014 (Nordbayerischer Kurier) - Washington. Rund 40 Jahre nach Ende des Krieges mit Vietnam haben die USA ihr Waffenembargo gegen das südostasiatische Land gelockert. Dies sei eine Antwort auf das fortschrittliche Verhalten Vietnams etwa im Hinblick auf Menschenrechte, teilte die Sprecherin des US-Außenministeriums am Freitag mit.

Ziel sei, das Land an Maßnahmen zur Stärkung der maritimen Sicherheit zu beteiligen. Vietnam könne nun etwa bewaffnete Patrouillenboote zur Sicherung seiner langen Küsten kaufen. Die Annäherung der ehemaligen Kriegsgegner sei jedoch nicht gegen China gerichtet, hieß es. [Weiterlesen]

Argument: The Road to Improved US–Vietnam Relations is Economic Reform

02.10.2014 Written by Khanh Vu Duc and Duvien Tran (Asia Sentinel) - Guns will not be enough to secure desirable relation between the US and Vietnam Lost amid the threat of ISIS and ISIL and the turmoil and devastation in the Middle East has been the United States’ strategic rebalance to Asia-Pacific. It was Hillary Clinton in 2011, during her stint as secretary of state, who detailed the importance of Asia-Pacific in an article for Foreign Policy. Titled “America’s Pacific Century,” Clinton predicted the dominance of Asia-Pacific in global affairs and the necessity for America to focus its attention on the region.

Yet, America’s pivot has been slow, if it has been moving at all. Moreover, the US Navy’s plan to relocate 60 percent of its assets to Asia-Pacific by 2020 – to address and respond to challenges including North Korea, human trafficking and natural disasters, among others – was criticized by Beijing as a blatant attempt to contain China.

Until now, the US has hesitated to sell arms to Vietnam due to the country’s deplorable record on human rights, and fears that any weapons sold could be used against its people. Although human rights in Vietnam remain a concern for the US, perhaps the calculus has changed in Washington, possibly with the benefit of a potential ally in Southeast Asia outweighed the need for democratization in Vietnam. [read more]

La Commission ‘Justice et Paix’ appelle à prier pour la paix et la justice, notamment en Chine

02.10.2014 (Églises d'Asie) - Ces temps derniers, les guerres ouvertes et les conflits larvés se sont multipliés dans le monde. Au Vietnam, le conflit de souveraineté territoriale avec la Chine s’est subitement envenimé avec l’installation d’une plate-forme pétrolière chinoise dans les eaux territoriales du Vietnam. Sur les lieux, deux marines se sont affrontées. A l’intérieur du pays, des manifestations antichinoises parfois violentes ont eu lieu. Cette situation a incité la Commission ‘Justice et Paix’ à intervenir dans une lettre adressée « à l’ensemble du peuple de Dieu », datée du 13 septembre 2014. ...

La Commission ‘Justice et Paix’, qui dépend de la Conférence épiscopale du Vietnam, demande instamment à l’ensemble de la communauté du Peuple de Dieu de participer à la sainte messe, de se confesser, de communier, de participer au salut du Saint-Sacrement, de réciter le rosaire, (…), d’accomplir de plein gré des sacrifices collectifs comme le jeûne et l’abstinence, l’aide aux personnes démunies, âgées, isolées (…). Ou encore d’autres œuvres charitables selon les occasions qui se présentent à chacun et prier pour elles conformément à ce qui est prévu à ce sujet par chaque communauté. Que les dirigeants de notre pays apprennent rapidement à conduire une politique conforme à la morale traditionnelle de notre peuple, à savoir une politique « pour le peuple et pour le pays ». Ils ne doivent pas s’enfermer dans un système idéologique dont la pratique nous révèle que, non seulement il n’apporte aucun bénéfice au peuple de ce pays, mais encore qu’il l’entraîne vers de graves dangers.

Que les détenteurs du pouvoir en Chine apprennent à respecter la justice et la paix, qu’ils sachent rapidement se débarrasser de l’idéologie de la « Grande Chine », qu’ils mettent un terme immédiat leur tentative d’invasion, qu’ils sachent respecter les conventions internationales et que, très bientôt, ils reviennent vers leur tradition associant le respect de l’humanité à la raison et au sentiment. [en savoir plus]

Hong Kong Protesters 'Inspire' Vietnam Activists

02.10.2014 Marianne Brown (VOA) - Hanoi — As thousands of people fill the streets in Hong Kong, pro-democracy activists in neighboring Vietnam are taking notes. Anti-China sentiment runs high in the communist country, particularly when it comes to competing territorial claims in the South China Sea, but protests are usually met with swift police crackdowns.

The streets of Hanoi are free of tell-tale umbrellas, but many Vietnamese are using the Internet to show support for the pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.

On Facebook, profile pictures use the symbol of a dove tied with a yellow ribbon to express solidarity with the Hong Kong protests. [read more] 

Arm Vietnam to Counter China

02.10.2014 (Bloomberg) - Almost 40 years after their war, the U.S. and Vietnam have long since stopped being enemies. Trade between them has grown to more than $20 billion. Yet one major obstacle to a full rapprochement remains: the U.S. embargo on lethal weapons sales to its former adversary. This should be removed.

The obstacle has been Vietnam's spotty human-rights record: The regime continues to limit freedom of expression, association and public assembly, and more than 100 people charged with political offenses languish in prison.

Vietnam has made some gestures toward improving its record, by registering more places of worship in minority areas and releasing some long-serving political prisoners. But the country has yet to ratify the United Nations Convention Against Torture, and still has several vague laws on its books that allow for detaining dissidents on the flimsiest of excuses. The regime needs to clarify or set aside measures in its penal code such as Article 258, which has been used to prosecute bloggers for infringing on "the interests of the State." [read more]

US to partially lift Vietnam arms embargo

02.10.2014 (BBC) - The US is to partially lift its decades-old embargo on providing lethal military support to Vietnam, to help improve its maritime security.

The state department said it applied to weapons for maritime purposes only.

It followed talks between US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Vietnamese counterpart in Washington on Thursday.

US officials said the decision followed some progress by Vietnam on human rights issues, but warned that a further easing of the embargo would require additional progress on this front. [read more]

Vietnam judge faces jail for wrongful conviction

02.10.2014 (news24) - Hanoi - A retired judge in Vietnam could face up to 12 years in jail after a man sentenced to life in prison for murder was later found to be innocent, authorities said on Thursday.

Former judge Pham Tuan Chiem, aged 65, was charged with "lacking responsibility and causing serious consequences", and is being held under house arrest, Nguyen Viet Hung, a spokesperson for the Supreme People's Procuracy told dpa.

Chiem upheld the sentence of farmer Nguyen Thanh Chan, aged 53, in 2004 after he was convicted by a local court of murdering and robbing a local woman in Bac Giang Province. [read more]

Falsches Mordurteil: Richter in Vietnam angeklagt

02.10.2014 (Südtirol Online) - Ein Richter ist in Vietnam angeklagt, weil er einen Unschuldigen hinter Gitter gebracht haben soll.

Der 65-Jährige sei wegen „Verantwortungslosigkeit mit ernsten Konsequenzen“ angeklagt, teilte die Anklagebehörde am Donnerstag mit. Ihm drohen zwölf Jahre Haft. [Weiterlesen]

Second U.S. university cuts ties with China's Confucius Institute

01.10.2014 By Sharon Bernstein (Yahoo News) - A second major U.S. university in a week is severing ties with China's government-funded Confucius Institute, which critics call a propaganda arm wrapped in culture and language education.

Pennsylvania State University said Wednesday it would end its five-year relationship with the institute at the end of this year, citing differences with the Chinese government agency that controls and funds them.

On September 25, the University of Chicago also severed ties with the institute, saying a high-ranking official with the Hanban agency had told a Chinese language newspaper that the agency would prevail in ongoing negotiations with the university. [read more] - [tiếng Việt] - [s.a. Academic flap turns up heat on China's Confucius Institutes]

Hong Kong's Vietnamese Ex-Pats Show Support for Protesters

30.09.2014 Trung Nguyen (VOA) - Some Vietnamese citizens living in Hong Kong have expressed support for local protesters who want China to give the former British colony a fully democratic vote for its next leader.

Hang, who declined to give her last name for fear of repercussions for her family back in Vietnam, told VOA’s Vietnamese service that she and other fellow compatriots living in the territory have been following events closely.

Thuy, another Vietnamese who has worked in Hong Kong for years and did not want to give her full name, said the rallies have a message that is very similar to the aspirations of many Vietnamese. [read more]

Gefängnisstrafen für 15 nach Anti-China-Ausschreitungen in Vietnam

30.09.2014 (Tiroler Tageszeitung) -  Hanoi (APA/dpa) - Vier Monate nach den Ausschreitungen gegen chinesische Firmen in Vietnam hat ein Gericht 15 Menschen zu Gefängnisstrafen zwischen neun und 14 Monaten verurteilt. Die Verurteilten seien wegen Ruhestörung und Sachbeschädigung schuldig, sagte ein Sprecher des Gerichts in der Provinz Dong Nai bei Ho-Chi-Minh-Stadt am Dienstag.

Die Männer hatten aus Protest gegen eine chinesische Ölplattform vor der Küste von Vietnam mit tausenden Anderen im Mai demonstriert. [Weiterlesen]

Adleraugen auf das Südchinesische Meer

30.09.2014 Manfred Rist, Singapur (NZZ) - Die Vereinigten Staaten verstärken ihre Überwachung des Südchinesischen Meeres. Washington kooperiert dazu mit den Philippinen, benutzt eine Basis in Malaysia und normalisiert die Kontakte mit Vietnam.

Die Vereinigten Staaten und die Philippinen haben am Montag mit gemeinsamen Militärmanövern auf dem westlichen Zipfel des südostasiatischen Inselreichs begonnen. Schauplatz der Übungen, in denen amphibische Landungen im Vordergrund stehen, ist die Westflanke der Insel Palawan, die direkt an territorial umstrittene Gebiete im Südchinesischen Meer grenzt. An den zwölf Tage dauernden Manövern nehmen 3500 Marines und 1200 philippinische Soldaten teil. [Weiterlesen]

Penas de prisión para 15 detenidos durante las protestas antichina en Vietnam

30.09.2014 (Univision) - Bangkok (EFE).- Un tribunal vietnamita sentenció con penas de entre 9 y 14 meses de prisión a quince personas acusadas de "desorden público" durante los incidentes violentos del pasado mayo contra empresas china en el sur de Vietnam, en las que murieron al menos cuatro trabajadores chinos, publican hoy medios locales.

Los sentenciados fueron arrestados por las autoridades locales dentro de una de las empresas que habían atacado y admitieron las ofensas ante la Policía, indica la sentencia emitida el lunes por el tribunal del distrito de Nhon Trach, en la sureña provincia de Dond Nai. [seguir leyendo]

Japan eases visa rules for SE Asia

30.09.2014 (Bangkok Post) - Japan said Tuesday it has significantly relaxed its visa requirements for visitors from Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

The measure is part of the government's drive to increase the number of foreign tourists to 20 million a year by 2020 after hitting the 10 million mark in 2013.

Japan exempts applicants from the three countries from submitting documents showing their savings on condition that they have visited Japan in the past and also that they have made several trips to any of the Group of Seven industrialized nations other than Japan, according to a Foreign Ministry official.

The G-7 groups Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. [read more]

Can Vietnam’s Maritime Strategy Counter China?

29.09.2014 By Carl Thayer (The Diplomat) - Ever since Vietnam took delivery of two enhanced Kilo or Varshavyanka-class conventional submarines from Russia defense analysts have differed over how quickly Vietnam could absorb these weapons into its navy and create a credible deterrent force to China.

The answer to whether or not Vietnam can absorb submarines and create a credible deterrent is now becoming clearer with reports by diplomatic observers that Vietnam’s submarines are undertaking patrols along its coast. In addition, Vietnamese crews are currently undergoing training in undersea warfare doctrine and tactics at India’s INS Satavahana submarine center.

The views of defense analysts range from skeptical to cautiously optimistic about Vietnam’s ability to develop an effective counter-intervention strategy to deter China in Vietnam’s maritime domain. [read more]

The Five Weapons Vietnam Needs Most to Take on a Rising China

29.09.2014 By Kyle Mizokami (RealClearDefense 2014) - Military and political disputes with China are nothing new to Vietnam.

China and Vietnam have a shared border and shared history that go back thousands of years. And relations haven’t always gone the smaller country’s way.

Vietnam has been a vassal state and colony of China four times in the last two thousand years, starting in the 1st Century B.C. Yet Vietnam has been remarkably successful at preserving its national identity from political, economic, and cultural domination, in large part due to its willingness to take up arms against its bigger, stronger neighbor.

Vietnam has been watching the rise of China and preparing accordingly. According to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute data, Vietnam’s defense spending has risen from $796 million dollars in 1994 to $7.8 billion dollars in 2013, a nearly tenfold increase that has paced China’s own defense buildup. [read more]

What to Expect If the US Lifts Its Vietnam Arms Embargo

29.09.2014 By Ankit Panda (The Diplomat) - Last week, I had the pleasure of participating in a panel discussion at the Asia Society with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, who was in New York City to attend the United Nations General Assembly. During the Q&A portion of the event, Min called for the United States to lift its embargo on lethal arms sales to Vietnam, describing the embargo as “abnormal.” He went on to imply that relations between Vietnam and the United States will be normal once the ban is lifted.

Minh is heading to Washington D.C. in early October for discussions with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry while U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is scheduled for a trip to Vietnam later this year. [read more]

US, Philippines Launch Military Exercise Near Spratly Islands

29.09.2014 (VOA) - The Philippines and the United States have launched an annual military exercise in the South China Sea, near waters where China is engaged in bitter territorial disputes with its neighbors.

Around 5,000 sailors and Marines from both countries began 11-days of maritime maneuvers on Monday. The Philippine Bilateral Exercises, or "Phiblex" is designed to test the readiness of the two allies to respond to emergencies of any kind.

The two countries will practice boat raids, beach landings, live fire exercises and armored maneuvers near the Spratly islands and Scarborough Shoal, where China has been involved in a string of tense confrontations with rival claimants. [read more]

US Should Engage More Actively in South China Sea Issues

26.09.2014 By David Brown (Jakarta Globe) - When Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and US Secretary of State John Kerry meet in early October, China’s aggressive behavior in the waters of Southeast Asia will top their agenda. In the months leading up to the meeting, Washington’s foreign policy elite have been debating whether it is in America’s interest to get involved in the dispute. The strategic implications of letting China have its sway are too serious for the US to adopt a binary policy of going in all guns blazing or looking the other way. Kerry and Minh should work out a middle course that protects US policy autonomy while maintaining balance in the region.

China is a rising power and its cooperation is essential in efforts to contain terrorism, slow climate change, curb nuclear proliferation and so on. But the US cannot ignore China’s drive to establish hegemony over the seas that touch its shores. Cautiously in the East China Sea, where Japan, allied with the United States, is a formidable opponent, and confidently in the South China Sea, China has mounted a determined challenge to the international order expressed in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, UNCLOS, and the notion that territorial disputes should be settled, not by force, but by negotiation or arbitration. [read more]

Labor pact signed with Vietnam

26.09.2014 MD Rasooldeen (Arab News) - The Kingdom signed a five-year labor pact with Vietnam on Wednesday, which will see the Asian country send 400 domestic workers a month to Saudi Arabia.

Ahmed Al-Fahaid, deputy labor minister for international affairs, signed the agreement with Nguyen Thanh Hoa, deputy minister for labor, invalids and social affairs of Vietnam.

“Vietnam is the fifth country to enter into such an agreement after the Philippines, India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia,” Al-Fahaid said. There are about 3,000 domestic aides out of 15,000 Vietnamese workers in the Kingdom. [read more]

US and Vietnam to Discuss Curbing China’s Sea Claims

26.09.2014 Written by David Brown (Asia Sentinel) - Blocking China’s salami-slicing tactics on the South China Sea require region-wide cooperation

When Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and US Secretary of State John Kerry meet in early October, China's aggressive behavior in the waters of Southeast Asia will top their agenda. In the months leading up to the meeting, Washington’s foreign policy elite have been debating whether it is in America’s interest to get involved in the dispute.

The strategic implications of letting China have its sway are too serious for the US to adopt a binary policy of going in all guns blazing or looking the other way. Kerry and Minh should work out a middle course that protects US policy autonomy while maintaining balance in the region. [read more]

‘China has nothing to worry about’: Vietnam asks US to end arms embargo

25.09.2014 Associated Press in New York (South China Morning Post) - Vietnam said on Wednesday it wants to be able to buy weapons from the United States and that China should not be alarmed.

As relations between the US and Vietnam warm, America is moving closer to lifting a ban on lethal arms exports applied after the communist victory in the Vietnam War.

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh said it’s been nearly 20 years since Washington and Hanoi normalised relations, and so it’s “abnormal” to retain the ban. [read more]

Thawing ties: US and Vietnam forging closer relations

24.09.2014 (DW) - Territorial disputes with China have contributed to a shift in Vietnam's foreign policy. Hanoi is hoping that closer ties with Washington and a boost to its defense forces will deter Beijing, says analyst Gregory Poling.

Sino-Vietnamese ties have been tense ever since Beijing deployed a massive oil rig back in May in waters Vietnam claims as its exclusive economic zone. The installation of the rig triggered anti-China protests across the Southeast Asian country, which led to riots in several industrial zones. But while China withdrew the rig in July and a member of the Vietnamese Communist Party's powerful politburo visited Beijing in August in an effort to heal the rift, many analysts believe the recent spat has invigorated a faction in Hanoi which favors a diversification of economic ties and a strategic shift towards Washington. [read more]

Vietnam and China: Conflict over islands arouses Vietnamese patriotism

23.09.2014 By T.T. Nhu (San Jose Mercury News) - I lived in Hanoi from 2004 until 2009, down the street from the Chinese Embassy. Demonstrations were rare, if not forbidden by Vietnam's controlling government. That's why in December 2007, I was startled to see people gathered with banners outside the embassy protesting the disputed Paracel and Spratly Islands. The protests were quiet, somewhat half hearted. Security police were smoking, playing badminton, laughing and being generally inattentive.

Subsequent actions by China over the years have provoked greater reaction from increasingly aggravated Vietnamese worldwide. Even my artist and writer friends and relatives usually disdainful of politics became incensed and became sudden patriots hotly defending Vietnam's possession of the islands. [read more]

Code of conduct urgently needed for South China Sea: Dung

22.09.2014 (The Nation) - Peace and stability in the South China Sea is in the interest of China and the 10-member Asean regional grouping, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has said.

"Peace, stability and maritime safety and security are the shared concerns and interests not only of Asean but the Asian region, as well as international community," Dung said.

In a session with journalists from the Asia News Network (ANN), Dung also said there was a need to come up with a code of conduct on how to deal with the territorial disputes.

He stressed that the only way to do this is through "peaceful means" and "negotiations based on international news".

"Asean and China must take responsibility to resolve the dispute issue in order to ensure peace and security as well as freedom of navigation. We must accelerate the negotiation process on the COC [code of conduct] in order to solve the dispute," the prime minister said. [read more]

'Last Days in Vietnam’ and memories of Charles Phan

22.09.2014 By Leah Garchik (SFGate) - On Friday, the night “Last Days in Vietnam” opens at the Opera Plaza Cinema, documentarian Rory Kennedy will be here to attend a reception in her honor. The movie is about South Vietnamese who had to flee their country when the North took over, at the end of the Vietnam War. The reception will be at the Slanted Door in the Ferry Building.

The restaurant was the first in a considerable empire founded by Charles Phan, who was one of those South Vietnamese who fled. He was 13 years old on May 1, 1975, when his family left on a ship. “April 30 was the night that the North Vietnamese army took over the presidential palace,” he said. It had taken the North Vietnamese 50 days, he said, to end “a war that had lasted for 20 years.” [read more]

South China Sea conflict a real threat to Indonesia

20.09.2014 Fadli (Jakarta Post) - Indonesia has been warned that the territorial conflict over the South China Sea is a real threat that will sooner or later impact this country.

Chief of the Sea Security Coordinating Agency, Vice Admiral Desi Albert Mamahit, conveyed the warning during the opening session of a focus group discussion on maritime security early warning systems held in Batam, the Riau Islands province, earlier this month.

He said that the Indonesian waters around the Natuna Islands (Kepri) regency were not actually inside in the disputed territory, but they were very close to the area and China had not yet clarified whatever claims it would make regarding Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone (ZEE) around them. [read more]

Film Review: ‘Last Days in Vietnam’

20.09.2014 By Associated Press (Epoch Times) - There are many differences between America’s troubled exit from Iraq and its ramshackle retreat from Vietnam. But the U.S. flight from Saigon as seen in Rory Kennedy’s documentary “Last Days in Vietnam” has incredible, unmistakable resonance on the political, ethical, and military confusion that occurs when, after years of war, a faraway nation pulls up stakes. [read more]

Erinnerung an das Vietnam-Trauma wird wieder aktuell

20.09.2014 Frank Herrmann aus Washington (derStandard) - Eine Tochter Robert F. Kennedys hat fürs Kino die Flucht der Amerikaner aus Saigon dokumentiert. Der Film führt die Gefahr nicht zu Ende gedachter Militäroperationen vor Augen.

Kürzlich stand Rory Kennedy vor der Leinwand des E Street Cinema, eines Kinos in Washington, um ihren neuesten Film zu präsentieren.

Es geht um zwei dramatische Tage 1975, als die USA ihre Segel in Saigon streichen mussten. Ein Foto, das die Flucht vor den heranrückenden Nordvietnamesen illustriert, gehört seither zu den Symbolbildern der US-Geschichte. Auf dem Dach des CIA-Quartiers parkt ein Helikopter, während dutzende Menschen, viel zu viele, darauf warten, an Bord klettern zu dürfen. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnamese Leader Urges Citizens To Emulate Ho Chi Minh's Teachings

20.09.2014 (Bernama) - PHU THO -- Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang urged the people to emulate the teachings of former president Ho Chi Minh to help nation building and maintain sovereignty, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported.

Truong made the call at a ceremony on Friday marking 60 years since Ho visited the historical relic site of Hung Kings Temple in northern province of Phu Tho. [read more]

The US, Vietnam and Shifting Alliances in Asia

19.09.2014 Written by Khanh Vu Duc and Duvien Tran (Asia Sentinel) - It’s not only the US that should be worried about a Russia-China axis, but also Vietnam

The budding alliance between Russia and China may be redrawing old battles. The Soviet Union has long since collapsed, China has jettisoned much of its communist ideology, and the Soviet–Sino split has been relegated to another chapter of the Cold War. Certainly the frequency of Russia–China summit meetings suggests that these two countries have grown to become more than cordial neighbors.

In this second decade of the 21st century, Moscow and Beijing may, once more, have bonded over their opposition to a Western-led (specifically, US-dominated) world order. With the US especially vocal and active in imposing sanctions against Russia over the Ukrainian conflict, and the US’ strategic rebalance to Asia-Pacific seen as an attempt to contain China, it is no wonder that Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping have sought out one another. [read more]

South China Sea spat deflects attention from Vietnam’s real issues

18.09.2014 By Joe Buckley (Asian Correspondent) - Ask anyone, anywhere in the world, what the most important Vietnam-related issue has been over the past few months, and I bet that lots of them will say the South China Sea dispute. In May, China put an oil rig in disputed waters. Vietnam didn’t like that, so it all kicked off. Things seem to have calmed down a bit now, although recent reports suggest that tensions may well flare up again.

... And there’s a lot that’s been going on recently. For example, in June, the Law of Marriage and the Family was expected to be redrafted to include rights for same-sex couples. In a shock move, all the proposed revisions were removed at the last minute and replaced by a line declaring that Vietnam doesn’t recognise the rights of gay couples. Over the past few months, the local Saigon council has been passing more and more legislation to destroy the livelihoods of street sellers, which led to a big protest in the city’s major tourist area in July.

More recently, Do Thi Minh Hanh, an independent labour activist released from prison in June, was detained again, and had her passport taken away. Just a couple of weeks ago, the independent journalist Truong Minh Duc was brutally beaten up by state agents. A few days ago, hundreds of drug addicts escaped from a rehabilitation centre in northern Vietnam. [read more]

Ties with Vietnam, not against China: Prez

17.09.2014 Shekhar Iyer (Deccan Herald) - President Pranab Mukherjee who is winding up his four-day visit to Vietnam to be on time to receive his Chinese counterpart on Thursday, said New Delhi’s dealings with Hanoi should not be seen from the “prism” of relationship with any third country.

As a sign of warming up to receive Xi and remove any irritant on this account, Mukherjee also made it clear that India’s efforts to aid Vietnam in the search of oil and gas in the South China Sea were purely a “commercial activity” since 1988 and could not be linked any issue of sovereignity between the two countries. [read more]

Chinas Machtanspruch - Der nächste Weltkrieg könnte in Asien beginnen

12.09.2014 Von Sophie Mühlmann (Die Welt) - Das Pulverfass, das unser Weltgefüge sprengen kann, liegt in Asien mitten im Meer. Winzige Inselchen könnten einen Flächenbrand entfachen. Ein Angriff Chinas auf Japan ist mehr als düstere Fantasie.

Das Pulverfass, das unser gesamtes Weltgefüge auseinandersprengen könnte, liegt in Asien, mitten im Meer. Es sind kleine Inselchen, Sandbänke fast, kaum auszumachen auf den Karten. Ein Funken fehlt nur, um einen Flächenbrand zu entfachen, dessen Flammen bis weit über Asiens Grenzen schlagen könnten – und doch zündeln die betroffenen Mächte, was das Zeug hält, und spielen leichtsinnig mit dem Feuer, als gäbe es kein Morgen. Sie zanken um Territorien und Bodenschätze, um Handelsrouten, Fischgründe und vor allem um Macht. Wer hat das Sagen? Wer verliert sein Gesicht? Wer blinzelt zuerst. Kriegsspiele, die von einem Augenblick zum anderen bitterer Ernst werden können. [Weiterlesen]

Der ewige Hass

11.09.2014 Von Christoph Hein, Singapur (FAZ) - Chinesen und Japaner halten nichts voneinander. Die Mehrheit der Chinesen rechnet sogar mit einem Krieg. Die Vietnamesen hat noch keiner befragt.

Am Donnerstag sorgt eine Umfrage in Asien für Aufsehen: Die Mehrheit der Chinesen hält es für möglich, dass ihr Land mit Japan in einen Krieg eintreten werde. Auch 29 Prozent der Japaner erwarten eine militärische Auseinandersetzung. Schon seit längerem herrscht auch in Delhi die Sicht vor, ein nächster Krieg würde mit China um Wasserressourcen geführt. Während China und Indien aber gerade die Annäherung probieren (siehe die heutige Ausgabe der F.A.Z.), schaukelt sich der Konflikt zwischen Japan und China immer wieder hoch.

Der in beiden Länder geführten Erhebung zufolge erwarten 53,4 Prozent der Chinesen einen Krieg mit Japan. Mehr als ein Fünftel von ihnen rechnet damit in den nächsten Jahren. Die Befragung wurde erst kürzlich durchgeführt – auf japanischer Seite von der Nicht-Regierungsorganisation Genron, in China von der staatlichen Zeitung China Daily. Befragt wurden eintausend volljährige Japaner und 1539 Chinesen in fünf großen Städten. [Weiterlesen]

Asia arms up to counter growing Chinese might

11.09.2014 By Jack Chang - Associated Press (The Washington Times) - BEIJING - Vietnam has nearly doubled its military spending, Japan is requesting its biggest-ever defense budget and the Philippines is rushing to piece together a viable navy.

Several Asian nations are arming up, their wary eyes fixed squarely on one country: a resurgent China that’s boldly asserting its territorial claims all along the East Asian coast. [read more]

Vietnam, Vatican Explore Prospects of Restoring Full Ties

10.09.2014 (RFA) - Officials from Vietnam and the Vatican began two-day talks Wednesday on prospects of restoring full diplomatic ties as a respected local bishop acknowledged that “conflicts” between the government and church have decreased.

The two sides said the meeting in the Vietnamese capital was “to deepen and develop bilateral relations between Vietnam and the Holy See.”

Vietnam and the Holy See—the government of the Catholic Church— have not had formal diplomatic relations since Vietnam’s communist government took over in 1975, but have been working toward closer ties since resuming dialogue in 2007 with the establishment of a Joint Working Group. [read more]

Vietnam accuses China of beating fishermen

Beijing told to severely punish those involved and offer compensation after alleged incident near Paracel islands.

10.09.2014 (Al Jazeera) - Vietnam has accused Chinese authorities of beating several of its fishermen and demanded severe punishment for those involved in an incident that could increase tensions in a sea dispute between the communist neighbours.

Vietnam's Foreign Ministry posted a statement on its website saying a Vietnamese fishing vessel which was fishing near the Paracel islands on August 15 was intercepted by two Chinese speedboats, AP news agency reported on Wednesday.

The statement said the Chinese on the speedboats reportedly vandalised the fishing boat, confiscated property and beat the fishermen. [read more]

China testing southern waters for new world order