VietNamNet Bridge - China is taking advantage of the power of science and technology to strengthen its claims of "sovereignty extortion" in the East Sea (internationally known as the South China Sea).

Vietnam hopes Belgium’s Government and legislative bodies to accelerate the ratification of the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, towards enhancing relations between the two nations

National Assembly (NA) members are voting to delay the implementation of the newly amended Penal Code 2016 after several legal loopholes in the code were detected.

 Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son and his Belarusian counterpart V.B. Rubakov co-chaired a political consultation in Hanoi on June 28 to discuss bilateral cooperation and regional and international issues of mutual concern.

 Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh has urged ministries, agencies and localities to promptly complete specific organisational plans for major activities for APEC which is to be hosted by Vietnam in 2017.

 Nguyen Thanh Phong was re-elected as Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee for the 2016-2021 tenure, as he won 100 percent of the vote at the first session of the 9th municipal People’s Council on June 28.

 The Vietnam government on June 28 ceremoniously established diplomatic ties with the west African nation of Liberia.

VietNamNet Bridge – Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh and Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi on Monday confirmed the completion of procedures for setting up the Chinese consulate general in Da Nang.

 The Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, Dinh La Thang, on June 27 hosted a reception for Rena Bitter, US Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City who came to bid farewell at the end of her tenure.

 Growing cooperation between the Vietnamese National Assembly (NA) and the Parliament of the Federation Wallonie-Brussels, along with the Belgian Federal Parliament, has contributed to the two countries’ overall relations.

Senior Lieutenant General Vo Van Tuan, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, hosted a reception in Hanoi on June 27 for a visiting delegation from Japan’s Self Defence Force.  

 Ho Chi Minh City needs a particular mechanism in order to fulfil its role as an economic locomotive of the country, Politburo member and Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Dinh La Thang has said.

 VietNamNet Bridge - China's motive since the Philippines promoted legal solutions to the East Sea dispute, is to focus on developing its "muscle power" to assert sovereignty in the field.

 The Vietnamese Party, State and people attach much importance to reinforcing and enhancing the friendly neighbourliness and comprehensive cooperation with China, President Tran Dai Quang has said.

 A Vietnamese delegation led by Pham Xuan Son, deputy head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations, is attending the second phase of the 15 th Congress of the United Russia (ER) Party from June 26-28.

Ho Chi Minh City should be turned into a smart city capable of deeply joining regional and global value chains and competing with its counterparts in Asia.

 Vietnam and China agreed to enhance political trust, maintain high-level visits and strive for new progress in their result-oriented cooperation at the ninth meeting of the steering committee for bilateral cooperation in Hanoi on June 27.

 Laos’ top legislator Pany Yathotou called for closer cooperation between Laos and Vietnam in ethnic and religious affairs in a reception on June 27 for a delegation of the Vietnamese National Assembly’s Council for Ethnic Affairs.

VietNamNet Bridge - There will be no free lunch, especially in difficult decisions. ASEAN and the East Sea (internationally known as the South China Sea) is also a similar case.

Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga, head of the permanent Vietnam mission to the UN, has called on parties concerned to immediately stop actions that change the status quo, destroy marine environment and further complicate the East Sea issue.