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VN News (Apr. 23, 1997)
April 23: Southeast Asian labour ministers reaffirm commitment to ILO
April 23: Vietnam implies dismay over end of Radio Australia broadcasts
April 23: Canadians seek release of man in Vietnam
April 23: Vietnam's foreign minister to visit Japan on May 11-14
April 23: Komura cancels trips to Vietnam, Laos
April 23: Hungarian foreign minister arrives in Vietnam
April 23: Vietnam, Philippine scientists survey on disputed sea
April 23: Vietnam: Official Warns Of Weak Bridges In Ho Chi Minh City
April 23: Vietnam hits out at U.S. sanctions on Burma
April 23: Lukashenko to pay fist visit to Vietnam.
Southeast Asian labour ministers reaffirm commitment to ILO
Hanoi (AFP) - Southeast Asian labour ministers reaffirmed their
committment to International Labour Organization guidelines at talks
here, Philippine Labour Secretary Leonardo Quisumbing said Wednesday.
Labour ministers and officials from the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) grouping Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore,
Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam held two days' informal talks
here.
"Basic things were reaffirmed in the context of the social clause (of
the ILO)," Quisumbing told AFP.
The informal meeting of ASEAN labour ministers and officials was aimed
at grooming Vietnam as host for a formal ASEAN labour meeting to take
place in Ho Chi Minh City next year.
Quisumbing said the meeting was more of a "get to know one another
session" during which no formal agenda was discussed. There was no
mention, he said, of labour violations by non ASEAN companies in the
region.
Neither did the multilateral grouping discuss the possibility of
labour exchanges. In bilateral discussions the Philippines and Vietnam
discussed ways of cooperating in training seafaring workers, he said.
All ASEAN member countries except Brunei are members of the ILO.
___________________________________
Vietnam implies dismay over end of Radio Australia broadcasts
Hanoi (AFP) - Vietnam Wednesday implied its disappointment with the
decision by the Australian government to end Radio Australia's
broadcasts to Asia due to a lack of funding.
Although a Vietnamese foreign ministry spokesman called the decision
an "internal Australian affair," he said: "We think that Australia has
an interest in strengthening its relations with Asian countries
including Vietnam. We welcome those favourable for this cooperation."
The Australian cabinet announced late Tuesday its decision to slash
funding on the international shortwave network from 23 million dollars
(18 million US) to about seven million a year.
The decision will mean closure of most of the short-wave service which
has been broadcasting to the Asia Pacific for almost 60 years.
The cut follows an inquiry into funding of the Australian Broadcasting
Corporation (ABC) which recommended in January that the ABC's
international radio and television networks be axed as a cost saving
measure.
It currently reports in nine languages including Mandarin, Cantonese,
Indonesian, Vietnamese and Khmer to an estimated audience of 20
million.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, which also faces severe
funding cutbacks, maintains a full time correspondent in Hanoi.
The Vietnamese comments contrast with an official tyrade launched last
month against broadcasts by Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Democracy
Freedom (RDF) which had called for greater press freedoms in Vietnam.
"What are these two radios trying to accomplish while US-Vietnam
relations are getting warmer and doors for further mutual
understanding are being opened?" the Communist Party daily Nhan Dan
said.
In December Nhan Dan also slammed US government-funded Radio Free Asia
(RFA), calling it "a wicked political instrument and a product of the
cold war period."
___________________________________
Canadians seek release of man in Vietnam
OTTAWA (UPI) -- Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy says a
petition signed by 124,000 Quebec residents demonstrates wide support
to free Canadian businessman Tran Trieu Quan from a prison in Vietnam.
Axworthy says he is confident ``we can have a successful result within
a matter of days.''
Quebec City's Roman Catholic archbishop and the president of the Ste.
-Foy (``SAHNT' foo-AH''') Regional Chamber of Commerce delivered the
petition to Axworthy on Tuesday.
Tran has spent nearly three years of a 20-year prison sentence over a
contract dispute. A former resident of Quebec City, Tran was arrested
in July 1994 when he allegedly acted as a middleman in a $1 million
(U.S.) deal in which the Vietnamese state-owned textile company was to
buy Uzbekistan cotton through a U.S. company.
Vietnam reportedly paid the money, but the cotton never arrived.
Tran was reportedly paid an amount for arranging the contract.
Tran was sentenced to life imprisonment for fraud, but upon appeal,
the sentence was changed to 20 years.
Prime Minister Jean Chretien has made a direct appeal to Vietnam's
prime minister for Tran's release.
___________________________________
Vietnam's foreign minister to visit Japan on May 11-14
Japan Economic Newswire
Hanoi -- Vietnamese Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cam will make a
four-day official visit to Japan from May 11, a Foreign Ministry
spokesman said Wednesday.
It will be the first time for a Vietnamese foreign minister to
officially visit Japan since October 1990, when then Foreign Minister
Nguyen Co Thach came to Japan.
Cam, who became foreign minister in 1991, has since paid a number of
visits to Japan, the last one in April 1995 when he accompanied
Vietnamese Communist Party chief Do Muoi.
While in Tokyo, he will hold talks with Japanese Foreign Minister
Yukihiko Ikeda and attend a seminar on the future of Asia being
organized by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, a business daily.
Ikeda paid an official visit to Vietnam last July and he and Cam
subsequently met in October at a meeting of the U.N. General Assembly
in New York.
Japan has been the largest economic aid donor to Vietnam since it
resumed its official development assistance in November 1992.
Last January, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto visited Hanoi and
offered 81 billion yen in loans to finance nine infrastructure
projects, mainly in the energy and transportation fields.
In addition, Tokyo offered 3 billion yen in grants to Vietnam without
designating its end use.
___________________________________
Komura cancels trips to Vietnam, Laos
Japan Economic Newswire
TOKYO -- Foreign State Secretary Masahiko Komura will visit only
Cambodia and Thailand and cancel his trip to Laos and Vietnam because
he has delayed his departure for one day until Thursday, Foreign
Ministry officials said Wednesday.
They attributed the cancellation to the dramatic settlement of the
Peru hostage crisis, which forced him to postpone his departure and
thereby cut his schedule.
Komura, the No. 2 man at the Foreign Ministry, was slated to start his
Asian tour taking him to Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand on
Wednesday.
During his stay in Thailand, Komura will attend a general assembly
session of the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the
Pacific in Bangkok.
___________________________________
Hungarian foreign minister arrives in Vietnam
Hanoi (AFP) - Hungarian Foreign Minister Laszlo Kovacs arrived here
Wednesday for a three-day visit aimed at promoting trade ties, the
Vietnamese foreign ministry said.
Before the fall of Eastern European communism at the end of the 1980s,
Hungary was a privileged commercial partner of Vietnam.
Kovacs will hold meetings with counterpart Nguyen Manh Cam on ways to
relaunch economic cooperation and trade between the countries. A
cooperation agreement will also be signed.
Kovacs will also meet with Tran Xuan Gia, minister for planning and
investment, and with Trade Minister Le Van Triet to discuss mutual
support for Hungarian trade with the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations, which counts Vietnam as a member, and for Vietnam with
Europe.
Kovacs will meet Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet Friday before travelling
to the southern economic centre of Ho Chi Minh City before leaving
Vietnam Saturday.
___________________________________
Vietnam, Philippine scientists survey on disputed sea
Japan Economic Newswire
Hanoi -- Vietnamese and Philippine scientists were unanimous that the
outcome of their first joint survey of the South China Sea was "very
valuable," according to a source at Vietnam's Ministry of Sciences,
Technology and the Environment.
During a two-day symposium which ended in Hanoi on Wednesday, the
scientists also proposed a second joint survey of the sea in April or
May next year, the source said.
The source said the first survey, hosted by the Philippines in
September last year, focused on the nature, oceanology and flora of
the sea, and yielded results that enriched the scientific archives of
the two countries.
The South China Sea, called the Eastern Sea by Vietnam, contains the
Spratlys, a chain of islands believed to be rich in natural resources,
the sovereignty of which is claimed partly or totally by Brunei,
China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
The joint survey was an attempt by Vietnam and the Philippines to
resolve their bilateral dispute over the sea.
During his visit to Vietnam in late January this year for the second
meeting of the Vietnamese-Philippine joint commission for bilateral
cooperation in Hanoi, Philippine Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon
agreed with Vietnamese Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cam that Vietnam
would host the second joint survey "at the earliest date."
___________________________________
Vietnam: Official Warns Of Weak Bridges In Ho Chi Minh City
Hanoi (AP) -- As many as 140 traffic bridges in Vietnam's economic hub
Ho Chi Minh City could collapse at any time without urgent repair
work, state-controlled media reported Wednesday.
The state-run Laborer newspaper said about 95% of the city's bridges
are in a miserable state of disrepair.
Infrastructure development is lagging behind Vietnam's rapid economic
growth, putting increased strain on the country's aging and often
dilapidated support structures, including bridges.
Bridges are a vital link for parts of Ho Chi Minh City, which lies in
the heart of the Mekong delta region. Rivers and tributaries snake
around the city's surroundings.
But Ho Chi Minh City's public works budget has only about $250,000
earmarked for bridge maintenance.
'The service cannot even afford simple work such as whitewashing,
painting and reinforcing the foundation stones,' the Laborer quoted Ho
Chi Minh City Public Works Deputy Director Le Van Loi as saying.
At least two smaller bridges have collapsed in recent months, he said.
Loi said increasing boat traffic on the rivers also threatens the
bridges. There have been a number of cases of boats colliding with
bridge supports.
___________________________________
Vietnam hits out at U.S. sanctions on Burma
Hanoi (Reuter) - Vietnam said on Wednesday that Washington's
imposition of economic sanctions against Burma amounted to
interference in Rangoon's internal affairs.
``As we have said clearly many times, Vietnam shares the view of many
countries, considering that economic sanctions are imposed with the
aim of interfering in the internal affairs of a nation...'' the
Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said economic sanctions were contrary to both the
principles of equality and mutual benefit and the global trend in
international relations.
The United States said on Tuesday it would ban new investment by
American firms in Burma because of what Washington described as
deepening political repression by the ruling State Law and Order
Restoration Council (SLORC).
SLORC has been accused by human right groups and Western governments
of abuses such as summary executions, using forced labour and
employing repressive tactics against the opposition.
Responding to a question on whether sanctions would affect Burma's
entry into the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the
ministry said ASEAN had agreed in principle to admit Burma, Laos and
Cambodia, and added: ``...this is the internal affair of ASEAN.''
International pressure has mounted on the seven-nation grouping not to
admit Burma, but the group follows a ``constructive engagement''
policy and has consistently said it will not interfere in the politics
of another nation.
The United States lifted a long-standing economic embargo on communist
Vietnam in early 1994 and the two former enemies normalised relations
in mid-1995.
However, progress on comprehensive economic ties has been slow and
Hanoi remains suspicious of what it sees as attempts by some in the
United States to undermine its political system.
___________________________________
Lukashenko to pay fist visit to Vietnam.
Hanoi (Itar-Tass) - Byelorussian President Alexander Lukashenko
arrives in Vietnam today in the evening for the first official visit
in the history of relations between the two countries. An official
programme of the visit, including the welcoming ceremony, will begin
on Thursday. On that day Lukashenko plans to hold talks with
Vietnamese President Le Du'c Anh and meet Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet.
Measures for expanding bilateral trade and economic cooperation are
expected to become the chief topic of their discussions. In 1996
bilateral trade turnover stood at 14.5 million dollars -- two million
dollars up as against the 1995 level, Anatoly Stepus, head of the
Byelorussian trade mission in Hochiminh, told Tass. Vietnam purchases
products of major industrial associations of Byelorussia, including
the MAZ and BelAZ automobile works, the plant that turns out Byelarus
tractors and the motorcycles producing plant in Minsk. Vietnam
delivers to Byelorussia rice, coffee, tea, natural rubber and some
consumer goods.
The joint-Byelorussian-Vietnamese enterprise Vibelatex for producing
natural rubber was created in the province of Barja-Vungtau in South
Vietnam. An agreement between the two countries provides for the
cultivation of rubber-producing trees on a territory of 1,800 hectares
in Barja-Vungtau. Total value of licensed capital investments by both
parties is 40 million dollars. At present, however, Byelorussian
investments in the joint venture amount only to two million dollars,
Deputy Director General of Vibelatex Yevgeny Puninsky told Tass.
A Vietnamese-Byelorussian friendship society was created in Vietnam on
the eve of Lukashenko's visit. Nguyen Minh Hien, Rector of the Hanoi
Polytechnical Institute, became its chairman.