US Navy warship docks in former foe Vietnam

By MARGIE MASON (AP)

HANOI, Vietnam — A warship from the United States docked Tuesday in central Vietnam where the former foes planned to conduct navy training, in a sign of growing military ties amid new warnings from China for the U.S. to stay out of its backyard.

The USS John S. McCain's port call comes as the U.S. and Vietnam celebrate 15 years of normalized diplomatic relations following a bloody war that remains an open wound for many veterans. The two governments, while ideologically different, have embraced on a number of issues, including a recent stance against China's territorial claims over the South China Sea.

China on Tuesday told the U.S. and South Korean navies to keep out of the Yellow Sea, where it claims exclusivity.

The allies have planned another round of joint military war games following last month's drills in the Sea of Japan, which China also criticized.

The brief Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said Beijing had repeatedly "expressed our clear and firm position" on any maneuvers in the Yellow Sea, a move that would have theoretically put Beijing within range of the ship's F-18 warplanes.

"We urge the relevant parties to take China's position and concern seriously," the statement said.

On Sunday, the U.S. Navy hosted a delegation of Vietnamese military and government officials on the USS George Washington, a hulking nuclear-powered aircraft supercarrier cruising in waters off Vietnam's central coast. Chinese military ships were seen shadowing the carrier in the distance.

"These waters belong to nobody, yet belong to everybody," Capt. David Lausman, commanding officer of the George Washington, said Sunday aboard the mammoth carrier that can carry up to 70 aircraft, more than 5,000 sailors and aviators and about 4 million pounds (1.8 million kilograms) of bombs. "China has a right to operate here, as do we and as do every other country of the world."

The U.S. has ratcheted up its military presence in the region in recent weeks, conducting large-scale joint military exercises with ally South Korea last month as a show of solidarity following the sinking of a South Korean navy warship in March that killed 46 sailors. North Korea was blamed for torpedoing the Cheonan, but has denied any involvement and has repeatedly threatened war if punished.

On Monday, the North fired off a barrage of about 110 artillery rounds into the ocean near its disputed western sea border with South Korea. The display caused no damage, but prompted terse warnings of retaliation from South Korea. U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley joked that Pyongyang likely caused "a lot of dead fish," and said it wasn't clear what the reclusive government was trying to achieve with its "ongoing chest-thumping."

China criticized the drills and later held its own exercises in the South China Sea, which it claims entirely along with the disputed Spratly and Paracel islands over which it exercises complete sovereignty.

Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines also have staked claims on all or some of the territory, which straddles vital shipping lanes, important fishing grounds and is believed rich in oil and natural gas reserves.

Last month during an Asian security meeting in Vietnam's capital, Hanoi, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton angered China by asserting that it was in the U.S. national interest for the Communist giant to resolve the territorial claims with its neighbors.

Vietnam has been particularly vocal about the South China Sea. The communist country has grown increasingly closer to the United States, from trade and commerce to negotiating a controversial deal to share civilian nuclear fuel and technology that could allow Vietnam to enrich uranium on its own soil.

The USS John S. McCain's weeklong visit will involve search and rescue trainings along with cultural exchanges between the two navies. The guided-missile destroyer docked in central Danang, once the site of a bustling U.S. military base during the Vietnam War, which ended April 30, 1975, when northern communist forces seized control of the U.S.-backed capital of South Vietnam, reuniting the country.

Some 58,000 Americans and an estimated 3 million Vietnamese were killed during the war.

Relations have thrived since the former foes shook hands in 1995. The U.S. is Vietnam's top export market and Americans are the country's No. 1 foreign investor. Two-way trade reached $15.4 billion in 2009.

Military ties have also grown since the first U.S. warship ship visited Ho Chi Minh City in 2003, including high-level defense talks and training.

Associated Press Writer Christopher Bodeen contributed to this report from Beijing.

Vietnam, US display military ties amid China tension

DANANG, Vietnam — Vietnam and the United States will stage a fresh demonstration this week of their military ties at a time of escalating tensions with China over territorial claims in the South China Sea.

The US destroyer USS John S. McCain, making a call at the central port city of Danang, departs Tuesday for a four-day exchange programme with the Vietnamese navy, featuring mostly sporting and musical events.

On Sunday, the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, which recently took part in joint military exercises with South Korea which were denounced by Beijing, hosted a delegation of Vietnamese military in the waters of the South China Sea off Danang.

The visit by the US Navy vessels, part of official celebrations marking the 15th anniversary of the normalisation of diplomatic relations between the former enemies, has taken on greater significance due to recent regional friction.

"Tensions in relations between China and the US are much more tense than a year ago and this has spilled over to the South China Sea," said Carl Thayer, a Vietnam expert at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra.

"The US is demonstrating a military presence and Vietnam is letting this occasion speak for itself," he said.

Hanoi normally treads carefully in its relations with its Chinese ideological ally, but the regional ambitions of its large neighbour have stoked a degree of apprehension in Vietnam.

Relations between Hanoi and Washington have come a long way since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975 and the normalisation of diplomatic relations between the two 20 years later.

The United States has become an important partner of Vietnam, and not only in the commercial sphere.

Lately Hanoi has become particularly "uneasy about Chinese territorial ambitions", a Vietnamese defence ministry source said.

"The presence of American ships in Vietnamese ports has a great strategic significance for Vietnam," which "shows a regional balance in defence matters", he said.

"I think that the United States could play a much more important role in the region," he added.

The South China Sea has long been the subject of territorial disputes, particularly over the Paracel and Spratley archipelagos.

Since 1974, Beijing has been in de facto occupation of the Paracels, which are also claimed by Hanoi. China also claims sovereignty over the Spratleys, as does Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan.

Vietnamese foreign ministry spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga last week denounced China for sending ships to carry out seismic studies in the Paracels zone, which "violated Vietnam's indisputable sovereignty".

Top US commanders have made it clear they are keeping a close eye on Beijing's military build-up, in particular its naval presence in the South China Sea.

China last month held a large naval and air exercise in the South China Sea, a week after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said resolution of the territorial disputes was "pivotal" to regional stability.

Speaking at Asian security talks in Hanoi, Clinton indicated that Washington was prepared to facilitate multilateral discussions on the island chains and said the US had a "national interest" in seeing international law respected in the area.

Beijing swiftly denounced any such attempts to "internationalise" the disputes, saying such moves could worsen the situation.

And visits by US naval ships to Vietnam risk further irritating China.

"The Vietnamese are ever sensitive to how China will react," said Thayer. "The visit of US warships to Danang indicates that Vietnam is willing to risk Chinese verbal displeasure."

Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved.

Former enemies US, Vietnam now military mates

By MARGIE MASON (AP)

ABOARD THE USS GEORGE WASHINGTON — Cold War enemies the United States and Vietnam demonstrated their blossoming military relations Sunday as a U.S. nuclear supercarrier cruised in waters off the Southeast Asian nation's coast — sending a message that China is not the region's only big player.

The visit comes 35 years after the Vietnam War as Washington and Hanoi are cozying up in a number of areas, from negotiating a controversial deal to share civilian nuclear fuel and technology to agreeing that China needs to work with its neighbors to resolve territorial claims in the South China Sea.

The USS George Washington's stop is officially billed as a commemoration of last month's 15th anniversary of normalized diplomatic relations between the former foes. But the timing also reflects Washington's heightened interest in maintaining security and stability in the Asia-Pacific amid tensions following the sinking of a South Korean warship in March, which killed 46 sailors. North Korea has been blamed for the attack, but has vehemently denied any involvement.

Last month during an Asian security meeting in Vietnam's capital, Hanoi, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton also angered China by unexpectedly calling on the Communist powerhouse to resolve territorial claims with neighboring Southeast Asian countries over islands in the South China Sea.

"The strategic implications and importance of the waters of the South China Sea and the freedom of navigation is vital to both Vietnam and the United States," Capt. Ross Myers, commander of the George Washington's air wing, said aboard the ship Sunday as fighter jets thundered off the flight deck above.

"I'm certain that the Chinese government and the Chinese people are trying to protect their interests," he added when asked about China's increased aggressiveness within the area. "It is more important for Vietnam (and) its partners to establish that they have an equal right to economic prosperity and peace within the region as well."

Chinese navy ships were seen shadowing the USS George Washington at a distance over the past several days as the supercarrier made its way throught the South China Sea along Vietnam's eastern coast, U.S. Navy officials said Sunday.

China claims the entire sea and the disputed Spratly and Paracel islands over which it exercises complete sovereignty. But Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines also have staked claims on all or some of the territory, which straddles vital shipping lanes, important fishing grounds and is believed rich in oil and natural gas reserves. Clinton announced that the U.S. has a national interest in seeing the claims resolved.

"The problem is that China has now committed herself, publicly, to sovereignty of the South China Sea and to push that back, if only to the status of a claim that is not enforced, is going to be very difficult," said Arthur Waldron, an international relations specialist at the University of Pennsylvania. "So we are playing catch up, reminding the Chinese that we have not collapsed into post-great powerdom yet, and that we have other friends in the region."

Vietnam has long been vocal about the issue, protesting China's plans to bring tourists to the islands and most recently seismic studies conducted near the Paracels. Last month China also held naval drills in the South China Sea.

"Vietnam does not support containing China, but like most other ASEAN members would like to see each major power offset the other," Carl Thayer, a Vietnam expert at the Australian Defense Force Academy in Canberra, said, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. "Quite simply, these are not too subtle signals that Vietnam wants the United States to stay engaged in the region to balance China."

The formidable USS George Washington is a permanent presence in the Pacific, based in Japan. As one of the world's biggest warships, it is a floating city that can carry up to 70 aircraft, more than 5,000 sailors and aviators and about 4 million pounds (1.8 million kilograms) of bombs. It lurked Sunday about 200 miles (320 kilometers) off the central coast of Danang, Vietnam's jumping-off point for the disputed islands.

A group of high-ranking Vietnamese military officials was flown onto the carrier Sunday along with other Vietnamese government officials and the U.S. ambassador to the country.

The supercarrier came to Vietnam following four days of high-profile military exercises last month with South Korea aimed at showing solidarity following the sinking of the 1,200-ton Cheonan navy ship. The drills enraged Pyongyang and drew repeated criticism from its Chinese ally.

A Chinese newspaper ran a front-page story last week strongly hinting that China also is not happy about reports that Vietnam and the U.S. are negotiating a civilian nuclear fuel and technology deal that could allow Vietnam to enrich uranium on its own soil.

U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said China had not been consulted about the talks, but he would not discuss the specifics of the enrichment provision. Congressional aides have said the agreement will likely not contain a no-enrichment pledge, which the U.S. promotes as the "gold standard" for civilian nuclear cooperation accords to ensure materials are not being used to build a nuclear weapon.

Vietnam has denied having any plans to enrich uranium on its own soil.

The aircraft carrier's visit is particularly symbolic as it cruises off the coast of central Danang, once the site of a bustling U.S. military base during the Vietnam War, which ended April 30, 1975, when northern communist forces seized control of the U.S.-backed capital of South Vietnam, reuniting the country.

Some 58,000 Americans and an estimated 3 million Vietnamese were killed during the war.

Relations have thrived since the former foes shook hands in 1995. The U.S. is Vietnam's top export market and Americans are the country's No. 1 foreign investor. Two-way trade reached $15.4 billion in 2009.

Military ties have also grown since the first U.S. warship ship visited Ho Chi Minh City in 2003, including high-level defense talks and training.

The USS John McCain destroyer will pay a port call to Vietnam later this week. The two navies are expected to have cultural exchanges along with training exercises, such as search and rescue operations.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Congress of Vietnamese Fatherland Front opens

HANOI, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- The seventh national congress of the Vietnamese Fatherland Front (VFF) opened here on Monday, mapping out development strategy and major tasks of the organization for the next five years.

The VFF is a united front organization of Vietnamese people from all walks of life. The national congress is convened every five years.

With the theme of enhancing the role of the Vietnamese Fatherland Front, strengthening democracy, promoting social development and building national unity bloc for a prosperous country and a just, democratic and civilized society, the three-day conference has participation of around 1,300 delegates.

Huynh Dam, President of the VFF Central Committee delivered a speech at the conference. He said the VFF will strive to further enhance its role in Vietnam's renovation cause in the next five years.

The VFF will try to involve more people from various ethnical groups and social sectors to take part in the country's industrialization, modernization and international integration in all possible ways, said Dam.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nong Duc Manh spoke highly of the VFF at the conference. He said that the VFF has contributed greatly to the country's economic and social development, national security and national unity.

Officials from China, Laos, Cambodia and Cuba were invited to attend the opening ceremony of the conference.

Zhang Rongming, vice chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee delivered a speech at the opening ceremony.

Zhang said that bilateral relations between China and Vietnam have developed in an all-round way in recent years, with friendly exchanges and mutual-beneficial cooperation in all sectors.

Zhang said that the CPPCC would like to continue to work together with the VFF to promote China-Vietnam friendship and cooperation.

Xinhua News Agency

China Releases Vietnamese Fishermen Seized Near Paracel Islands

By Beth Thomas

Aug. 12 (Bloomberg) -- China freed Vietnamese fishermen detained near the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea after Vietnam requested their release.

Chinese authorities yesterday informed Vietnam’s embassy in Beijing that they had released all the fishermen, who were detained aboard three fishing boats, Le Dung, a spokesman for Vietnam’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, said in a statement.

The seamen are expected to arrive home in the next few days, he added.

Thirteen Vietnamese fishermen from the central coastal provinces of Quang Ngai and Khanh Hoa were arrested near the Paracel Islands on Aug. 1 while seeking shelter to avoid a storm, the Quang Ngai government said Aug. 4. Twelve other men working on two boats from Quang Ngai were detained earlier, Hanoi-based Dung said in the statement.

The Vietnamese authorities are working with China to solve “outstanding problems,” Dung said in the statement.

The Paracel and Spratly Islands are claimed in whole or part by Vietnam, China, the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.

Vietnam urges China to cancel fishing ban

Hanoi - Vietnam is urging China to cancel its fishing ban in parts of the South China Sea in effect until August 1, Vietnamese media reported Monday.

Vietnam government spokesman Le Dung said Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs had called the Chinese embassy in Hanoi urging China to cease operations at sea which interfere with Vietnamese fishermen's trade.

'I think this response comes too late, but it is necessary to encourage Vietnamese fishermen to continue their work,' said Nguyen Viet Thang, chairman of the Vietnam Fisheries Society.

China officially imposed the ban on May 16 to prevent overfishing, but the area - a huge exclusive economic zone surrounding the Spratly and Paracel Islands in the South China Sea - has long been at the centre of an international territorial dispute between Vietnam and China, as well as other countries in the region.

Last Thursday, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ho Xuan Son met with the Chinese ambassador to Vietnam, Sun Quoqiang, and told him that the fishing ban 'caused indignation among the public, bringing no benefit to bilateral relations.' He requested that the Chinese side stop all operations preventing Vietnamese fishermen fishing in marine areas under Vietnamese sovereignty.

Dan Tri newspaper reported Friday that a Vietnamese fishing boat was attacked by two unknown ships while fishing in the South China Sea. After hitting and damaging the fishing boat the two ships left.

Lao Dong newspaper reported on May 20 that a Vietnamese fishing vessel was hit intentionally by an unidentified ship near the Spratly and Paracel Islands.

After the attack, the boat sank and 26 fishermen had to use life buoys to survive. They were eventually saved by nearby fishing boats after having spent several hours in the sea.

The state-run Tuoi Tre newspaper last week reported that hundreds of Vietnamese fishing boats had docked at their ports for days due to worries about China's fishing ban.

'We are encouraging fishermen to continue fishing,' said Chu Tien Vinh, director of the Department for Aquatic Product Resources Protection. 'If they are attacked by foreign ships, they should immediately inform the authorities. The coast guard will protect them.'

Tensions over sovereignty in the South China Sea have risen since a May 13 deadline for countries to submit territorial claims to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Beijing rejected submissions by Malaysia, Vietnam and other countries as violating its own claims in the area.

Monsters and Critics

Let's not distort history of the Vietnam War

Anthony H. Cordesman engages in some revisionist history in his May 14 commentary, "Complete War, Peace in Iraq," when he declares that we "won" in Vietnam, and that we left having "forced North Vietnam to halt its offenses."The cease-fire signed in January 1973 was in no way a military victory for either side. The Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese knew that the inconclusive fighting had gone on for too long and that the people of the United States wanted it to end. They also understood that U.S. leaders would not want to leave having it appear they were beaten.

Cordesman states that we left "something approaching a functioning democracy." More revisionism. The cease-fire left South Vietnam still governed by military leaders, many of whom had governed without respect for their own citizens and a religion that the generals did not share.

As far back as 1963, the leaders of South Vietnam with U.S. support raided the Buddhist holy sites.

After the overthrow of the Diem regime and the assassination of the Diem brothers, the generals fought for the honor of directing American aid. The 12 years of battle resulted in the deaths of more than 58,0000 American military personnel and caused the death of more than 2.5 million people overall, not to mention untold disfigurement and crippling injuries many of which were caused by indiscriminate bombings.

And perhaps Cordesman does not remember the surrender South Vietnam President Duong van Minh, a former general, to the Viet Cong on April 30, 1975, and the pictures of American and South Vietnamese being evacuated off the roof of the American Embassy.

One wonders at mankind's inability to learn from history, but history distorted by the highly honored Anthony Cordesman does a great disservice to those too young to remember.

William P. McMillen, a Delmar resident, refused induction into the armed services in March 1965. He served 26 months of a six-year prison sentence.

Times Union

Vietnam says ready to ratify UN corruption charter

HANOI, May 29 (Reuters) - Vietnam will soon ratify the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, one of the country's top graft fighters said on Friday, a milestone in tackling an endemic problem that threatens investment and aid.

"It is on the desk of the Prime Minister already," state Inspector General Tran Van Truyen told reporters, adding that it would soon go to President Nguyen Minh Triet for approval.

The document, which Vietnam signed in December 2003, is binding and according to Ran Liao, senior programme coordinator for East and Southeast Asia with Transparency International, would make it criminal for Vietnamese officials to accept bribes from foreign companies or pay bribes overseas.

"It is a very big deal," Liao said on the sidelines of a half-day anti-corruption dialogue in Hanoi between the government and the international donor community.

But several participants in the dialogue on Friday said legislation was not the problem for Vietnam, which already has a robust anti-corruption law.

"The real challenge, or maybe one should say the real problem, is implementation," Swedish Ambassador Rolf Bergman said.

Corruption is rife in Vietnam, from contractors skimming funds off large-scale infrastructure projects to traffic cops extracting money from motorists. The country ranked 121 out of 160 included in Transparency International's corruption perception index for 2008.

In the first quarter of this year, the number of new legal cases, prosecutions and trials for corruption all fell compared with the same period last year, a report by the Office of the Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption said.

It was unclear whether the decline was because there was less corruption or the problem was being monitored less effectively, Bergman said.

Last year, Vietnam's biggest single official development assistance (ODA) donor, Japan, suspended aid over a corruption scandal at a Japanese-funded project. It has since agreed to resume new aid commitments and also established measures with Vietnam to avoid future problems.

The problem, however, still runs deep.

"The issue of corruption is a serious concern for the Asian Development Bank as well as for the government, because if there are problems we will have difficulty to continue assisting Vietnam's development process," Ayumi Konishi, the ADB's Vietnam representative, said.

"For us, it's really the issue of our raison d'etre, so to speak."

Vietnam adds its voice to denunciations of North Korea test

Hanoi - Vietnam's government Monday joined those of Sweden, Japan and others attending the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Hanoi in denouncing North Korea's second nuclear test. A statement released by Vietnam's Foreign Ministry Monday evening said Hanoi was "deeply concerned" by the North Korean nuclear test. It said the test "only complicates the situation, and does not serve the interests of peace and stability in the region."

Vietnam is one of the few countries that still maintains cordial relations with North Korea, and officials from Pyongyang visit here on a yearly basis.

The Vietnamese statement added to growing support at the ASEM Foreign Ministers' meeting for a strong response to the North Korean test.

Earlier in the day, Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Kazuo Kodama said his country would press other ASEM governments to issue a separate statement criticizing the North Korean move.

Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt issued a statement decrying the North Korean efforts to "provoke the international community."

Chinese and South Korean diplomats reportedly met with their North Korean counterparts at a location separate from the conference, but they issued no public comments.

The ASEM meeting had intended to concentrate on ways for Europe and Asia to cooperate in fighting the global financial crisis and engendering economic recovery. But the meeting appeared increasingly derailed by the North Korean move, which clearly occupied much of the diplomats' time on Monday.

Earth Times

Officials of Vietnam's Defence Ministry visits US carrier

Officials of the Vietnamese Defence Ministry on April 22 paid a first-ever visit to a US aircraft carrier, the USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), one of the biggest US Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, which anchored in East Sea international waters around 250 miles to the south of Vietnam’s Con Dao Island.

Navy Rear Admiral Mark Vance warmly welcomed the Vietnamese guests. The Vietnamese mission toured the carrier’s air traffic room, the observatory, holds for aircrafts, and witnessed the fighter aircraft F/A-18F Super Hornet take off and land on the CVN 74 carrier. They also talked with sailors on the vessel.

Colonel Nguyen Huu Vinh, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Vietnamese Navy, said that the visit strengthened mutual understanding between the two naval forces and paved the way for cooperation for peace in the region and the world.

Also joining the visit, US Ambassador to Vietnam Michael Michalak said he believes that this is a new step in the development of the relationship between the two naval forces.

The USS John C. Stennis carrier was launched in 1995 and is one of the ten-largest carriers of the US Navy. The ship is 333m in length, 78m in width, and can hold 74 fighter aircrafts.

VietNamNet

Vietnam's human rights report publicised

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made public on its website the National Report to Review Implementation of Human Rights in Vietnam.

The 22-page report will be presented to the United Nation’s Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland on May 8.

The report covers basic information about Vietnam, protection and promotion of human rights at the national level, including civil rights, political rights, socio-economic, and cultural rights, and rights of vulnerable groups like children, women, ethnic minorities and disabled people.

The report also includes five points concerning implementation of human rights in Vietnam. One states that the public should be put at the centre of the country’s development, and another says that implementation of human rights should not be separated from national independence and national sovereignty.

The report says the State of Vietnam considers humans the target and motivation of all socio-economic development policies, and persists in assuring and promoting human rights.

According to the report, after more than 20 year of national renewal, Vietnam has gained many important socio-economic achievements.

All economic sectors have been given a boost to develop, thus considerably contributing to national development.

On civil and political rights, the report shows that since 1986, Vietnam has issued and revised 13,000 legal documents and sub-documents in connection with civil and political rights.

Regarding the freedom of speech, freedom of the press and information and other rights of the Vietnamese people, the report indicates that by the end of last year, the country had more than 700 press agencies, nearly 15,000 journalists, 68 television and radio stations and 80 online newspapers, thousands of news websites and blogs and 55 publishing houses.

According to the report, Vietnam now has about 20 million people following different religions and 80 percent of people have religious belief in lives. The State of Vietnam considers religion and belief a legitimate demand of people. There are 12 religions in total, the most dominant of which are Buddhism, Catholicism and Protestantism. Religious activities and services, especially annual ceremonies, are held with the participation of hundreds of thousands of followers.

See the full report here

Voice of Vietnam