Clinton pushes Vietnam on human rights progress – AP
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday urged Vietnam to improve its human rights record but also pledged greater cooperation in dealing with the lingering impact of Agent Orange from the Vietnam War.
In Hanoi to mark the 15th anniversary of normalized U.S.-Vietnam relations, Clinton praised her hosts for their "extraordinary, dynamic population" and said it "is on the path to becoming a great nation with an unlimited potential." To fulfill that promise, though, she said the communist government must ease curbs on free speech and political activity. "That is among the reasons we expressed concern about arrest and conviction of people for peaceful dissent, attacks on religious groups and curbs on Internet freedom," she said in her opening comments at a joint news conference with Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem.
Ahead of her visit, human rights groups and U.S. lawmakers called on Clinton to raise the cases of jailed imprisoned dissidents, democratic and religious activists and bloggers with Vietnamese officials. "The government of Vietnam's desire to reap the benefits of the global economy must be matched by efforts to respect comprehensive human rights," a bipartisan group of 19 members of Congress wrote to Clinton on July 15.
Clinton did not say if she had raised those cases but said the Obama administration wanted to work with Vietnam "to support efforts to pursue reforms and protect basic rights and freedoms." But how much Vietnam is willing to cooperate on that was unclear as Khiem said he thought the subject is "a difference between Vietnam and the U.S."
"Human rights have common values but ... it depends a lot on the cultural and historical background," he said. He noted that President Barack Obama has said human rights values shouldn't be imposed from the outside.
Later, at a lunch hosted by the local American Chamber of Commerce, Clinton raised human rights again, calling it a "profound difference" between the U.S. and Vietnam even as trade and commerce have increased exponentially since relations were normalized in 1995, during her husband's administration.
"It is true that profound differences exist, particularly over the question of political freedoms," she told the audience. "The United States will continue to urge Vietnam to strengthen its commitment to human rights and give its people an even greater say over the direction of their own lives."
At the same time, Clinton said the U.S. does not see its relationship with Vietnam as rooted in differences or in memories of the past. "We have learned to see each other not as former enemies but as actual and potential partners, colleagues and friends," she said. "We will continue to choose engagement and cooperation over escalation and division."
Clinton recalled her first visit to Vietnam in 2000, when she accompanied then-President Bill Clinton on a trip shortly before he left office. That trip was the first by a sitting U.S. president to Vietnam since the war ended in 1975. She said they had not known what to expect but were overwhelmed by the friendly welcome they received from the Vietnamese people. "Everywhere we went we felt the warmth and hospitality of the Vietnamese people. For us, it had a profound impact," she said.
In her comments with Khiem, Clinton also promised to continue working with Vietnam on the consequences of Agent Orange. The U.S. military sprayed roughly 11 million gallons of the defoliant over large swaths of southern Vietnam between 1962 and 1971. Dioxin, a toxic chemical used in the herbicide, has been linked to cancers, birth defects and other ailments. Vietnam says as many as 4 million of its citizens were exposed to the herbicide and as many as 3 million have suffered illnesses caused by it. A joint panel of U.S. and Vietnamese policymakers, citizens and scientists has urged Washington and other donors to provide $30 million annually over 10 years to clean up sites still contaminated by dioxin. Clinton said she and Khiem had discussed "the concern that both Vietnam and the United States have about Agent Orange and the consequences it produced in the people here." "We have been working with Vietnam for about nine years to try to remedy the effects of Agent Orange," Clinton said. She promised to "increase our cooperation and make even greater progress together."
Clinton concerned about rights in Vietnam – UPI
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, meeting with Vietnamese leaders Thursday in Hanoi, expressed concern about the status of human rights in the country. She said she voiced her concerns during a meeting with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem, citing the jailing of democracy activists, attacks on religious groups and curbing Internet social network sites, The New York Times reported. "Vietnam, with its extraordinary, dynamic population, is on the path to becoming a great nation, with unlimited potential," Clinton said during a news conference with Khiem. "That is among the reasons we expressed concern."
Khiem said human rights were rooted in cultural and historical circumstances, citing what he said was a comment by President Obama that human rights not be imposed from outside, among other things, the Times said.
Vietnam publishes human rights magazine – AP
Vietnam, often criticized by Western governments and international groups for its poor human rights record, has published the first issue of a human rights magazine to help counter what it calls "erroneous and hostile allegations," state media reported Thursday. The official Vietnam News Agency quoted Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem as praising the country's major achievements over the past 25 years following reforms that push Vietnam to exercise better human rights. "Hostile forces, however, have constantly abused the issues of democracy, human rights, religion and ethnic minorities to slander, distort and interfere in our development," Khiem was quoted as saying. The foreign minister said the monthly magazine would serve as one of the sources of information to disseminate the ruling Communist Party and state's policies on human rights and help people inside and outside the country to understand "protecting human rights is the nature of our regime." Khiem said the magazine will also help to "fight erroneous and hostile allegations."
Vietnam considers any form of dissent a threat that could potentially overthrow the Communist government. Hanoi has targeted dissidents within in the country along with Vietnamese living overseas, especially activists living in the U.S., branding some organizations as terrorist groups. The U.S., European Union and international human rights groups have often criticized Vietnam for jailing religious and pro-democracy dissidents who peacefully raise their voices. Last month, Google criticized Hanoi for passing new regulations requiring public Internet sites to install software that could potentially block access to some websites and monitor user activity.
Vietnam's one-party system does not tolerate any form of dissent, and the government often uses vague national security laws to imprison anyone who challenges its rules publicly or on the Internet. The U.S. has labeled Vietnam as one of the world's worst offenders of religious freedom and has continually called for the government to allow citizens to express themselves without fear of reprisal. Over the past year, Vietnam has jailed nearly 20 pro-democracy activists.
Vietnam urges SE Asia to consider nuclear power use – Reuters
July 22 (Reuters) - Vietnam called on Southeast Asian countries on Thursday to consider using nuclear power for peaceful purposes as Asia faces rising energy needs to fuel economic growth. The countries should "promote cooperation on planning and energy policy to ensure security of energy supply and demand, extraction and conversion, transport and distribution of oil and gas", Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said in the opening speech to a meeting of ASEAN energy ministers. He urged members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to "consider the possibility of cooperation in using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes as a source of alternative low-carbon and sustainable energy".
The call followed a proposal by Russia to help Southeast Asian countries build nuclear power plants and develop its use. Several countries in the 10-member ASEAN such as Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia have plans to build or are moving forward with building nuclear power plants to tackle electricity shortages. Along with Russia, senior energy officials from Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand are in Dalat this week for a series of meetings.
Dung said ASEAN needed to step up research and promote projects on a regional power grid and a trans-ASEAN gas pipeline to ensure support on electricity, oil and gas in the bloc. Cooperation in trade and investment in the field of clean coal technology transfer to meet fast-growing demand for the fossil should be promoted among ASEAN members, he said. ASEAN members should also cooperate closely on the use of renewable energy sources, with a target to bring it to 15 percent of total energy consumption by 2015, he added.
Vietnam chairs ASEAN activities in 2010. ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam
Vietnam's Vice Defence Minister Nghien visits Singapore - Channelnews asia
The Vietnam People's Army Chief of General Staff and Vice-Minister of National Defence, Colonel-General Nguyen Khac Nghien, called on Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean on Tuesday. Col-Gen Nghien is in Singapore for an introductory visit from July 19 to 22. The Ministry of Defence (Mindef) said he also met Chief of Defence Force, Lieutenant-General Neo Kian Hong and visited the SAF Underground Ammunition Facility and Changi Naval Base.
Col-Gen Nghien will call on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana on July 22.
Mindef said both countries signed a Defence Cooperation Agreement in September 2009, reflecting their commitment towards enhancing bilateral ties through closer defence cooperation. It said Col-Gen Nghien's visit highlights the warm and growing bilateral defence relations between Singapore and Vietnam.
New Zealand, Vietnam agree on Action Plan - Xinhua
New Zealand and Vietnam have agreed to an ambitious Action Plan to guide the bilateral relationship over the medium term, Foreign Minister Murray McCully announced on Thursday. McCully who is in Hanoi, Vietnam, for a range of regional meetings, signed the Action Plan during a bilateral meeting with Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem.
Last year New Zealand and Vietnam agreed to elevate the relationship to one of Comprehensive Partnership in recognition of the importance of the relationship to both countries, McCully said in a statement."The Action Plan identifies specific initiatives across a range of areas such as trade and investment, aid, education, science and technology, trans-boundary cooperation, and collaboration in regional and international organizations. "Vietnam is a close and valued partner for New Zealand both bilaterally and within Asia more broadly, where we share the common objective of working to ensure the long term peace and stability of the region," said McCully.
The New Zealand foreign minister is also attending the ASEAN- New Zealand Post Ministerial Conference; the ASEAN Regional Forum; East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' consultations, and the South West Pacific Dialogue meeting.
India eyes BP Vietnam stake – PTI
India is pitching to buy British energy giant BP Plc’s stake in the $1.3-billion Nam Con Son gas project in Vietnam.
Oil minister Murli Deora today flew to the Vietnamese capital with the heads of Indian oil firms to lay a claim on BP’s stake in two offshore gasfields, a pipeline and power project — together called Nam Con Son.
“This is a great opportunity for us. The gasfields were originally allocated to us but because of the foreign exchange crisis of 1990s, we had to farm out (give away) some stake to BP. We will like to get that back,” Deora said ahead of his meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and government-run PetroVietnam.
BP is considering the sale of fields in Colombia, Venezuela and Vietnam to meet the $20-billion clean-up bill of the worst US spill. It had in June announced a $10-billion asset sale programme to pay the costs of compensating victims of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill caused by the blowout of the Macondo well in April. China’s CNOOC and Sinopec, as well as Thailand’s PTTEP may also be interested in BP’s stake in Vietnam’s largest gas project.
ONGC Videsh, the overseas arm of state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, already has a 45 per cent stake in the offshore gasfields where BP has 35 per cent. The balance is with PetroVietnam.
A 370-km pipeline ships the gas produced from the fields to onshore power plants. BP has a 32.33 per cent stake in the $565-million pipeline, where its other partners are ConocoPhillips (16.7 per cent) and PetroVietnam (51 per cent).
The gas produced from the fields is supplied to a 720MW power plant where BP, NI of Japan and Semb Corp of Singapore have a 33.3 per cent stake each.
Oil secretary S. Sundareshan said India was interested in taking over BP’s stake in all the segments of the Nam Con Son project.
While OVL along with state-owned Oil India Ltd may take over the BP stake in the gasfields, gas utility GAIL (India) Ltd is interested in the British energy giant’s stake in the pipeline. GAIL and refiner Indian Oil Corporation can together manage the power plants.
Vietnam rice growers face low prices as exports down –AFP
Over-production and lower exports have left rice farmers in Vietnam's Mekong Delta holding on to their stocks
in the face of lower prices, analysts say.Vietnam is the world's second-largest exporter of rice and the Delta accounts for more than half of the country's production. But surpluses, the beginning of the wet season, and a shortage of places for drying wet rice are adding up to heavy potential losses, says Vo Tong Xuan, an internationally-recognized rice expert. He fears Vietnam will lose one million tons of the grain this season.
The country hopes to sell about six million tons on the international market in 2010, a figure similar to last year's, but shipments fell in the first half. Between January and June Vietnam exported more than three million tons, down 8.76 percent on the same period a year earlier, according to official statistics. Export value for the period fell only 1.32 percent, which Xuan said indicates that shippers received a good price. The farmers, however, did not fully benefit from those proceeds.
Xuan, based in the Delta province of An Giang, said farmers may have over-produced this year on an expectation of earnings after state-owned VinaFood assured them the Philippines would buy in bulk. But the Philippines had not yet confirmed all its purchases, Xuan said, while other buyers like those in Europe were betting on fresh falls in the price and delaying their orders.
Le Van Banh, director of the Mekong Delta Rice Research Institute, notes that competition from other exporters including India and Pakistan leaves less room for Vietnamese grain abroad, while at home "we have an abundance of rice so the prices are relatively low." Bags of rice piled on the porch of Dang Thi Bay's house in Tien Giang province symbolize the problem. With prices down she is not rushing to sell her 15 tons (16.5 tons) of stock. "If we take into account the fertilizer price and the costs of production, selling now would bring a loss. It is too cheap," says the mother of five."We're waiting for the price to go up, but don't know how long that will be," Bay says at her home in Phu Nhuan commune.
For one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of paddy—unmilled rice—she can get between 3,200 and 3,300 dong (about 18 cents) from a local processor. That is a drop from 4,000 to 4,200 dong last year.
Bay has started growing a new crop and says she can keep her current stock for two months before rainy-season humidity could take its toll. She fears losing her harvest.
To help farmers, the government has announced preferential loans to local businesses for buying up to one million tons of rice. They have been asked to purchase one kilogram at a minimum price of 3,500 dong, according to Vietnamese media.
In Phu Nhuan, just down the road from Bay's house, Ngo Thi Thanh Thuy works in a family trading business, buying paddy from neighboring farmers, milling it and selling to markets. "We are still buying because certain families in difficult situations keep selling, but we are having problems reselling it," she said. In normal times the paddy is milled in the morning and resold in the afternoon but lately four or five days pass before the business can resell.
Xuan, the professor, says too many farmers plant three crops of rice annually. He would like to see lower production in the Delta to assure them better prices. "It's very easy to ramp up production but difficult to increase (their) revenues," he said.
Vietnam raises concerns over brides marrying abroad – DPA
The Vietnamese government on Thursday voiced concerns over Vietnamese women getting married to foreign men after a bride was killed by her mentally ill South Korean husband. According South Korean news reports, police last week found Thach Thi Hong Ngoc, 20, murdered in her house in Busan, just one week after she left Vietnam. Two days later, police arrested her husband, Jang Du Hyo, on murder charges. According to police, Jang said he heard a voice telling him to kill his wife during a heated argument. The man had been treated 57 times for schizophrenia since July 2005.
"From this sad story, we can draw some valuable lessons for Vietnamese brides when they want to get married abroad," Vietnamese government spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga said. Vietnamese brides face a lot of difficulties when they get married to foreign husbands, she said, pointing to cultural differences, lack of understanding about the husband's country and especially language barriers making their lives difficult. "Vietnamese brides should fully understand and get more information about their future husband before getting married," Nga said. In order to prevent similar cases, Nga called on authorities in the future husbands' countries to do more to help the prospective brides, including providing information on their fiances' financial status, physical health, mental illnesses or a violent crime record.
Vietnamese brides have attracted a lot of attention from foreign husbands for the past 10 years, especially husbands from South Korean, Taiwan and China. According to the South Korean consulate in Ho Chi Minh City, it issued 8,000 visas to Vietnamese brides last year. An estimated 35,000 Vietnamese women have married South Korean men so far.
Vietnam suspends executive over shipbuilder's debt – AP
Vietnam says the chairman of shipbuilding company Vinashin has been suspended for nearly bankrupting the enterprise, one of the country's largest state-owned companies. The government said on its website Wednesday that Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung suspended Pham Thanh Binh pending an investigation into his wrongdoing. The company's full name is Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group. State media quoted a report of the Communist Party oversight body as saying last week Binh has shown irresponsibility in managing and using state capital.
Vinashin has legal capital of 9 trillion dong ($473 million) and debt of 80 trillion dong ($4.2 billion).
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