2 months ago
HANOI, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Vietnam said on Friday it strongly opposed all foreign activities in the Paracels archipelago in the disputed South China Sea, following a report earlier this week of new Chinese construction on an islet there.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that new installations had been sighted on Yagong Island, called Ba Ba Island by Vietnam, citing satellite imagery, with security **** ysts saying it could be the start of an early-warning radar facility.
"Vietnam resolutely opposes this, has made serious representations and affirmed its position on the matter, and demands an immediate end to such activities and that they not be repeated," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang told Reuters in an emailed statement.
China has occupied the Paracel Islands since 1974, when it seized them from the navy of the former South Vietnam. Vietnam, which claims the entire grouping as its own, has moved in recent years to expand its own network of bases in the Spratlys, which lie further south.
The Spratlys and nearby waters are also claimed, fully or in part, by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.
#activities
Reuters reported on Tuesday that new installations had been sighted on Yagong Island, called Ba Ba Island by Vietnam, citing satellite imagery, with security **** ysts saying it could be the start of an early-warning radar facility.
"Vietnam resolutely opposes this, has made serious representations and affirmed its position on the matter, and demands an immediate end to such activities and that they not be repeated," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang told Reuters in an emailed statement.
China has occupied the Paracel Islands since 1974, when it seized them from the navy of the former South Vietnam. Vietnam, which claims the entire grouping as its own, has moved in recent years to expand its own network of bases in the Spratlys, which lie further south.
The Spratlys and nearby waters are also claimed, fully or in part, by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.
#activities
3 months ago
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Authorities in Vietnam have charged a man with rape after an American student said she was ***** aulted while in her bed during a group holiday.
Nguyen Thi Quynh Tam, 24, said she was raped on July 5 and pressured by the man's family to accept money and not go to police. She said the police also initially urged her to settle the matter privately.
The AP does not usually identify people who say they have been ***** ually ***** aulted, except if they come forward publicly about the abuse. Tam's candor is unusual for Vietnam, where ***** ual violence is rarely discussed publicly, but she said she wanted to speak out to help protect other women.
"I'm doing this not just for me. But for everybody else that has been harmed," said Tam.
Tam's account was documented in interviews, her police complaint and communications with U.S. and Vietnamese officials. After she sought help from U.S. officials and a U.S. lawmaker, officials confirmed Thursday that they had charged the 23-year-old man.
#police #publicly #hanoi #authorities
Nguyen Thi Quynh Tam, 24, said she was raped on July 5 and pressured by the man's family to accept money and not go to police. She said the police also initially urged her to settle the matter privately.
The AP does not usually identify people who say they have been ***** ually ***** aulted, except if they come forward publicly about the abuse. Tam's candor is unusual for Vietnam, where ***** ual violence is rarely discussed publicly, but she said she wanted to speak out to help protect other women.
"I'm doing this not just for me. But for everybody else that has been harmed," said Tam.
Tam's account was documented in interviews, her police complaint and communications with U.S. and Vietnamese officials. After she sought help from U.S. officials and a U.S. lawmaker, officials confirmed Thursday that they had charged the 23-year-old man.
#police #publicly #hanoi #authorities
3 months ago
By Francesco Guarascio, Sophie Yu and Casey Hall
HANOI/GUANGZHOU, China, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Just over a year ago, Chinese ultra-fast fashion retailer Shein began leasing 15 hectares of warehouse facilities — equivalent in size to 21 soccer pitches — near Ho Chi Minh City, part of a grand experiment to make Vietnam a major export base.
When it was formulating those plans in late 2024, it seemed like a bet that, while risky, was worth making.
U.S. exemptions for duties on small parcels from China that underpinned its business model looked as if they would be abolished, Donald Trump had just been elected U.S. president for a second term and fears of a heightened trade war were soon realised, with U.S. tariffs on many Chinese goods rocketing to 145% by April 2025.
Shein started encouraging its biggest Chinese suppliers to set up manufacturing bases in Vietnam.
#hall
HANOI/GUANGZHOU, China, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Just over a year ago, Chinese ultra-fast fashion retailer Shein began leasing 15 hectares of warehouse facilities — equivalent in size to 21 soccer pitches — near Ho Chi Minh City, part of a grand experiment to make Vietnam a major export base.
When it was formulating those plans in late 2024, it seemed like a bet that, while risky, was worth making.
U.S. exemptions for duties on small parcels from China that underpinned its business model looked as if they would be abolished, Donald Trump had just been elected U.S. president for a second term and fears of a heightened trade war were soon realised, with U.S. tariffs on many Chinese goods rocketing to 145% by April 2025.
Shein started encouraging its biggest Chinese suppliers to set up manufacturing bases in Vietnam.
#hall
5 months ago
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Police in Vietnam rescued more than 400 cats in a major bust of a cat meat crime ring last week in Ho Chi Minh City, and at least 40 of them have been reunited with their owners.
However, following the dayslong police operation, several of the cats died because of the harsh conditions they were found in, animal welfare groups said. They didn't elaborate or provide an exact number on the cats who didn't make it.
Since the operation, veterinarians and volunteers have flocked to care for the cats at a temporary rescue center set up at a facility run by the Ho Chi Minh City Criminal Police Division.
"People who lost their cats can come to the police station to identify their pets and help the police with the investigation," police official Nguyen The Bao told the state-owned Tuoi Tre newspaper.
This operation is "a sobering reminder of the enormous scale of Viet Nam's cat meat trade," according to Karanvir Kukreja, who leads a campaign against dog and cat meat consumption for the international nonprofit Humane World for Animals.
However, following the dayslong police operation, several of the cats died because of the harsh conditions they were found in, animal welfare groups said. They didn't elaborate or provide an exact number on the cats who didn't make it.
Since the operation, veterinarians and volunteers have flocked to care for the cats at a temporary rescue center set up at a facility run by the Ho Chi Minh City Criminal Police Division.
"People who lost their cats can come to the police station to identify their pets and help the police with the investigation," police official Nguyen The Bao told the state-owned Tuoi Tre newspaper.
This operation is "a sobering reminder of the enormous scale of Viet Nam's cat meat trade," according to Karanvir Kukreja, who leads a campaign against dog and cat meat consumption for the international nonprofit Humane World for Animals.
5 months ago
MANILA, June 1 (Reuters) - The Philippines and Vietnam are elevating their ties to an enhanced strategic partnership, reaffirming that shared commitment to peace and stability in the South China Sea is "non-negotiable," President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Monday during a state visit by Vietnam's top leader To Lam to Manila.
Marcos said there is no doubt the Philippines and Vietnam share a common interest in maintaining peace, stability and a rules-based order in their region, adding that the partnership has become more important as the region navigates an evolving and uncertain global environment.
• Marcos said the deeper ties would be "defined by wider pathways for cooperation, stronger political and defence cooperation, and closer linkages between the Filipino and Vietnamese people."
• Vietnam is the Philippines' lone strategic partner in the ASEAN region, after they upgraded ties 10 years ago in a show of unity against China.
• Marcos said Manila and Hanoi reaffirmed that maintaining peace, stability, and the freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea "remains non-negotiable."
Marcos said there is no doubt the Philippines and Vietnam share a common interest in maintaining peace, stability and a rules-based order in their region, adding that the partnership has become more important as the region navigates an evolving and uncertain global environment.
• Marcos said the deeper ties would be "defined by wider pathways for cooperation, stronger political and defence cooperation, and closer linkages between the Filipino and Vietnamese people."
• Vietnam is the Philippines' lone strategic partner in the ASEAN region, after they upgraded ties 10 years ago in a show of unity against China.
• Marcos said Manila and Hanoi reaffirmed that maintaining peace, stability, and the freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea "remains non-negotiable."
