VietNamNet Bridge – Eleven laws and two resolutions were adopted and 16 draft laws and one resolution debated during the month-long, seventh session of the 13th National Assembly that ended yesterday, June 24.

Eleven laws and two resolutions were adopted at the seventh session of the 13th National Assembly that ended yesterday in Ha Noi.

Addressing the closing ceremony, NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung said the session took place at a time when the regional situation was undergoing dangerous, unpredictable and complicated developments as China illegally set up an oil rig deep inside Viet Nam's exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

He said that this seriously threatened the national independence and sovereignty of Viet Nam as well as peace, stability and maritime security, safety and freedom of navigation in the East Sea.

The NA leader said that China's move gravely violated Viet Nam's sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction, infringed international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC).

It also went against high-level agreements reached between Viet Nam and China on the basic principles guiding the settlement of maritime issues.

Hung said that China's move also deeply hurt the friendship, solidarity and neighbourliness between the two people.

He said the NA had also issued a statement clarifying Viet Nam's stand on the issue, protesting against China's illegal acts and demanding it remove its rig out of Viet Nam's waters - and not to repeat actions that violated Vietnamese sovereignty.

Regarding other key issues, the NA Chairman urged the Government, ministries and localities to continue promoting inner strengths to maintain macro-economic stability, speed up economic restructuring and growth - and improve social welfare.

He also spoke of the need to ensure social security and safety, and expand external relations activities and international integration.

The NA leader asked the NA Standing Committee, the Government and other State agencies to ensure effective implementation of the new Constitution.

During the session, deputies discussed a resolution on confidence voting and agreed on the need to ponder it further before adoption. Meanwhile, votes of confidence will continue to be conducted on people holding positions elected or approved by the NA and the People's Councils.

By a majority of 96.18 per cent of votes, deputies also passed a resolution on question-and-answer results at this session.

Agencies of the National Assembly, the Government, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuracy dealt with 2,268 questions sent to the previous session by voters nationwide.

The NA also asked the Government, ministries and relevant agencies to promptly give answers to 2,216 questions sent to the NA at the seventh session and report to the NA at the next session.

Almost all deputies approved a resolution to step up the reduction of poverty. The resolution plans to cut the ratio of the country's poor households to below 5 per cent and the number of poor districts by 30 per cent by 2015.

It plans to do this by ensuring that at least 90 per cent of poor households have access to social health insurance and that 70 per cent of commune health-care stations provide sufficient social-insurance services.

‘Sensitive, complex time'

Speaking at a press conference at the end the fourth session of the 13th NA, National Assembly Office Chairman Nguyen Hanh Phuc said the parliament had convened at a very sensitive and complex time for the nation, given the need to tackle China's illegal placement of an oil rig in Vietnamese waters.

Answering a question on whether the NA should issue an official resolution on the situation in the East Sea, Phuc said the NA has already stated its view strongly in its second press release issued at the end of May, demanding that China remove its oil rig, severely condemning its action, and standing firmly with the Government, the Party and the entire society in protecting national sovereignty.

Speaking at the press conference, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Truong Minh Tuan said there had been no verification on whether China has placed a new oil rig in the East Sea.

Regarding the delay in approving the amended Resolution 35 on the vote of confidence for senior functionaries in the Government and the judiciary, Phuc said there were still disagreements over several aspects including the frequency and "levels of expression" of such votes.

According to Resolution 35 passed by the NA in November, 2012, an annual confidence vote will allow delegates to express "high confidence," "confidence" or "low confidence" in 49 officials including the President, Prime Minister, NA Chairman, cabinet members, Supreme Court judges and the chief state auditor.

Despite the delay, the vote of confidence will still be held for positions identified by the NA and People's Committees but it will be some time before this can be applied to all key officials from the central to local administrations.

Addressing concerns on whether the NA should revise its outlook for the year, Phuc said it was still too early to judge if the situation with China would prevent the country from fulfilling its socio-economic targets.

In its statement, the NA said it believes most voters were satisfied with the quality of its question-n-answer sessions that saw four cabinet members and Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc respond to deputies' queries.

However, some ministers "strayed away" from tough questions, it noted.

The NA also said it understood voters' concerns that the NA exercise its supervisory right in monitoring follow up of pledges made by the Government at the question-n-answer sessions.

Fruitful session

NA deputies were in general agreement that the seventh session of the 13th NA was a success.

Le Nhu Tien of Quang Tri Province said that the session addressed all items on the agenda, debated major socio-economic and defence-security issues and adopted resolutions, including one on the question-and-answer sessions.

He commented that the answers were basically clear, satisfying almost all voters. However, he said more firm and specific commitments should be given by leaders of ministries and sectors along with a fixed timetable for their implementation.

Do Van Ve of Thai Binh Province said the session devoted a lot of time to discussing the East Sea issue, especially China's illegal placement of a drilling rig deep inside Viet Nam's exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

He said the deputies strongly condemned China's actions and demanded the immediate removal of the rig from Viet Nam's waters.

VNS/VNN