VN news (July 14)

[Dam Son <son@fermi.phys.washington.edu>]

China, Vietnam party chiefs in show of solidarity 
Shareholder of Vietnam bank arrested for corruption 
Vietnam Shows Quiet Support for New Cambodia 
Chinese, Vietnamese Party Leaders Hold Talks in Beijing 
King Sihanouk blasts Khmer Rouge, Vietnam 
Chinese, Vietnamese Party Leaders Hold Talks in Beijing 
Vietnam's Phan Van Khai Makes Anti-Graft Pledge 
Vietnamese Communist Party Leader Arrives in Beijing 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

China, Vietnam party chiefs in show of solidarity 

BEIJING, July 14 (AFP) - The Communist Party chiefs of China and Vietnam
played up an image of fraternal solidarity here Monday, as they pledged
to solve their territorial bilateral disputes through peaceful negotiation.

The pledge came on the first day of an official four day visit by Vietnamese
Communist Party Secretary General Do Muoi, as he held talks in the Great
Hall of the People with his Chinese counterpart, Jiang Zemin.

Muoi's visit -- aimed at boosting bilateral ties -- has taken on added
significance with the current Cambodian crisis, which is likely to figure
in meetings with Chinese leaders.

However, Chinese state-run television's report on the talks with Jiang,
avoided any mention of Cambodia, and strove to focus on areas of consensus,
rather than the thorny questions of land and sea border disputes.

"As long as the two countries take a long-term view of the future and
put the overall relationship first, all outstanding issues can be solved
through appropriate negotiation," Jiang was quoted as saying by the evening
television news.

Jiang's remark was a clear reference to China and Vietnam's long-standing
territorial dispute over the resource-rich Spratly islands in the South
China Sea, and demarcation of the two countries' common land border.

Muoi responded in a similar vein, voicing Hanoi's hope that all "problems
left over from history" could be resolved through "peaceful negotiation."

Jiang stressed the importance of maintaining regular, high-level contacts
between the two historical rivals, in order to promote an atmosphere
of mutual trust and understanding that could guide the Sino-Vietnamese
relationship into the 21st century.

"The opening and reform policies adopted by both countries have benefitted
the Chinese and Vietnamese people, and helped promote regional peace
and stability," Jiang said.

Diplomatic sources in Hanoi said prior to Muoi's departure that part
of his mission was to reassure Beijing of Vietnam's neutrality in Cambodia,
where fighting has erupted between the country's two co-premiers.

Muoi is accompanied by Vietnamese Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cam, Vice
Premier Phan Van Khai and Vietnamese ministers of trade, industry and
agriculture.

The visit by the Vietnamese party chief is aimed at "developing relations
of friendship and traditional cooperation" between the two neighouring
communist countries, the Hanoi party organ Nhan Dan newspaper said in
an editorial on Monday.

Muoi's trip -- an inter-party visit, rather than a state visit -- was
scheduled well before the recent outbreak of trouble in Cambodia.

It is his third trip to China since 1991, when ties were normalised following
a decade of acrimonious relations following the Vietnamese invasion of
Cambodia in December 1978 -- which ousted the Beijing-backed Khmer Rouge
regime led by Pol Pot.

Although Sino-Vietnamese relations are at their strongest in two decades,
the two sides are involved in an ongoing dispute over land and maritime
territorial claims.

The latest rift occured in March when a Chinese state-owned oil and gas
company erected an oil rig off Vietnam's central coast.

Muoi is expected to meet with Chinese Premier Li Peng and visit outlying
provinces during his visit, details of which remain sketchy.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Shareholder of Vietnam bank arrested for corruption 

HANOI, July 14 (AFP) - A shareholder of beleaguered Vietnam Commercial
Joint-Stock Bank for Private Enterprises (VP Bank) has been arrested
in Hanoi on corruption charges, a bank executive said on Tuesday.

Huynh Bui Son, general director of VP Bank in Ho Chi Minh City told AFP
that Nguyen Tien Long, who holds a stake in the joint-stock bank, had
most likely been arrested for alleged fraud.

While Son acknowledged that Long owed VP Bank "a few hundred thousand
dollars" he disavowed any official direct connection between Long's arrest
and VP Bank.

However, Thanh Nien newspaper on Monday reported that Long and another
man, Bui Kim Truong had been arrested by the Investigation Police of
the Interior Ministry on July 10 "for abusing confidence in order to
appropriate socialist properties and relating to several former leaders
of VP Bank, including Hoang Minh Thang and Bui Huy Hung."

The newspaper report did not disclose the amount of money involved, and
the local police refused to supply details.

Although Ho Chi Minh City has been rocked by several bank-related fraud
cases this year, the arrests last week are the first sign that the woes
plaguing the banking industry have spread to Hanoi.

VP Bank was the first joint stock bank in Vietnam authorised to sell
shares to foreigners.

Two Dublin listed direct investment funds, Vietnam Enterprise Investment
Limited and Vietnam Fund both own 10 percent stakes in VP Bank.

Once touted as one of the best run non state-owned banks, VP saw its
star fall when it defaulted on a 2.9 million dollar letter of credit
(LC) owed to Korean trading company Ssangyong Corp.

Son, who took over the helm of VP Bank earlier this year has been trying
to restore the bank's reputation which was badly tarnished over the incident.

He said VP had repaid 500,000 to Ssangyong and reached agreement with
other creditors who were also forced to accept late payment on letters
of credit.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Vietnam Shows Quiet Support for New Cambodia 

By Adrian Edwards

HANOI, July 14 (Reuter) - Vietnam indicated quiet support on Monday for
the Hun Sen-led government in Cambodia, saying stability was better than
turmoil and backed Phnom Penh's early membership of the ASEAN regional
grouping.

Deputy Foreign Minister Vu Khoan was quoted by the Saigon Times Daily
as saying Hanoi wanted to see stability in Cambodia "so that bilateral
ties between the two countries, especially those concerning trade and
economic issues, can be maintained."

But a separate and carefully worded Foreign Ministry statement issued
at the weekend went further.

It said that while Vietnam supported a consensus decision by the Association
of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to delay Cambodia's accession, it
believed Phnom Penh should have been allowed to join this month alongside
Burma and Laos.

"From the principle of non-interference in other country's internal
affairs, we think it would be best if all three countries are admitted,"
the statement said. "However ... Vietnam follows the ASEAN principle
of consensus."

Vietnam's relations with Cambodia and Hun Sen are sensitive. Hun Sen
was in Vietnam earlier this month just days before the overthrow of First
Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh.

But officials here said he was merely on vacation, and reacted with fury
to a Khmer Rouge radio broadcast which accused Hanoi of colluding with
Hun Sen to oust his rival. A foreign ministry statement described the
claim as "blatant slander."

Cambodia had been expected to join ASEAN this month. Vietnam has been
a member since 1995.

But an emergency meeting of the seven-nation grouping last week in Kuala
Lumpur decided to postpone Phnom Penh's accession. It also issued a statement
saying it continued to recognise Ranariddh as the First Prime Minister.

Vietnam and Cambodia have a long history of troubled relations. Hanoi
invaded in late 1978 following a series of border attacks and ousted
the Beijing-backed Khmer Rouge government.

Hun Sen was installed as the head of a sympathetic administration. He
continues to be derided by the Khmer Rouge as a "Vietnamese puppet."

Analysts in Hanoi say that despite the importance of the Cambodia issue
to Vietnam, it is anxious not to be seen as being involved in the affairs
of its neighbour.

The 1978 invasion and its subsequent decade-long occupation won Vietnam
virtual international pariah status, a border war with China, delayed
normalisation with the United States and an untold cost in human lives.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Chinese, Vietnamese Party Leaders Hold Talks in Beijing 

BEIJING (July 14) XINHUA - General Secretary of the Central Committee
of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Chinese President Jiang Zemin
held talks with Do Muoi, general secretary of the Central Committee of
the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) this afternoon at Beijing's Great
Hall of the People on bilateral relations and issues of common concern
and achieved common understanding on a wide range of issues.

Jiang said that strengthening high-level bilateral contacts and exchanges
is significant for increasing mutual understanding, trust and cooperation
between the two parties and the two countries and for Sino-Vietnamese
good-neighborly friendship and co-operation that is more stable, healthier,
and more effective in the next century.

Jiang recalled with pleasure the relations between the two parties and
the two countries and their last meeting in Beijing since November, 1995.
During this period, he said, there has been new progress in developing
friendship and cooperation and that leaders on the two sides have maintained
close contacts and exchanges.

There have also been frequent bilateral personnel exchanges in various
fields and strengthened cooperation, Jiang noted, and that bilateral
economic and trade relations have also developed rather rapidly and the
sphere of bilateral co-operation has continued to expand.

Jiang went on to say that the two sides have had comprehensive and in-depth
exchanges on the reforms, opening-up, and government administration,
and pointed out that these have brought benefits to the two countries
and their peoples, which is conducive to regional and world peace, stability
and development, and to the progress of mankind.

On certain remaining historical matters, Jiang said, the continued development
of friendly and co-operative relations between the two parties and the
two countries has provided favorable conditions for solving these matters.

He pointed out that these matters can be properly settled at an early
date through the great efforts of leaders of the two sides, as long as
the two sides take the general situation into consideration in a far-sighted
way, understand each other, and conduct friendly consultations in a fair
and reasonable way.

Jiang said the CPC and Chinese government place great importance on safeguarding
and developing relations with the CPV and Vietnam, and that on the eve
of a new century, the CPC and Chinese government are willing to join
hands with the CPV and Vietnamese government to continue to push the
development of the good-neighborly friendship and mutually beneficial
co-operation between the two parties and the two countries forward on
the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-Existence and the four
principles guiding the relations between parties.

Do Muoi said that he was happy to visit China when China resumed the
exercise of its sovereignty over Hong Kong and with the CPC's national
congress coming, and congratulated China again on the return of Hong
Kong.

On bilateral relations, he said that Vietnam has always viewed the development
of good-neighborly friendship with China as an important part of its
foreign policy.

He went on to say that since the high-level meeting between the two parties
in November, 1991, the two sides have sent delegations at various levels
to visit each other, increasing mutual understanding and co-operation,
and exchanging valuable experience.

He said the Vietnamese side has paid great attention to the high-level
meetings between the two parties and the two countries, and that his
country is willing to speed up the settlement of matters between the
two countries that still remain through peaceful consultations.

He reaffirmed that the government of the People's Republic of China is
the sole legitimate government representing China and that Taiwan is
an inalienable part of Chinese territory, and that Vietnam is determined
not to have official relations with Taiwan.

The two leaders also briefed each other on the situation of their respective
parties and countries, and discussed theoretical and practical issues
of promoting the socialist construction of their respective countries.

Jiang reiterated that the CPC and Chinese government will continue to
abide by an independent foreign policy of peace, seek friendship with
all countries, and increase exchanges. And especially, the CPC and Chinese
government place importance on developing long-term and stable good-neighborly
friendship and reciprocal cooperation with their neighbors.

He said that China hopes that peace and development in Asia can continue
and that the world can maintain stability and peace for a long time.

Taking part in the talks from the Chinese side were Hu Jintao, member
of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau, and member of the
Secretariat, of the CPC Central Committee; Qian Qichen, member of the
Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, vice-premier and foreign
minister; Li Shuzheng, head of the International Department of the CPC
Central Committee; and some other senior Chinese officials.

Taking part in the talks from the Vietnamese side were Phan Van Khai,
member of the Political Bureau of the CPV Central Committee and deputy
prime minister; Nguyen Manh Cam, member of the Political Bureau of the
CPV Central Committee and foreign minister; and Hong Ha, assistant to
the general secretary of the CPV Central Committee.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

King Sihanouk blasts Khmer Rouge, Vietnam 

Japan Economic Newswire
07/14/97

By Robert J. Saiget

BEIJING, July 14 -- Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk warned Monday against
the use of Khmer Rouge forces in factional fighting in Cambodia, while
also calling on foreign governments not to offer aid to "belligerent
Cambodians" engaged in "inter-Khmer destruction."

"The Khmer Rouge have committed unpardonable crimes against humanity.
It is very immoral to seek them out in this very ugly fight for power,
the armed fighting has already cost so many losses," the king said in
a "royal bulletin interview" issued by his office here.

The 74-year-old king, who is receiving medical treatment in Beijing,
was answering questions about Second Prime Minister Hun Sen's accusation
that First Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh was attempting to
use Khmer Rouge forces loyal to Khieu Samphan in an attempt to topple
the Hun Sen faction of the government.

The royal bulletin also indicated that Hun Sen employed Khmer Rouge forces
under Ieng Sary in ousting Ranariddh in fighting in Phnom Penh over the
last week.

"The Ieng Saryists affirm that they are neutral in the armed conflict
between the very superior Hun Senists and the 'smashed' Ranariddhists,"
King Sihanouk said.

"This said, I absolutely condemn all recourse to the Khmer Rouge whether
they are Pol Potists, Ieng Saryists or Khieu Samphanists, or ex-Son Sennists
or ex-Underground, etc.," he said.

The Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1978, when
some two million Cambodians reportedly died through persecution, murder
or starvation.

The reported late June arrest of Pol Pot in the northern Cambodian jungle
and the dissolution of his remaining Khmer Rouge organization preceded
the power play in the streets of Phnom Penh between the forces of the
two co-leaders during the last 10 days.

Responding to a question concerning Hun Sen's links to Vietnam and to
his visit to Hanoi just preceding his "irresistible anti-Ranariddhist
'Blitzkrieg'," King Sihanouk replied that he had no "CIA" to "know the
reality of 'things'."

"But I should ask all the foreign countries, without exception, to not
offer any aid (no matter what the nature of this aid) to the belligerent
Cambodians so hideously engaged in this abominable and unjustifiable
task of 'Inter-Khmer destruction'."

The royal bulletin, or Monthly Documentation Bulletin, is issued by the
king's office in an interview format.

Earlier Monday, another bulletin announced that the king would meet this
week in Beijing with special envoys from Japan, France, the United States
and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and brief them on the
situation in Cambodia.

The king said he would tell the special envoys that, "we (this is to
say to them and myself) are not authorized by 'the strongman' (Hun Sen)
to intervene into what is called the internal affairs of Cambodia, for
them because they are foreigners and for me because I am a constitutional
king who reigns but does not govern."

His proposal to mediate the crisis through discussions with the two prime
ministers in Beijing was rejected by Hun Sen last week.

On Saturday, the king signaled acceptance of the Hun Sen government by
calling on Hun Sen to respect the Constitution and all laws and international
agreements that have come into being since the 1991 peace accords that
brought on national reconciliation in Cambodia.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Chinese, Vietnamese Party Leaders Hold Talks in Beijing 

BEIJING (July 14) XINHUA - General Secretary of the Central Committee
of the Communist Party of China Jiang Zemin held talks with General Secretary
of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam Do Muoi in
the Great Hall of the People here this afternoon.

By press time, the talks are still going on. Before the talks, Jiang,
who is also president of the People's Republic of China, presided over
a welcoming ceremony for Do Muoi, who arrived here at noon today on a
five-day official goodwill visit to China as Jiang's guest.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Vietnam's Phan Van Khai Makes Anti-Graft Pledge 

HANOI, July 14 (Reuter) - Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister Phan Van Khai,
considered the leading contender for the post of prime minister, has
vowed not to engage in corruption or otherwise tarnish the reputation
of the ruling Communist Party.

Khai, who has been dogged for months by allegations of business impropriety
among family members, told residents in Ho Chi Minh City's Cu Chi district
that suspicions of graft were damaging popular confidence in the party.

"You are right when you talk about the danger of corruption ... for
the position and leadership role of the party, as it runs against the
nature of our regime," an edition of the Tuoi Tre newspaper seen on
Monday quoted him as saying.

Khai promised to maintain the revolutionary integrity of the party "so
that when I retire, I will feel at ease in my mind that I did not bring
sorrow for the people, and did not do anything to harm the country."

Khai is a leading proponent of Vietnam's economic reform process and
is considered close to Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet.

Both Kiet, 74, and President Le Duc Anh are expected to stand down within
months to allow for the appointment of a new prime minister and head
of state when the National Assembly meets in September.

Khai is widely touted as the obvious successor to Kiet -- a fact apparently
not missed by the official Vietnam News Agency which referred to him,
in a Monday despatch on state budget

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Vietnamese Communist Party Leader Arrives in Beijing 

BEIJING (July 14) XINHUA - Do Muoi, general secretary of the Vietnamese
Communist Party (VCP) Central Committee, arrived here by special plane
at noon today to start a five-day official goodwill visit to China.

Do Muoi is here as guest of Jiang Zemin, general secretary of the Central
Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and president of the
People's Republic of China.

Accompanying Do Muoi on the visit are Phan Van Khai, member of the Political
Bureau of the VCP Central Committee and deputy prime minister, Nguyen
Manh Cam, member of the Political Bureau of the VCP Central Committee
and foreign minister, Hong Ha, assistant to the general secretary of
the VCP Central Committee, other Party and government officials, as well
as a big-number of enterpreneurs.

Do Muoi and his party were greeted at the airport by Li Shuzheng, head
of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, Tang Jiaxuan,
vice-foreign minister, Dai Bingguo, deputy head of the International
Department of the CPC Central Committee, Li Jiazhong, Chinese Ambassador
to Viet nam, and Dang Nghiem Hoanh, Vietnamese Ambassador to China.

-------------------------------------------------------------------