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Friday, 20 August 2010 04:54 - Vietnam, US hold first ever defense talks

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 20:54:22 +0100

HANOI, Vietnam – Former foes Vietnam and the United States held their first ever defense talks on Tuesday, which a senior U.S. official called extremely productive and successful.

"I was struck by the open and frank discussions that we were able to have even though this is the first time that this dialogue was held," Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Robert Scher told a joint news conference with Vietnamese Vice Defense Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh.

The talks came as the two countries celebrate the 15th anniversary of their normalization of relations after being enemies in the Vietnam War. Last week, an American warship, the USS John S. McCain, docked in Vietnam and the two navies conducted training exercises _ a sign of growing military ties.

"This dialogue ... represents the next significant, historic step in our increasingly robust defense relationship which is based on mutual trust, understanding and respect for independence and sovereignty," Scher said.

Friday, 20 August 2010 04:53 - US, Vietnam step up defence co-operation amid China concerns

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 20:53:42 +0100

The Vietnamese flag (R) is displayed with US flags in 2007 in New York City. Former foes Vietnam and the United States on Tuesday stepped up co-operation by holding their first high-level defence dialogue, amid concerns over China's military build-up.

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HANOI (AFP) - – Former foes Vietnam and the United States on Tuesday stepped up co-operation by holding their first high-level defence dialogue, amid concerns over China's military build-up.

Robert Scher, the US deputy assistant secretary of defense for South and Southeast Asia, met Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh, Vietnam's deputy minister of defence, for talks in Hanoi on ways to enhance co-operation by the two sides, they said.

The talks -- 15 years after normalisation of diplomatic relations -- represented "the next significant historic step in our increasingly robust defence relationship which is based on mutual trust, understanding and respect for independence and sovereignty," Scher told reporters.

Friday, 20 August 2010 04:52 - US lawmakers urge probe on Vietnam Catholic clash

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 20:52:43 +0100

WASHINGTON (AFP) - – US lawmakers urged a UN probe into violence in a Vietnamese Catholic village after families said that authorities used deadly force to break up a religious procession.

Villagers' relatives, testifying before a panel of the US Congress, charged that Vietnamese authorities forcibly prevented Con Dau parish, near the central city of Danang, from burying a woman at the local cemetery in May.

Authorities, who want to move the parish and build a resort, seized the body to cremate and severely beat the villagers, including women and the elderly, the residents said.

Wednesday, 07 July 2010 22:41 - Vietnam arrests 99 from Taiwan, China for fraud

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:41:20 +0100

Vietnamese police have arrested 99 people from China and Taiwan for international phone and Internet fraud that allegedly led to millions of dollars in losses, state radio reported Wednesday.

The arrests took place between late June and last week in southern Ho Chi Minh City, Voice of Vietnam said, citing the Ministry of Public Security.

It said the suspects included 76 Taiwanese and 23 Chinese.

Police seized telecommunications equipment, computers and telephones, the report added.

Major General To Lam told the radio network that the criminals often took over entire hotels of 30 to 40 rooms for their operations.

The suspects allegedly made random phone calls posing as telecom officials, police officers and prosecutors, urging people to wire money to specified accounts.

"They asked the hotel owners to sign contracts for the use of international phones and Internet, with Vietnamese operators. They used the name of Vietnamese to operate but the Vietnamese had no direct involvement in their operations," the general said.

Some of the foreign victims reported they had lost millions of dollars, Voice of Vietnam said.

Police in Taiwan on July 1 announced the arrest in Vietnam of 32 people from the island and 14 mainland Chinese for suspected involvement in telephone scams.

Taiwanese fraud rings have recently relocated to Vietnam after the island's police joined forces with Chinese and Thai authorities to bust their operations, Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau said.

The scams mostly targeted Taiwanese and Chinese nationals.

Wednesday, 07 July 2010 22:40 - Bulgaria slashes Vietnam's communist-era debt

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:40:50 +0100

Bulgaria agreed to write off 45 percent of Vietnam's communist-era debt in turn for receiving the remaining 725,000 dollars (577,000 euros) in cash, Finance Minister Simeon Djankov said on Wednesday.

A corresponding agreement was signed by Djankov and Vietnam's First Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung during a visit to Sofia by a trade delegation from Vietnam, where the two sides discussed cooperation in the areas of industry, farming, education and healthcare.

The debt write-off would be considered as aid for developing Vietnam's economy, Djankov said.

Sofia expected to receive the outstanding debt in cash within a month.

The right-wing government under Boyko Borisov had made it a priority to sort out outstanding communist-era debt, the minister said.

Already in April, Bulgaria agreed to write off 76 percent of Syria's communist-era debt.