Politik - Demokratie (2015/1)

Deutsch-vietnamesische Beziehungen: "Man versteht sich einfach"

29.03.2015 Rodion Ebbighausen (dw) - Mit einem Deutschlandfest feierte die deutsche Botschaft am Samstag in Hanoi vier Jahrzehnte Partnerschaft mit Vietnam. Das Fest sollte ein erster Höhepunkt in einer langen Reihe von Veranstaltungen, Ausstellungen und Konzerten sein, die die Beziehungen würdigen. So wollten Botschaft, das Goethe-Institut und der Deutsche Akademische Austauschdiensts (DAAD) auf die Berührungspunkte zwischen Vietnam und Deutschland aufmerksam machen. Berührungspunkte, die wesentlich mit der Geschichte zusammenhängen.

Beide Länder waren geteilt, und beide Länder standen an vorderster Front im Kalten Krieg. Die gemeinsame Erfahrung von Teilung und Wiedervereinigung bildet bis heute eine Brücke zwischen Deutschland und Vietnam, meint Rabea Brauer von der Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in Hanoi: "Über diese gemeinsame Erfahrung entsteht viel Vertrauen. Man versteht sich einfach." Überhaupt sei das Bild von Deutschland und den Deutschen in Vietnam durchweg positiv. [Weiterlesen]

Philippines Dismisses China Concerns Over South China Sea Military Repairs

28.03.2015 By Manuel Mogato (Jakarta Globe) - Manila. The Philippines dismissed concerns by China over its plan to repair military facilities in South China Sea, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Saturday, insisting Manila has sovereign rights over territories in the disputed areas.

The possible repair “is no way comparable to China’s massive reclamation activities, which not only violate international law…but also unnecessarily raise regional tensions”, spokesman Charles Jose said in a statement.

“China’s recent statement expressing concern over what the Philippines plan to do should not distract us from the real issues in the South China Sea, which are China’s illegitimate ‘nine-dash line’ claim,” Jose said.

The South China Sea is believed to be rich in oil and gas. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan lay claim to parts of the sea, where about $5 trillion of ship-borne trade passes every year. [read more]

Indonesian president says China's main claim in South China Sea has no legal basis 23.03.2015 By Kanupriya Kapoor and Linda Sieg JAKARTA/TOKYO (Reuters)- Indonesian President Joko Widodo said one of China's main claims to the majority of the South China Sea had no legal basis in international law, but Jakarta wanted to remain an "honest broker" in one of Asia's most thorny territorial disputes. China claims 90 percent of the South China Sea, which is believed to be rich in oil and gas. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan lay claim to parts of the sea, where about $5 trillion of ship-borne trade passes every year. "So we support the Code of Conduct (of the South China Sea) and also dialogue between China and Japan, China and ASEAN." [read more] China needs to 'purchase' friendships, scholar says

19.03.2015 (Nikkei Asian Review) - BEIJING -- China's foreign policy scholars generally fall into two camps: "realists" and "liberals." The former tend to prioritize national interests and power. The latter are more ideological. And under the government of President Xi Jinping, the realists are said to have gained influence.

A leading voice on the realist side is Yan Xuetong, dean of the Institute of Modern International Relations at Tsinghua University. He recently spoke with The Nikkei about Xi's diplomatic policies toward Japan, members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the U.S. and the rest of the world. [read more]

PLA fears of 'Vietnamese invasion' halt Chinese city government's road construction project

19.03.2015 Stephen Chen (SCMP) - China’s People’s Liberation Army halted a city government’s road construction project on the border with Vietnam last month because of fears it could be used as a shortcut for a “Vietnamese invasion”.

If finished, the road would “definitely become a serious threat to national defence and security”, a PLA officer in charge of border affairs in Fangchenggang city, in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, was quoted as saying in Wednesday’s report China’s defence ministry website.

The two-lane road would have linked the village of Tansan, on the border with Vietnam, to the centre of Fangchenggang city, about 100km away.

No construction projects in the region can be launched in future without military approval, the report said. [read more]

After thirty years of Hun Sen, where is Cambodia now?

18.03.2015 Author: Vannarith Chheang, University of Leeds (East Asia Forum) - 2015 marks 30 years in power for Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. Hun Sen became prime minister in January 1985 at only 33 years old. He has consolidated his power base through charismatic leadership, paternalism, coercion and a system of patronage.

There are mixed views on Hun Sen’s leadership. It is essential to understand the national context to conduct a well-balanced assessment of Hun Sen’s achievements and shortcomings. Cambodia is a fragile country after nearly three decades of war and conflict. Social and political distrust, a potential source of political instability, remain deeply embedded in Cambodian political culture and society. [read more]

Tony Abbott defends $11bn cut to foreign aid during Vietnamese PM's visit

18.03.2015 Calla Wahlquist (The Guardian) - Tony Abbott has defended his government’s decision to cut Australia’s foreign aid budget by $11bn at a joint press conference with the Vietnamese prime minister, Nguyen Tan Dung.

Asked if he was embarrassed to explain Australia’s reduced aid budget to Dung, Abbott said Australia had made “modest reductions” but that remaining aid would focus on countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including Vietnam.

“Look, obviously it’s important for all countries to ensure that their own domestic economic house is in order, because if you don’t have your domestic economic house in order, it’s very difficult to be a good friend and neighbour abroad,” Abbott said. [read more]

Philippines Bolsters Arbitration Case Against China

17.03.2015 Simone Orendain (VOA) - MANILA— The Philippines on Monday sent more than 3,000 pages of additional supporting materials for its case with the Permanent Court of Arbitration that questions China’s claims in the South China Sea.

With this submission, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs added 12 more volumes to the already voluminous 4,000-page pleading it sent to the Court in The Hague a year ago.

Foreign Affairs Spokesman Charles Jose said the submission addresses concerns on the merits of the Philippines’ position and why the Philippines thinks the arbitration tribunal should have jurisdiction over the case. [read more]

US, China heading toward face-off, says Mearsheimer

16.03.2015 (Nikkei Asian Review) - TOKYO -- If China continues to grow economically and militarily, the possibility of armed conflict in Asia will grow as countries such as Japan and the U.S. step up their security efforts, says John J. Mearsheimer, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago.

The American scholar and author said he came to this conclusion after conducting copious research on how the world's great powers have behaved throughout history. In a recent interview with The Nikkei, Mearsheimer discusses the impact of China's rise, whether conflict is inevitable and how a confrontation can be avoided. [read more]

It turns out communist Vietnam loves capitalism more than the US does

13.03.2015 Patrick Winn  (GlobalPost) - HANOI, Vietnam — Americans weaned on war movies may imagine Vietnam as a dreary place where communist thought reigns supreme.

An authoritarian communist party controls Vietnam. It's true. But its founding ideology appears all but gone from the hearts of Vietnam's people. Vietnam, in fact, may actually be one of the most pro-capitalist countries on Earth.

Almost all Vietnamese people — 95% of them — now support capitalism, according to the Pew Research Center, which polled nearly 45 nations late last year on economic issues. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Hanoi setzt Denkmal

13.03.2015 (Der Farang) - HANOI (dpa) : Im Klima wachsender Spannungen zwischen den kommunistischen Nachbarländern China und Vietnam lässt Hanoi ein Denkmal für Soldaten bauen, die im Kampf gegen China gefallen sind.

Der Grundstein wurde am Freitag in Khanh Hoa in Zentralvietnam gelegt, knapp ein Jahr nach blutigen antichinesischen Ausschreitungen. Das Denkmal erinnert an eine Schlacht 1988.

Die vietnamesische Staatspresse hat immer sehr zurückhaltend berichtet. In diesem Jahr erinnerten Zeitungen aber erstmals an Grenzkämpfe mit China 1979. [Weiterlesen]

Philippine Justice Carpio Urges Diplomacy in S. China Sea Disputes

12.03.2015 By Basten Gokkon (Jakarta Globe) - Jakarta. A senior Philippine judge has called on government officials in other Southeast Asian states to persuade China that diplomacy is the best way to resolve border disputes in the South China Sea.

Justice Antonio T. Carpio, the senior associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, told the Jakarta Globe on Thursday that convincing China to comply with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) remained the biggest challenge in tackling the South China Sea disputes.

The UNCLOS states that coastal nations have the right to establish sovereignty over adjacent waters out to a maximum of 12 nautical miles, or 22.2 kilometers, from the nation’s coastline, including the coastline of offshore islands.

China, however, rejects the notion that the UNCLOS can be used to decide South China Sea sovereignty issues, which it maintains is at the heart of its dispute with the Philippines. [read more]

The Philippines and Vietnam Forge a Strategic Partnership

10.03.2015 By Carl Thayer (The Diplomat) - On January 30, the Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert del Rosario hosted his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Binh Minh in Manila for the inaugural meeting of the Joint Commission on Concluding a Strategic Partnership. According to a Joint Statement  issued after the talks, the two ministers agreed “on the basis of amity, equality, mutual respect and cooperation… to elevate the level and intensity of bilateral exchanges between the two countries.”

The bulk of the Joint Statement focused on the South China Sea and expressed concern “over the ongoing massive land reclamation activities that pose threats to the peace and stability in the region as well as to the lives of many people across the various coastal states.” Del Rosario and Minh agreed that the “concerned Parties” should adhere to the ASEAN-China Declaration on Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, conclude a Code of Conduct, exercise restraint, and resolve disputes peacefully in accord with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. [read more]

Why US should move beyond ASEAN in the South China Sea

09.03.2015 Walter Lohman (Nikkei Asian Review) - At a hearing of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee in late February, its new chairman, John McCain asked Director of Intelligence James Clapper about what he called "dramatic" satellite photos demonstrating Chinese construction in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. Clapper, in response, acknowledged the problem of China's "aggressive" pursuit of their "exorbitant claims."  He also described regional concerns as a "good thing because, in the end, the regional countries' strength is if they can act collectively."

At a hearing of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee in late February, its new chairman, John McCain asked Director of Intelligence James Clapper about what he called "dramatic" satellite photos demonstrating Chinese construction in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. Clapper, in response, acknowledged the problem of China's "aggressive" pursuit of their "exorbitant claims."  He also described regional concerns as a "good thing because, in the end, the regional countries' strength is if they can act collectively." [read more]

China aumenta su presencia internacional pero no busca un nuevo orden mundial

08.03.2015 (EFE) - Pekín - China va a potenciar su presencia internacional este año, incrementando su cooperación con Rusia y buscando un acomodo con Estados Unidos, pero no busca crear un nuevo orden mundial, según aseguró hoy su ministro de Asuntos Exteriores, Wang Yi.

Wang, en su conferencia de prensa con motivo del plenario anual de la Asamblea Nacional Popular (la única que ofrece cada año), defendió la acción de su país en la disputada zona del Mar de China Meridional. [seguir leyendo]

Vietnams Kommunisten-Chef besucht erstmals USA

06.03.2015 (Reuters) - Hanoi - Erstmals seit Ende des Vietnamkriegs vor 40 Jahren reist ein Kommunisten-Chef des südasiatischen Landes in die USA.

Der Besuch von Generalsekretär Nguyen Phu Trong sei für dieses Jahr geplant, sagte der US-Botschafter am Freitag in Hanoi, ohne einen genauen Termin zu nennen.

Die USA werfen Vietnam aber immer wieder Menschenrechtsverstöße vor. So kritisiert die Regierung in Washington etwa die nach ihrer Einschätzung willkürliche Festnahme von politischen Bloggern und Demonstranten. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam party chief to make U.S. trip, still at odds over human rights

06.03.2015 (Reuters) - Vietnam's Communist Party chief will visit the United States this year, Washington's ambassador said on Friday, in a landmark trip underlining a rapid strengthening of ties between former foes still at odds over human rights.

Nguyen Phu Trong would be the first party general secretary to visit the United States, which will also receive Vietnam's Minister of Public Security, who oversees a police force condemned widely for human rights abuses and suppression of government critics. [read more]

Power shifts in Vietnam’s political system

05.03.2015 Author: Le Hong Hiep, ISEAS (East Asia Forum) - In recent years the power of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) has increased dramatically. If this trend continues, it may bear important implications for Vietnam’s political outlook.

The Central Committee’s increasing power became evident in October 2012, when the Committee reversed an earlier decision by the Politburo to discipline Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung for his mismanagement of the economy. Then, in May 2013, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong endorsed Nguyen Ba Thanh and Vuong Dinh Hue, who headed the Party’s Commission of Internal Affairs and Commission of Economic Affairs respectively, as additional Politburo members. But the Central Committee elected two other candidates. [read more]

Aufrüstung und offensivere Aussenpolitik - China zeigt Zähne

04.03.2015 Matthias Müller, Peking (NZZ) - China setzt den eingeschlagenen Weg unbeirrt fort, das Militär weiter aufzurüsten. Die Nachbarländer dürften das offensive aussenpolitische Gebaren Pekings mit Sorge betrachten. In der Region gibt es zahlreiche ungelöste Grenzstreitigkeiten.

Kurz vor dem Beginn des Nationalen Volkskongresses (NPC) am Donnerstag ist durchgesickert, dass die chinesische Regierung die Militärausgaben im laufenden Jahr um nominal rund 10 Prozent erhöhen will. Geht man von einer prognostizierten Inflationsrate von 2,5 Prozent in diesem Jahr aus, dürfte der preisbereinigte Zuwachs mit 7,5 Prozent grosso modo dem erwarteten Wirtschaftswachstum entsprechen. [Weiterlesen]

Chinas Waffenausgaben gehen steil nach oben - Nachbarländer in Sorge

04.03.2015 (NZZ) - STOCKHOLM (awp international) - Der Wirtschaftsboom und die Sorge über die Übermacht des Westens haben Chinas Waffenausgaben in den vergangenen zehn Jahren in die Höhe schnellen lassen. Zwischen 2004 und 2013 sind die Ausgaben in der Volksrepublik nach Schätzungen um 170 Prozent gestiegen. «Wenn man ganz weit zurück bis in die Zeit nach dem Kalten Krieg um 1992 blickt, haben sie sich sogar versiebenfacht», sagte Sam Perlo-Freeman vom Sipri-Institut in Stockholm der Deutschen Presse-Agentur. Längst hat das Land damit seine Position als weltweite Nummer Zwei hinter den USA und vor Russland gefestigt.

«Ihnen ist mehr und mehr bewusst geworden, wie sehr sie hinter den westlichen Ländern hinterherhinken», sagte Perlo-Freeman. [Weiterlesen]

China rüstet kräftig auf: Militäretat soll um rund zehn Prozent steigen

04.03.2015 (Tiroler Tageszeitung) - Peking – Trotz Sorge in seinen Nachbarländern hat China eine kräftige Aufrüstung seiner Streitkräfte angekündigt. Die Militärangaben würden um «etwa zehn Prozent» steigen, kündigte die Sprecherin des Volkskongresses, Fu Ying, am Mittwoch auf einer Pressekonferenz in der Großen Halle des Volkes in der Hauptstadt Peking an. „Für ein großes Land wie China ist es nötig, dass es sich gut verteidigen kann.“

Die geplante Aufrüstung liegt in diesem Jahr zwar unter dem Niveau der beiden Jahre zuvor, allerdings deutlich über dem angestrebten Wirtschaftswachstum der zweitgrößten Volkswirtschaft der Welt. Peking wird nach Informationen der Deutschen Presse-Agentur in diesem Jahr ein Wachstumsziel von etwa sieben Prozent ausgeben.

Nachbarländer beobachten Chinas Aufrüstung seit Jahren mit Sorge. Mit vielen Ländern wie Japan, Vietnam und den Philippinen steht Peking im Streit um Territorien [Weiterlesen]

Analyse: Wettrüsten in Asien

04.03.2015 (Zeit) - Peking (dpa) - Chinas Muskelspiele alarmieren seine Nachbarn. Zwar tat die Sprecherin des Volkskongresses, Fu Ying, die starke Erhöhung der Verteidigungsausgaben um "etwa zehn Prozent" als völlig normal ab, doch verfolgen die Nachbarländer den Aufstieg der chinesischen Militärmacht mit großer Sorge.

Als Reaktion hat von Japan über die Philippinen und Vietnam bis nach Indien längst ein Wettrüsten begonnen.

Im Inselstreit hat China seit dem Asien-Pazifik-Gipfel (Apec) im November in Peking zwar eine "Charmeoffensive" eingeleitet, wie Sebastian Heilmann, Direktor des China-Instituts Merics in Berlin, sagt. Dennoch: "Die Nachbarn müssen sich in jedem Fall weiter Sorgen machen." Die Aufrüstung Chinas ziele auf Gleichrangigkeit oder Überlegenheit gegenüber allen potenziellen Gegnern - von Japan bis zu den USA. Das gehöre zum Konzept "umfassender nationaler Stärke", sagt Heilmann. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam’s Communists Conjure with the Internet

03.03.2015 By David Brown (Asia Sentinel) - The leaders of Vietnam’s Communist Party are groping for answers on whether Facebook is a mortal threat to the party’s grip on power or if it is a new opportunity to communicate with the country’s 90 million citizens. As the party begins a highly political year, with a possibly momentous Party Congress on the horizon), the Facebook phenomenon has risen high on its political agenda.

There is plenty that’s posted in the social media that rightly gives conservatives in the Politburo indigestion.  For example, as the popular former mayor of the city of Danang lay dying of leukemia in December, rumors swirled that in fact he had been poisoned by Chinese agents at the behest of the regime’s “pro-China faction.”

Just before that, an even more toxic story circulated to the effect that in a conclave with Chinese leaders in Chengdu in 1988, leaders of the same China faction agreed that Vietnam, in return for Chinese support, would become a de facto region of China. [read more]

China needs to 'purchase' friendships, scholar says

02.03.2015 Interviewed by Nikkei staff writer Ken Moriyasu (Nikkei Asian Review) - BEIJING -- China's foreign policy scholars generally fall into two camps: "realists" and "liberals." The former tend to prioritize national interests and power. The latter are more ideological. And under the government of President Xi Jinping, the realists are said to have gained influence.

China's traditional policy was to deal with economically stronger countries. But now there is only one country that is bigger economically than China -- the U.S. The remaining 200 countries have smaller economies.

A leading voice on the realist side is Yan Xuetong, dean of the Institute of Modern International Relations at Tsinghua University.

He recently spoke with The Nikkei about Xi's diplomatic policies toward Japan, members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the U.S. and the rest of the world: "The policy now is to allow these smaller countries to benefit economically from their relationships with China. For China, we need good relationships more urgently than we need economic development. We let them benefit economically, and in return we get good political relationships. We should purchase the relationships." [read more]

Vietnam Media Draws Ire for Not Probing Ex-party Chief's Riches

02.03.2015 Colin Nguyen (VOA) - Vietnamese have gone online to criticize the country's media for not investigating the lavishly decorated home of former party chief Nong Duc Manh.

A photo published online last month and later removed showed Manh sitting on a golden throne-like chair, elaborately carved with dragon heads for arms.

It has sparked heated debates on the Internet, including VOA's Vietnamese Facebook page, where one man wrote, “They dare not act as they might be scolded.”

More than 700 state-run newspapers in Vietnam have largely stayed mute on the topic. [read more]

Publication des actes (jamais prononcés) d’un colloque sur la souveraineté vietnamienne en mer de Chine méridionale

27.02.2015 (Églises d'Asie) - En 2011, à l’initiative de Mgr Paul Nguyên Thai Hop, responsable de la Commission ‘Justice et Paix’ de l’épiscopat vietnamien, une association catholique, le Club Paul Nguyên Van Binh, avait prévu d’organiser, le 17 septembre de cette année, un colloque intitulé : « Justice et paix en mer d’Orient ». Cette réunion, qui devait se tenir à Saigon, ... .. avait pour but d’informer un large public sur les prétentions expansionnistes de la Chine et les menaces qu’elles représentaient pour la souveraineté vietnamienne en mer de Chine du Sud. Mais, l’avant-veille de la date prévue, un bref communiqué du comité organisateur annonçait son annulation, une décision prise à la demande du Bureau des Affaires religieuses du gouvernement et de celui de Saigon.

L’évêque a précisé plus tard qu’il ignorait les raisons de cette annulation de dernière minute mais que de fortes pressions s’étaient exercées sur les responsables du colloque et, en particulier, sur les intervenants qui avaient été priés personnellement de ne pas participer à cette réunion. Plusieurs d’entre eux avaient été avertis qu’ils perdraient leur emploi s’ils maintenaient leur participation. A Saigon, des agents de la Sécurité publique avaient directement téléphoné à de nombreuses personnes pour exiger d’elles qu’elles se tiennent à l’écart de cette manifestation. [en savoir plus]

China’s nine-dash line still infringes international law

27.02.2015 Authors: Huy Duong, and Tuan Pham, UNSW (East Asia Forum) - Suggestions that China could claim historic fishing rights within the nine-dash line misinterpret international law. While Sourabh Gupta’s arguments, outlined in a recent Forum article, relating to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Articles 62 and 123 have been disputed elsewhere, we argue that his argument regarding Article 56 is also incorrect.

The exclusive economic zone (EEZ) regime is outlined in UNCLOS Article 56, which states that a country has within its EEZ ‘sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing […] natural resources’. UNCLOS and its subsequent interpretations imply that the right of exploitation is exclusive, as the name implies: other countries can participate in the exploitation of this country’s EEZ only with its agreement. When a country becomes an UNCLOS signatory it gives up any claims to any rights to fish within other countries’ EEZs, regardless of historical fishing activities. In return the country gains the exclusive right to fish in its own EEZ. [read more]

U.S.: China is expanding its South China Sea outposts

27.02.2015 (Mainichi) - WASHINGTON (AP) -- China is expanding its outposts in the South China Sea to include stationing for ships and potential airfields as part of its "aggressive" effort to exert sovereignty, the U.S. intelligence chief said Thursday.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper was speaking at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on worldwide threats. His comments underscore U.S. concern over land reclamation activities that could fuel tensions between China and its neighbors over disputed islands and reefs.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies last week said Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan have over the years modified existing land masses in the South China Sea, and the Philippines is planning to upgrade an airport and pier on an island it occupies. But among the claimants, China is unusual in how it has been "dramatically changing the size and structure of physical land features," the think tank said. [read more]

El jefe de la inteligencia de EE.UU. está preocupado por los avances marítimos de China

27.02.2015 (euronews) - Washington (EFE).- El director nacional de Inteligencia de EEUU, James Clapper, mostró hoy su preocupación por los avances de China en zonas marítimas frente a sus vecinos, especialmente con las islas artificiales que está creando como plataformas aéreas.

En una audiencia del comité de Fuerzas Armadas del Senado, Clapper dijo que China está adoptando un papel “muy agresivo” en el Mar de China Meridional con la construcción de islas artificiales en atolones anteriormente deshabitados, algo que es “una tendencia preocupante”.

En opinión de Clapper, ejemplos como la transformación del arrecife de Hughes, en el disputado y remoto archipiélago Spratly (Nansha en chino), demuestran la intención de China de consolidar su expansión marítima con la construcción de aeródromos. [seguir leyendo]

U.S. flies most advanced surveillance plane from Philippines

26.02.2015 By Manuel Mogato (Reuters) - MANILA - The United States has begun flying its most advanced surveillance aircraft, the P-8A Poseidon, out of the Philippines for patrols over the South China Sea, the U.S. Navy said on Thursday, acknowledging the flights for the first time.

The United States, the Philippines' oldest and closest ally, has promised to share "real time" information on what is happening in Philippine waters as China steps up its activities in the South China Sea.

China claims most of the potentially energy-rich South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping claims. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

South China Sea And Indonesia’s New Maritime Strategy – Analysis

26.02.2015 By Dr. Subhash Kapila (Eurasia Review) - Strategically responding to China’s conflict escalation in South China Sea, newly elected President Widodo announced Indonesia’s New Maritime Strategy in November 2014.

Globally, Indonesia’s emergence as a maritime power of consequence in relation to both the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean would be widely welcomed by the United States, Japan, Australia and India. With maritime security synergy already in evidence in the region between these Indo Pacific Powers, the addition of like-minded maritime posture by Indonesia would significantly add to their combined maritime weight and capabilities.

it can be observed that upgradation of Indonesia’s maritime posture and capabilities were a long overdue process. Indonesia wasted years neglecting this imperative on a misreading of Chinese intentions in the South China Sea. President Jokowi has taken the bold step of initiating the process of modernisation and expansion of Indonesia’s naval capabilities which can be hoped would restore a strategic balance not only in the South China Sea but also in the Indian Ocean eastern segment. [read more]

The Philippines and Vietnam: Strategic Partners?

26.02.2015 By Julio S. Amador III and Jeremie P. Credo (The Diplomat) - Hanoi and Manila are looking to elevate their relationship further in 2015.

The idea of a strategic partnership became stronger during the oil rig row between Vietnam and China. In June 2014, China’s National Petroleum Corporation deployed a giant oil rig near the Paracel Islands, in the waters claimed by Vietnam as part of its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). This unilateral action by China led to a confrontation between Chinese and Vietnamese government vessels, as well as violent anti-China riots in Vietnam that forced thousands of Chinese to flee the country. Adding fuel to the clash was the arrest of six Vietnamese fishermen by Chinese naval ships in disputed waters. These standoffs led to a diplomatic rift between the two states.

The Philippines is the only claimant state in the SCS to have filed an arbitration case against China’s historic claims. In support of this move to promote a rules-based approach in solving maritime disputes, Vietnam submitted its position on this arbitration case to the international tribunal last December 2014. [read more]

General Pete Piotrowski Says U.S. Alerted North Vietnamese before Bombing Strikes-Authorship Confirmed!

26.02.2015 (TruthOrFiction.com) - Retired U.S. General Pete Piotrowski wrote in his book that the U.S. government alerted the North Vietnamese government about its bombing targets ahead of time.

In the book, General Piotrowski also said former Secretary of State Dean Rusk said, “All we wanted to do is demonstrate to the North Vietnamese leadership that we could strike targets at will, but we didn’t want to kill innocent people. By giving the North Vietnamese advanced warning of the targets to be attacked, we thought they would tell the workers to go home.”

On May 22, 1964, Rusk warned North Vietnam in a speech before the American Law Institute in Washington, D.C.: [read more]

Philippine authorities seize Vietnamese vessel for suspected weapons smuggling

26.02.2015 (IHS Jane's 360) - The Philippine Navy (PN) and Bureau of Customs (BOC) have seized an 84-m Vietnamese cargo vessel suspected of weapons smuggling in the country's southern island province of Sulu.

The PN's director of public affairs, Commander Lued Lincuna, told IHS Jane's on 26 February that the cargo vessel, An Bien 89 , was arrested together with three local boats in an early morning operation on 23 February off Pata Island. [read more]

La mort mystérieuse d’un haut cadre communiste

25.02.2015 (Églises d'Asie) - « De mémoire d’homme, jamais, dans la ville de Danang, des obsèques n’avaient rassemblé une telle foule. » Telle est l’observation que l’on pouvait lire dans la presse officielle au lendemain des obsèques de l’ancien secrétaire communiste de la ville, Nguyên Ba Thanh. Celui-ci était surtout connu de la communauté catholique pour le rôle qu’il avait joué dans ...

... la destruction programmée de la petite paroisse de Côn Dâu. Mais le grand public et l’opinion internationale le connaissaient surtout comme le promoteur talentueux du développement de Danang et, plus encore, comme le responsable la toute-puissante commission « Nôi Chinh », chargée d’enquêter et de sanctionner, y compris par la peine capitale, les faits de corruption au sein de la nomenklatura. [en savoir plus]

Controversial Vietnamese Photo Taken Offline After Backlash 23.02.2015 Colin Nguyen (VOA) - One of Vietnam's top daily newspapers has removed a photo, reportedly taken inside the gold-plated home of a former party chief, after it sparked outcry on social networks. The controversial photo, published by Tien Phong (The Vanguard), shows Vietnam’s former Communist Party boss Nong Duc Manh sitting on a golden throne-like chair, elaborately carved with dragon heads for arms. The image went viral on Vietnamese blogs, sparking heated debate on the morality of Vietnamese officials. Blogger Huynh Ngoc Chenh, the former managing editor at Thanh Nien, one of the most popular newspapers in Vietnam, said the public is shocked at the luxury seen in the photo.

Social activist Le Hien Duc, well-known as the “anti-corruption grandma”, said “He is a retired party boss. Why is he so rich? Where does his money come from? I think there are more people like him out there, but have not been exposed yet. There are definitely more," [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Chinas Diplomatie mit dem Bagger 20.02.2015 Autor Rodion Ebbighausen (DW) -  Bomber-Pisten im Südchinesischen Meer? Das Südchinesische Meer ist zurzeit nicht in den Schlagzeilen, aber die Ruhe täuscht: China setzt immer stärker auf den Bau künstlicher Inseln, um im Territorialstreit mit seinen Nachbarn Fakten zu schaffen. Seit Sommer 2014 arbeitet China am "Fiery Cross Reef" am westlichen Rand der Spratly-Inselgruppe. Experten des Zentrums für Internationale und Strategische Studien in Washington (CSIS) und der Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) vermuten, dass China dort eine Landebahn baut. Mit rund drei Kilometern Länge wäre sie auch für Langstreckenbomber vom Typ H-6 geeignet. [Weiterlesen]

Lunar New Year a Struggle for Many Vietnamese

19.02.2015 Tra Mi (VOA) - As Vietnamese celebrate the lunar New Year, which they call Tet, many are cutting back on spending because of economic concerns.

Residents of northern, central and southern provinces told VOA that while the country may look like it is doing better economically, ordinary people are struggling.

Duy, a resident of Ho Chi Minh City, said the economic gap between rich and poor is large and hides the struggles many endure. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

China to project power from artificial islands in South China Sea

19.02.2015 By Greg Torode, Hong Kong - (Reuters) - China's creation of artificial islands in the South China Sea is happening so fast that Beijing will be able to extend the range of its navy, air force, coastguard and fishing fleets before long, much to the alarm of rival claimants to the contested waters.

Reclamation work is well advanced on six reefs in the Spratly archipelago, according to recently published satellite photographs and Philippine officials. In addition, Manila said this month that Chinese dredgers had started reclaiming a seventh.

Beijing has rejected diplomatic protests by Manila and Hanoi and criticism from Washington over the reclamation, saying the work falls "within the scope of China's sovereignty". [read more]

Vietnamese media make rare move to commemorate war with China

17.02.2015 (dpa) - Hanoi - State media in Vietnam made a rare move of marking the anniversary of a border war with China Tuesday with a series of news articles describing the battles of Vietnamese guerillas.

China invaded Vietnam's northern provinces on February 17, 1979 after Vietnamese troops ousted the Beijing-backed Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. The short conflict claimed tens of thousands of lives on both sides and ended with Chinese forces withdrawing and both Hanoi and Beijing claiming victory.

"February 17 1979 is the painful day for our nation," prominent economist Le Dang Doanh said on his Facebook page.

"When the two countries normalized relations in 1991, China asked Vietnam not to mention this date. That is why we have no official activities to celebrate this event today." [read more]

Vietnam Plays Up US Invitation to Communist Party Chief

17.02.2015 Tra Mi (VOA) - Vietnam's state-run media this week featured articles touting an invitation for Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to visit the United States and China this year.

The reports said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made the invitation during a Saturday phone call with his Vietnamese counterpart, Pham Binh Minh.

The news came after Trong received a similar invitation from China’s President Xi Jinping.

In a statement, a U.S. State Department spokesperson confirmed the invitation but said Kerry was only repeating a long-standing offer to host Trong for a visit. [read more]

Hollande se rendra au Vietnam et en Corée du Sud en 2015

16.02.2015 (Zaman France) - François Hollande a annoncé lundi dans un discours à l'Elysée devant des associations asiatiques qu'il se rendrait en 2015 au Vietnam et en Corée.

Le président français, qui célébrait le début de l'année lunaire, a également annoncé la venue prochaine en France des Premiers ministres indien et syngapourien. [en savoir plus]

Le nouveau cardinal de Hanoi salue l’attention du pape François pour une Eglise qui a souffert

13.02.2015 (Églises d'Asie) - A la veille de son élévation au cardinalat, l’archevêque de Hanoi, Mgr Pierre Nguyên Van Nhon, a confié à l’agence I.Media que son entrée dans le collège cardinalice le 14 février 2015 était un signe « de reconnaissance et d’attention particulière » du pape François à l’égard d’une Eglise « qui a vécu des temps difficiles ». ... . Confiant ses impressions, il a par ailleurs confessé être à la fois « surpris » et « heureux » de sa nomination.

« Ma nomination en tant que cardinal est une belle nouvelle pour l’Eglise du Vietnam qui a vécu des temps difficiles », explique ainsi le prélat de 76 ans. « C’est une forme de reconnaissance et d’attention particulière du pape pour nous », se réjouit Mgr Pierre Nguyên Van Nhon alors que le Saint-Siège et le Vietnam travaillent de longue date à un rapprochement diplomatique. [en savoir plus]

Popular Vietnamese communist party official dies

13.02.2015 (Bangkok Post) - HANOI - A widely admired senior figure in Vietnam's ruling communist party, Nguyen Ba Thanh, who enjoyed rare personal popularity in a nation better known for bureaucratic apparatchiks, died Friday from cancer, an official said.

The 61-year-old was the former top official in central Danang, and helped transform the coastal city into a tourism and investment hub by cutting corruption and red tape.

"He died Friday of cancer. We tried our best but he could not make it," Luong Minh Sam, an official at the Danang People's Committee told AFP. "The people of Danang will always love him for his great contributions to this city," he added.

Some critics said he ruled Danang like "a dictator" and there were some allegations of corruption, but Thanh's supporters strongly rejected both claims.

Thanh was transferred to Hanoi by the party in 2013 but had not enjoyed much success in his new position as head of the party central committee's internal affairs commission, analysts said. [read more]

“What happens to the people left behind?”: Rory Kennedy on her Oscar-nominated “Last Days in Vietnam”

13.02.2015 Elias Isquith (Salon) - Filmmaker tells Salon about a complicated, overlooked moment in U.S. history, and its implications for the future.

War is a terrible thing. This is a truism and a cliché, of course, but it’s one that we usually apply to what the experience of actually being in a war is like. Or we use it as an argument against taking the idea of warfare lightly. Sometimes, less honorably, we use the phrase to show off our machismo and dedication. The point is, we think of the evil of war almost always on the front end — before the war and during the war. But part of what makes war such an awful thing, such a malevolent force, is the way its destruction ripples through time and space, often far beyond our expectations, and sometimes beyond our full understanding.

That’s the story behind “Last Days in Vietnam,” the Academy Award-nominated 2014 documentary from filmmaker Rory Kennedy.

Salon spoke over the phone with Kennedy about the film, its inspiration, what it can tell us about today’s conflicts [read more]

Vietnam’s migrant labourers - Going to debt mountain - Working abroad is no bargain

14.02.2015 (The Economist) - BROKERS’ billboards outside Tan Lieu, a poor rural community in northern Vietnam, advertise “Labour Export”—jobs abroad. Vietnam’s youthful population of 90m adds up to 1.5m each year to the growing work pool. But economic growth, at 6%, is not fast enough to keep all of them employed. Dreaming of fortune, young Vietnamese are pouring overseas as maids, builders and factory workers.

Once, Vietnamese sought to work in the Soviet Union and its satellites. Today the prime destinations are Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia and South Korea. Since 2005 the number of Vietnamese working abroad on labour contracts has nearly doubled, to about 500,000. The $1.6 billion that migrants send home each year helps a bit to bridge a yawning wealth-gap between rich and poor provinces.

Futaba Ishizuka, a researcher at the Institute of Developing Economies in Japan, says the government lacks the political will to regulate the labour agencies, which are often unlicensed affiliates of state-owned enterprises. [read more]

Chinese adversaries were the most active state-sponsored cyberthreat groups last year

11.02.2015 By Maria Korolov (CSO Online) - Chinese adversaries were the most active state-sponsored cyberthreat groups last year, according to report released today by CrowdStrike, but it was Vietnam, not the U.S., that was its top target.

A group CrowdStrike code-named "Goblin Panda" targeted the country because of ongoing disputes over territorial rights in the South China Sea.

Last May, a Chinese state-owned energy company deployed an oil rig in Vietnamese territorial waters, close to the Paracel Island, which are claimed by both countries. This resulted in clashes between ships belonging to the two countries, protests in Vietnam, and an increase in Chinese cyberattacks against Vietnamese government agencies. [read more]

How Vietnamese rap got political

11.02.2015 Video journalist: Greg Brosnan (BBC) - Vietnam is a communist state where it's not always easy to criticise the government.

But a young Vietnamese rapper studying in the United States has launched a scathing criticism of the state using rap music. With more than 200,000 views on YouTube, it has struck a chord back home. [read more]

Why China wants to make Japan 'tremble'

10.02.2015 By Katsuhiko Meshino (Nikkei Asian Review) - TOKYO -- China appears to be planning to conduct a military parade in Beijing on Sept. 3 to mark the 70th anniversary of what it calls Victory over Japan Day.

Although Beijing has not made any official announcements, local media reports suggest preparations are underway.

The decision was undoubtedly politically motivated, and the People's Daily -- the Communist Party's official mouthpiece -- offered clues as to what motivated Beijing to break precedent. In an article on its website, the paper said the parade will serve four purposes: demonstrate China's military might; make Japan tremble and show the world China's resolve to protect the postwar global order; heighten national pride by showing the military to the people of China and unifying them in their faith in the country; and demonstrate to "corrupt elements" that the party and the people -- the "hilt of the nation's sword" -- maintain a firm grip on the military.

Beijing's real targets may in fact be Vietnam and the Philippines, which are in disputes with China over islands in the South China Sea, and Taiwan, which is slated to hold a presidential election in 2016. [read more]

The current of discord on the Mekong

07.02.2015 Author: Nhina Le, George Mason University (East Asia Forum) - Trouble may be brewing on the Mekong. The cumulative socio-political and environmental impact of dams on the Mekong raises serious cause for concern. There is a race to the bottom to secure economic growth from a burgeoning hydropower boom in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Meanwhile, China’s increasingly dominant control of water to the north is causing problems with its neighbours.

China’s increasingly dominant role in controlling upper Mekong waters has worsened relationships with its neighbours. Vientiane and Phnom Penh are building dams based on the assumption that China will allow more water to flow during the dry season. But China can theoretically release or stop releasing water if and when it pleases. A lack of transparency about water management has led China’s neighbours in Southeast Asia to believe that water control may not only serve China’s water needs but also be utilised as a form of coercion over them. [read more]

Hanoi activists launch viral campaign

06.02.2015 By Michael L. Gray (The SecDev Foundation) - For the first time ever in Vietnam, political activists are using viral social media marketing techniques to express dissent online. A brazen campaign has seen dozens of people in Vietnam post selfie photos to their personal Facebook pages holding signs reading “I don’t like the Communist Party of Vietnam.” A Facebook fan page for the campaign was set up on 7 January 2015 and drew thousands of likes and shares. Social media in Vietnam continues to challenge the state’s dominance of the mainstream press and its ability to shape public opinion. On 4 January 2015, this took a new form with what appears to be Vietnam’s first-ever ‘viral’ social media protest campaign. Activist La Viet Dung posted a simple self-portrait holding a printed page that read “I don’t like the Communist Party of Vietnam.” Another activist, Nguyen Lan Thang, soon followed this example, and also posted photos of a street demonstration held on 7 January 2015 in Hanoi, with several dozen people all holding signs that included the “I don’t like” phrase. [read more]

‘Nipped and Tucked’ from Translation: Censorship in Vietnam

One author experiences the thoroughness of Vietnam’s censors

06.02.2015 By Helen Clark (The Diplomat) - Censorship in Vietnam is a common topic for the foreign press and rights organizations like Human Rights Watch or the Committee to Protect Journalists. Though both have done good and painstaking work, what gets out to the public is often a macro look at censorship: the locking up of bloggers or blocking of various websites. The quotidian nature of much censorship within Vietnam is bypassed for broader brushstrokes.

Thomas Bass, writing in the Washington Post, has given an in-depth, almost blow-by-blow look into the censorship of his Vietnamese-language translation of his biography of Vietnamese spy Pham Xuan An. To understand this, a little about An’s life must first be explained. [read more]

Vietnam’s Arrests of Executives for ‘Economic Crimes’ Seen as Selective

06.02.2015 (RFA) - The Vietnamese government for the first time has said it “has no choice” but to arrest businesspeople for committing “economic crimes,” although it is widely believed in Vietnam that selective law enforcement is motivated by Communist Party politicians who use businesspeople as pawns in their internal squabbles, sources familiar with the situation said.

When asked at a government press briefing on Jan. 30 why about why many entrepreneurs had been arrested in recent months, a high-ranking official said, “Even though we don’t want that, we have no choice.”

Nguyen Quang A, former director of the Institute of Development and Studies, a nongovernmental policy-oriented research organization in Hanoi, told RFA’s Vietnamese Service that such arrests are politically motivated “because behind those rich entrepreneurs are the big brass who sponsored them.” [read more]

Vietnam ‘hurt’ by Senate bill commemorating ‘Black April Day’

05.02.2015 Kim Mackrael, Ottawa (The Globe and Mail) - The Prime Minister of Vietnam has written directly to Stephen Harper to register his concern over a private member’s bill that would declare April 30 an official day to commemorate the exodus of South Vietnamese refugees after the fall of Saigon.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung warned in his letter that the bill presents a distorted version of Vietnam’s history and could damage the bilateral relations both countries have worked to build. [read more]

Japan says South China Sea security impacts national interests

04.02.2015 (The Asahi Shimbun) - Security in the South China Sea, claimed almost wholly by China, impacts Japan's interests and could warrant a rethink of military patrol aircraft deployments, the defense minister said after a U.S. Navy officer said Washington would welcome a Japanese presence in the region.

Regular patrols by Japanese aircraft only reach into the East China Sea, where Japan and China are embroiled in a sovereignty dispute over a group of islands. Extending flights into the South China Sea would almost certainly increase tension between the world's second- and third-largest economies.

"We currently do not patrol there or have a plan to do so, but we are deepening our cooperation with the U.S. and the situation in the South China Sea has an impact on our national security, and we are aware that we will need to consider our response," Defense Minister Gen Nakatani told reporters on Feb. 3. [read more]

Vietnam’s concerted effort to keep control of its past

01.02.2015 By Thomas A. Bass (The Washington Post) - Five years ago I began an experiment — not of my own devising — to study censorship in Vietnam. In 2009, I signed a contract to publish one of my books in Hanoi. Called “The Spy Who Loved Us,” the book tells the story of Pham Xuan An, Vietnam’s most celebrated journalist during the Vietnam War. (He ended his career as bureau chief for Time magazine in Saigon.) Only after the war did we learn that An had received a dozen military medals as a communist spy and served as North Vietnam’s deadliest secret weapon.

One might think that a book about a “Hero of the People’s Armed Forces” would be published in Vietnam without difficulty, but nothing is published in Vietnam without being censored...

Known events were excised from Vietnamese history: the Gold Campaign of 1946, when Ho Chi Minh paid a large bribe to the Chinese to get them to retreat from north Vietnam; the failed land reform campaigns of the 1950s; the exodus of the “boat people” after 1975; the 1978 war in Cambodia; the 1979 border war against China. The nam tien, the historic southward march of the Viets, in which they worked their way down the Annamite Cordillera, occupying territory formerly held by Montagnards, Chams, Khmers and other “minority peoples,” was cut. An’s last wishes, that he be cremated and his ashes scattered in the Dong Nai River, disappeared. They were replaced by a scene describing his state funeral, with the eulogy delivered by the head of military intelligence. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam: Open Secrets on the Road to Succession

30.01.2015 Written by Jonathan London (Asia Sentinel) - 2016 is a crucial year. Jockeying is going on behind the scenes

The normally opaque Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam has made a public splash with its recently concluded 10thCentral Committee plenum. The stakes are high and carry implications not only for Vietnam’s development but also for the strategic outlook of the entire region. So what exactly is going on?

The excitement centers on the issue of leadership succession and attendant struggles for power. In 2016 the Communist Party will hold its 12th party congress and before it does, it must choose a new crop of leaders. Several members of the country’s 16-member Politburo are scheduled to retire. After the congress, the top four positions in Vietnam’s politics – those of party general secretary, prime minister, state president, and chair of the national assembly – will have new occupants. Which individuals and coalitions will prevail and in what combination is the question at hand. [read more]

Philippines Warns ASEAN Over China Island Reclamation

29.01.2015 (Epoch Times) - MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines has urged fellow Southeast Asian nations to demand that China immediately stop its land reclamation in contested South China Sea reefs, warning the 10-nation bloc’s credibility may be undermined if it remains silent on the issue.

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario told Association of Southeast Asian Nations ministers that China’s massive reclamations, which all appear “to be near completion as portrayed by available photos,” could threaten freedom of navigation and the region’s biodiversity.

China’s neighbors are also concerned that the reclaimed areas, which now are Chinese-controlled territories farthest from its mainland, could be used by Beijing as offshore military bases and resupply and refueling hubs to reinforce its territorial claims. [read more]

Interview: Vietnam Has Problems That Citizens Should Stay And Solve

28.01.2015 (RFA) - On Jan. 26, 2015, dissident Vietnamese journalist and blogger Doan Trang returned to Vietnam after visiting the United States, but was detained by security forces for 15 hours at the Tan Son Nhut airport in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon. Following her release, RFA reporter Chan Nhu interviewed her at a friend’s house in the city, where she was waiting to take another flight to Hanoi.

Q:  Congratulations on your return unscathed to Vietnam! Many people are surprised that you have decided to return home at this time, however.

A:  Thank you! I went to the U.S. on a scholarship granted by the University of Southern California. This scholarship lasted until the end of 2014, so I returned when it ended. Of course, I could have remained in the U.S. for a longer time, but I missed Vietnam very much, and I prefer to live in Vietnam.

I think, as a journalist and a writer, that Vietnam is the country where I have my strongest bond … In fact, one has more things to write about in a society that has so many issues. I always tell my writer and journalist friends in the U.S. that if they are a writer, they should be in Vietnam. I tell them, “If you want to see a society in a dark era—‘in turmoil,’ as people say—and if you want to witness people’s lives and many other stories, you should go to Vietnam to live and write.’ [read more]

Vietnam: Politische Stabilität trotz geschwächter Regierung

28.01.2015 (www.fondscheck.de) - Wiesbaden - Makroökonomisches Missmanagement und eine Reihe von Korruptionsskandalen haben die Regierung von Nguyen Tan Dung geschwächt - die politische Stabilität und Kontinuität Vietnams ist bislang aber nicht gefährdet, so die Experten von Credimundi.

Denn trotz eines jährlichen Vertrauensvotums der Nationalversammlung, dem sich Spitzenpolitiker seit dem Jahr 2013 stellen müssten, gebe es bislang keine Sanktionen für das aktuelle Kabinett. Die Regierung stehe jedoch vor großen Herausforderungen: Die Differenzen zwischen dem konservativen und dem reformorientierten Flügel innerhalb der Kommunistischen Partei (KPV) würden zunehmen.

Credimundi stufe das politische Risiko Vietnams als niedrig ein (2 auf einer Skala von 1 bis 7). Das Geschäftsrisiko werde als hoch bewertet (C auf einer Skala von A bis C). [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam: „Das war fast wie ein Tsunami“

27.01.2015 (Radio Vatikan) - Sechs Tage hat Kardinal Fernando Filoni in Vietnam verbracht – und wurde dort empfangen wie ein Papst. Einen Tag nach seiner Rückkehr in sein römisches Büro ist der Präfekt der vatikanischen Missionskongregation noch voller Eindrücke.

„Die Ortskirche hat mich nicht nur sehr gut aufgenommen, sie hat all meine Erwartungen noch übertroffen. Die vietnamesische Kirche ist wirklich reich an Berufungen, sowohl bei Männern wie bei Frauen, und ich habe den Eindruck, dass die Priester gute Arbeit leisten und ausgesprochen engagiert sind. ...

So euphorisch das klingt – noch längst nicht alles ist eitel Sonnenschein zwischen dem Vatikan und Vietnam. Jahrzehntelang waren die diplomatischen Beziehungen unterbrochen (so wie heute noch zwischen dem Vatikan und China); einen im Land residierenden Nuntius gibt es noch nicht, und die Katholiken im Land haben unter vielen Einschränkungen zu leiden. Priesterseminare dürfen, dies nur als Beispiel, jedes Jahr nur eine bestimmte Anzahl an Priesteramtskandidaten aufnehmen, und das Büro für religiöse Angelegenheiten bemüht sich, auf Anweisung der kommunistischen Partei, um eine lückenlose Kontrolle aller Aktivitäten der Katholiken. [Weiterlesen]

The threat over Mekong

25.01.2015 By Theodoros Benakis (New Europe) - Laos has limited possibilities of exploiting natural and mineral resources since it lacks the necessary infrastructure. It seems the only possibilities for development are related to tourism and energy.

However, without any serious tourism infrastructure, Laos is unable to make the most of some of Asia’s most beautiful natural treasures like the Mekong River.

Fewer than 10 years ago, Laos had made clear it prefers revenue from energy over tourism. However, the problem is that these two possibilities are not compatible since the construction of dams is essential for the production of electricity but will damage the environment of the Mekong area and will cause an economic and ecological disaster.

In Cambodia, the river is the main source of income for six million people. In Vietnam, the river affects the life of 20 million people. [read more]

Hammer und Sichel am Mekong

25.01.2015 Von Wilfried Arz (Eurasisches Magazin) - Kontroverse Staudammprojekte. Wachsender Einfluss der Nachbarn Vietnam und China. Südostasiens Entwicklungspläne haben Laos aus dem sozialistischen Dornröschenschlaf gerissen. Energie und Rohstoffe versprechen eine bessere Zukunft und bereiten der marxistischen Regierung neue Probleme.

Vier Jahrzehnte nach seiner Staatsgründung (1975) drücken das Land drei Problemkreise: Interessenkonflikte zwischen Laoten und Minderheiten, Entwicklungsunterschiede zwischen Nord und Süd, sowie Kompetenzgerangel zwischen Zentralregierung und Provinzen. [Weiterlesen]

Youths from Asia Pacific unite in the fight against corruption

23.01.2015 By Maud Salber (Transparency International) - Young people constitute a sizeable portion of the Asian Pacific population and tend to be particularly exposed to bribery and corruption as students, pupils, workers, customers and citizens. But young people can play a pivotal role in the fight against corruption, in Asia Pacific and beyond.

While people from the older generation tend to see corruption as an inevitable and acceptable fact of life, young people are more open to wide-scale socio-political transformation and can help change attitudes and build zero-tolerance for graft and bribery. In a Youth Integrity Survey conducted in Asia Pacific last year by Transparency International, almost nine in 10 respondents said they believed youth can play a role in promoting integrity and fighting corruption.

From 4 to 10 January 2015, 33 youths from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Vietnam and the Philippines gathered at the first ever International Youth Camp on Youth Empowerment for Transparency and Integrity (YETI) in Siem Reap, the land of the temples of Angkor, Cambodia, to learn and exchange on the negative impact of corruption in their countries and across the region, and brainstorm how they could combat the scourge together. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

China expands construction work in disputed Spratly waters

23.01.2015 By Naoji Sshibata (The Asahi Shimbun) - Beijing appears to have made steady advances in the construction of port and other facilities in disputed waters in the South China Sea, according to photographs obtained by The Asahi Shimbun.

The aerial photos of the area were taken in October. The Philippines and Vietnam also lay claim to much of the potentially resource-rich Spratly archipelago.

One of the photos shows reclamation work at the Gaven Reefs, located 390 kilometers northwest of Palawan Island in the southern Philippines. [read more]

Vietnam fails to deliver on its education promise

23.01.2015 By Helen Clark (Asian Correspondent) - In 2011 I wrote a brief piece for the Economist’s now sadly departed language blog ‘Johnson’. Headlined “I am English Teach” (how an English teacher described her occupation to me on a bus once) it outlined the problem of language teaching: Vietnam wanted English taught through primary school and penalised teachers who could not pass English exams, but was unable to provide the resources for them to do so. This is just one of many problems in the nation’s education system, which has not been thoroughly reformed in decades.

According to this Google employee high school kids can pass the Google test and are better at computer science than their American counterparts. At the same time Vietnam has won many robot building competitions for university students in Asia, beating developed tech-heavy nations like Japan and Korea and Vietnam is ranked 17 out of 65 countries b the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) in maths and science. Other areas do not do so well and often it is the corruption – students must pay for extra classes and good grades to supplement their teachers’ tiny incomes – that is the biggest killer. [read more]

Cardenal Filoni en Vietnam: Siguiendo al Papa Francisco, reforzar la misión entre los no cristianos

23.01.2015 De Nguyen Hung (AsiaNews) - Hanói (AsiaNews)- Reforzar el camino de la Evangelización y el compromiso misionero de la Iglesia local, llevando la bendición y la cercanía del Papa Francisco que mira con particular atención al país y a su pueblo. Es este el espíritu que anima la primera visita pastoral del card. Fernando Filoni, Prefecto de la Congregación para la Evangelización de los Pueblos, en Vietnam; el purpurado llegó al país asiático el 19 de enero pasado y concluirá su misión el domingo 25.

En el curso de la semana él tiene en programa encuentros con el representante pontificio no permanente, mons. Leopoldo Girelli, con obispos, sacerdotes, fieles y autoridades locales. Entre las varias celebraciones, reviste un significado particular la misa de ayer por la tarde en el santuario nacional mariano de La Vang, durante la cual el cardenal confió a la Virgen la evangelización en el país asiático. [seguir leyendo]

Vietnam: Beeindruckt von einer quirligen Kirche

22.01.2015 (Radio Vatikan) - Zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe: Kardinal Fernando Filoni ist nach der Papstreise durch Sri Lanka und auf die Philippinen nicht mit Franziskus nach Rom zurückgeflogen. Stattdessen besucht der Präfekt der Missionskongregation Vietnam, wo die Christen 400 Jahre Evangelisierung feiern. Der Vatikan setzt große Hoffnungen auf eine weitere Verbesserung seiner Beziehungen zum Regime von Hanoi; was jetzt mit Vietnam gelingt, könnte doch eines Tages dann auch mit dem (ungleich größeren) Chinas möglich sein, so lautet die Rechnung. Etwa zehn Prozent der Vietnamesen sind Katholiken, erläutert Kardinal Filoni im Telefoninterview mit Radio Vatikan.

„Das ist eine ausgesprochen lebhafte Kirche. Sehr schön, sehr lebendig, anhänglich, enthusiastisch. In einer Pfarrei im Bistum Hung Hoa habe ich über zweihundert Erwachsene getauft; das sind zum großen Teil die Angehörigen von Stämmen aus den Bergen im Grenzgebiet zu Laos und China. [Weiterlesen]

Vatican cardinal meets with Vietnamese political leaders

22.01.2015 (Catholic World News) - Cardinal Fernando Filoni, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, met with Vietnamese government officials as he continued a pastoral visit to the Asian country.

Cardinal Filoni, along with Hanoi’s Cardinal Nguyen Van Nhon, met with Pham Quang Nghi, a Hanoi government official and member of the country’s Communist Party leadership. [read more]

Oil price boost for Indo-Vietnam ties

22.01.2015 By Sadhavi Chauhan (Asia Times Online) - While Indo-Vietnamese energy cooperation dates back to 1988, when India' s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) received exploration rights for Block 06.1, ties became complicated in 2011 with China warning countries "outside the region" to stay away from the South China Sea.

Notably, not only did New Delhi ignore these warnings but also continued to hold on to Block 128 that China claimed to be lying in its territory and put out for global bidding in 2012. Vietnam instantaneously promised India that it would extend full security to the Indian oil companies operating in its exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea.

More recently, Hanoi reiterated its desire to retain an Indian presence in the region by declaring that Petro Vietnam (PVEP) would acquire 50% equity in Block 128. This reduces the risk quotient for ONGC, which until now had a 100% stake in the contested block. [read more]

Vietnam: Beeindruckt von einer quirligen Kirche

22.01.2015 (Radio Vatikan) - Zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe: Kardinal Fernando Filoni ist nach der Papstreise durch Sri Lanka und auf die Philippinen nicht mit Franziskus nach Rom zurückgeflogen. Stattdessen besucht der Präfekt der Missionskongregation Vietnam, wo die Christen 400 Jahre Evangelisierung feiern. Der Vatikan setzt große Hoffnungen auf eine weitere Verbesserung seiner Beziehungen zum Regime von Hanoi; was jetzt mit Vietnam gelingt, könnte doch eines Tages dann auch mit dem (ungleich größeren) Chinas möglich sein, so lautet die Rechnung. Etwa zehn Prozent der Vietnamesen sind Katholiken, erläutert Kardinal Filoni im Telefoninterview mit Radio Vatikan.

„Das ist eine ausgesprochen lebhafte Kirche. Sehr schön, sehr lebendig, anhänglich, enthusiastisch. In einer Pfarrei im Bistum Hung Hoa habe ich über zweihundert Erwachsene getauft; das sind zum großen Teil die Angehörigen von Stämmen aus den Bergen im Grenzgebiet zu Laos und China. [Weiterlesen]

Vatican cardinal meets with Vietnamese political leaders

22.01.2015 (Catholic World News) - Cardinal Fernando Filoni, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, met with Vietnamese government officials as he continued a pastoral visit to the Asian country.

Cardinal Filoni, along with Hanoi’s Cardinal Nguyen Van Nhon, met with Pham Quang Nghi, a Hanoi government official and member of the country’s Communist Party leadership. [read more]

Vietnam’s careful dance with the superpowers

21.01.2015 Author: Phuong Nguyen, CSIS, Washington DC (East Asia Forum) - US–Vietnam military relations have improved remarkably in recent years but talk of an enhanced alliance between Washington and Hanoi overlooks important geopolitical and historic nuances. Defence relations between the two countries turned a page in the early 2000s, when both countries moved beyond the legacy of the Vietnam War. Both countries began to actively explore new ways to work together...

While Vietnam understands its vulnerabilities with respect to China, its leaders remain ambivalent about the US security umbrella in the region. This is manifest in the country’s ‘Three-Nos’ defence policy: no military alliances, no foreign military bases on Vietnamese territory, and no reliance on any country to combat others. [read more]

Vietnam government turns to social media to ‘guide opinion’

20.01.2015 By Helen Clark (AsianCorrespondent) - If there were two certainties to life in America – death and taxes – then there is one in foreign news coverage of Vietnam: censorship. Whether it is the locking up of many dissidents or the occasional release of one, the blocking or unblocking of social media sites or a brief release upon never-quite-stated strictures, it is as inevitable as typhoons are during Autumn on the country’s central coast.

The latest news? Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has publicly said that the government should use social media to engage the populace. Banning it is impracticable. Banning Facebook, specifically, is not about to happen he said last week, according to the AFP.

The PM’s statements shouldn’t be taken as a sign of an increasingly free Vietnam, but simply of an out-of-date government realising years too late it needs to better manage its messages. [read more]

Vietnam Shows China Its Resolve With Military Poster

20.01.2015 By Edward Wong (The New York Times) - The billboard sat in a leafy park east of the old presidential palace in the center of Ho Chi Minh City, near several other posters that, among other things, celebrated the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Army of Vietnam. This one had a white dove flying across a blue background with a long red ribbon in its beak. To the dove’s left was a red flag with the hammer and sickle, the symbol of the Communist Party. To its right was the national flag of Vietnam — a red banner with a yellow star.

The slogan, in Vietnamese, said, “Stay strong. Keep safe the rights of the oceans and islands of Vietnam.”

“I cannot imagine that protecting the bien dao would be understood as anything less than direct reference to Hoang Sa and Truong Sa — and, since last May, the E.E.Z. — to the vast majority of Vietnamese,” said Jason Morris-Jung, a visiting research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, using the Vietnamese names for the disputed Paracel and Spratly archipelagos.

“But I would be careful of reading too much into these signs,” he added. “If anything, they show that socialist realism is still alive and kicking in Vietnam,” he said, referencing the style of art developed in the Soviet Union. [read more]

Jane Fonda Regrets Vietnam Photo: "It Was a Huge, Huge Mistake"

19.01.2015 by THR Staff (The Hollywood Reporter) - Jane Fonda regrets the way her infamous Vietnam photo made her appear anti-troop, calling it a "huge, huge mistake.".

Fonda, 77, made the statement during an appearance in Maryland on Saturday that drew scores of protesters, including roughly 50 military veterans, according to a report by the Frederick News-Post. The protesters carried copies of the 1972 photo — showing Fonda sitting on an anti-aircraft battery and wearing a helmet — as well as signs that read, "Forgive? Maybe. Forget? Never."

It hurts me and it will to my grave that I made a huge, huge mistake that made a lot of people think I was against the soldiers.” [read more]

Can Vietnam have its cake and eat it?

Diplomatic test for Hanoi as it seeks to build on 20 years of ties with the US and 65 years with China

17.01.2015 Kristine Kwok (SCMP) - Anh Chi is no stranger to demonstrations. Since 2011, the Vietnamese freelance blogger, 41, has taken to the streets of Hanoi for various causes. In a country where such activism is strictly suppressed, harassment is guaranteed. But the harshest treatment, he says, occurs when he is involved in anti-China protests, an increasingly popular cause amid rising tensions over the Communist neighbours' maritime sovereignty disputes in the South China Sea.

When the two countries mark the 65th year of their bilateral ties tomorrow, growing distrust between the two governments and their peoples will not only put the "brotherhood" to the test but will also see intricate diplomatic maneuverings as Hanoi prepares to celebrate another important anniversary later this year - 20 years of diplomatic relations with the United States.

Complicated geopolitical considerations will require Vietnam to tread a fine line by keeping both China and the US at comfortable distances without compromising either relationship, analysts say. [read more]

Vietnamese Political Blog Creates a Stir

15.01.2015 Colin Nguyen (VOA) - A blog with an anonymous author has emerged as a popular source for behind-the-scenes information on Vietnamese politics.

Portrait of Power, or Chan Dung Quyen Luc, has attracted nearly 14 million visits since its launch a month ago. It publishes documents and photos alleging massive corruption among some cabinet members and their relatives.

Pham Chi Dung, chairman of an independent group of reporters, said he thinks politicians are rattled by the blog – and by its unclear provenance.

With media under scrutiny from state watchdogs, Vietnamese increasingly are turning to social media in search of unconfirmed news that is not covered by mainstream press, said blogger Huynh Ngoc Chenh, a former journalist at the state-run newspaper Thanh Nien. [read more]

Online rumor mills could create political chaos

14.01.2015 (Nikkei Asian Review) - HO CHI MINH CITY -- Vietnamese are increasingly turning to social media and what some call "mystery blogs" for information not covered by the mainstream press. And so it was that, late in the evening of Jan. 9, people gathered at Da Nang International Airport in the hope of witnessing the homecoming of an anti-corruption crusader after receiving medical treatment in the U.S....

Finally, on the night of Jan. 9, video footage uploaded to Facebook showed cars with blue government plates, as well as an ambulance, heading from the airport to a Da Nang hospital. 

The man at the center of all this attention is Nguyen Ba Thanh, who served as the central city's top official from 2003 to early 2013.

Social media such as Facebook and mystery blogs will undoubtedly be used as tools in the fight for power leading up to the selection of the new Politburo. The sites will leak information focusing on certain individuals, distracting the public from pressing national issues. Interestingly, while access to the personal websites of activists and dissidents is restricted, there do not seem to be any firewalls blocking access to the mystery blogs. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Chinese Dominance Spreads Across South China Sea

06.01.2015 Written by David Brown and Bronson Percival (Asia Sentinel) - China wants to expand its maritime frontier. This goal has tremendous popular support at home. Expansion is, however, bound to test US resolve to sustain the status quo on the western rim of the Pacific. It is also bound to challenge the independence of China’s East Asian neighbors, even if China seeks only deference rather than dominance. For now, Beijing appears to have decided on small steps where it holds the tactical advantage: in the South China Sea that sweeps south from Hainan to Singapore.

The pattern of Chinese expansion has become obvious. Forget the notion of China’s “peaceful rise” – the lietmotif of Chinese diplomacy well into the first decade of this century. Since Beijing reasserted a claim to 80 percent or more of the world’s largest enclosed sea in 2009, China has nibbled its way steadily south. Chinese coast guard and fisheries management vessels are out in front, but the paramilitary glove covers the iron fist of the Peoples Liberation Army Navy. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam looks for renewal in an intensely political 2015

06.01.2015 Author: David Brown (East Asia Forum) - Vietnam will begin 2015 on a fairly sound economic footing. The national economy has largely recovered from Hanoi’s ill-advised efforts to mitigate the impact of the 2009 Great Recession. That sobering experience exposed structural weaknesses which, left unfixed, could condemn Vietnam to languish in a middle-income trap, unable to realise the potential of its relatively young and well-educated population.

2015 will be an intensely political year. The Vietnamese Communist Party’s 12th Congress will convene in January 2016 to renew the nation’s leadership. Aspirants to top positions are already canvassing district and provincial party organisations for support. For the most part, it’s the usual snake oil: you support me and I’ll take care of you. Patronage is the lifeblood of the Party.

The 12th Party Congress could be exceptional. Analysts are already debating if postponement of a Central Committee plenum scheduled for early-December 2014 signals disarray. When the Congress convenes a year from now, 10 of the Politburo’s 16 members will have reached retirement age. Among those eligible for promotion to the Politburo and to top government positions, there are sharp differences in policy orientation. [read more]