Vietnam-China border committee meets for third time

The third session of the Vietnam-China Land Border Joint Committee convened in Beijing, China, from December 23-27.

Both sides acknowledged their joint efforts in implementing the Protocol on Border Demarcation and Marker Planting, the Agreement on Border Management Regulations and the Agreement on Border Gates and Land Border Gate Management Regulations in 2012.

According to delegates, the mechanism of Land Border Joint Committee and Border Representatives operated smoothly and effectively.

The situation along the Vietnam-China land border remains stable, and cooperation between border localities has been strengthened, they said.

Delegates agreed upon important aspects such as the upgrade and official launch of some border gates, objects used to mark the border, and border gate communication mechanism.

They said the two sides will work closely to maintain and ensure security and order in border areas and prevent illegal crossings, women and child trafficking, drug smuggling and transnational crimes.

They agreed to hold the fourth session in Hanoi in 2013.

Chinese surveillance vessels patrol near Tonkin Gulf

Chinese surveillance vessels conducted 58 East Sea patrols in 2012, according to the State Oceanic Administration of China (SOA).

It said two surveillance vessels No 75 and 84 accompanied with B-3843 reconnaissance plane patrolled territorial waters near the Tonkin Gulf in the East Sea where there are many offshore oil rigs.

Quoting the SOA, China’s Xinhua News Agency did not identify areas the vessels moved into or whether the plane flew over the airspace of Vietnam or not.

On December 11, the Head of the Permanent Representative Mission of Vietnam to the United Nations (UN), Le Hoai Trung, delivered an important speech at the 67th session of the UN General Assembly on Seas and Oceans marking the 30th anniversary of the signing of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Vietnam, a country with its coastline stretching 3,260 km, always shows its keen interest in maintaining peace and stability in the East Sea, ensuring maritime security and promoting prosperity, friendship and cooperation in line with international law, particularly the UNCLOS.

Vietnam called on signatory countries and other nations to support the implementation of the ASEAN-China Statement on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and the 2012 Declaration on Six Principles on the East Sea adopted by the ASEAN Foreign Ministerial Meeting.

The country is ready to accelerate the signing of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) aiming to promote peace, stability and cooperation in the region, Trung said.

Vietnam, RoK see cooperative prospects in 2013

Vietnam–Republic of Korea (RoK) ties will grow in the future, benefiting people from both countries, said a senior Vietnamese diplomat.

Vietnamese Ambassador to RoK Tran Trong Toan made the remark in an interview granted to Vietnam News Agency on the occasion of the New Year, as the two sides concluded a friendship year in 2012 to commemorate 20 years of diplomatic relations.

Toan said since the establishment of diplomatic ties on December 22, 1992, Vietnam–RoK relations have experienced many important milestones.

In 2001, the two countries lifted their ties to a comprehensive cooperative partnership level, and then to a strategic cooperative partnership in 2009.

RoK is now the second biggest investor in Vietnam, while Vietnam is RoK’s third largest overseas investment market.

According to Toan, the two countries are set to further boost bilateral cooperation. RoK boasts great potential in investment, trade, finance and science-technology while Vietnam, which is on a course of industrialisation and modernisation, is able to supply a stable workforce to RoK.

There is also room for green growth links, and with rising middle-income earners, cooperation in tourism is also promising.

Speaking on Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations, Toan said that the two nations launched the first round of FTA talks in September, 2012, during RoK Minister of Trade Bark Tae-ho’s visit to Vietnam.

Goods and services will smoothly enter each country’s market once the FTA signed. It will boost investment and technology transfer, and simplify customs procedures, he added.

Around 70,000 labourers out of 123,000 Vietnamese living in RoK help ease the country’s workforce shortage. There are as many as 130,000 people from the RoK in Vietnam, mainly investors and businesspeople that help generate jobs and boost Vietnam’s exports.

VUFO leader receives US guests

President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations Vu Xuan Hong received a delegation from the US organisation Soldier’s Heart Initiative (SHI), led by its President cum Executive Director Ed Tick, who is on a working visit from December 28 – January 14.

Hong briefed the guest on VUFO’s mission, including the Vietnam–US Society, to promote mutual understanding, friendship, solidarity and cooperation between the people of Vietnam and the world, including the US.

He said he hopes the visit will help build trust and enhance the friendship between the two peoples, and that international friends will pay more attention to humanitarian needs and the after-effects of war, including Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin and unexploded ordnance in Vietnam.

The US side said they hope to find opportunities to start a psychotherapy project in Vietnam. They will also visit some charitable, cultural and art organisations in the country.

Since 2004, SHI has sent annual delegations of US war veterans and their relatives to Vietnam to donate money and medicine to AO-affected children and poor households. They also engage in cultural exchanges with Vietnamese writers and poets that promote peace and speak out against the war.

VNN/VOV/VNA