Vietnam Halts Scuba Diving off Popular Island to Protect Coral

Monday, 27 June, 2022

Vietnam has banned swimming and scuba diving at a popular central tourist spot in an attempt to revive its damaged coral reef, officials said Monday.

The communist nation boasts more than 3,200 kilometers of coastline with crystal clear waters, vibrant sea life and sandy beaches that are a huge tourism draw, AFP said.

Coral reefs across Southeast Asia have been badly hit by global warming, with scientists warning their degradation could have devastating environmental and economic knock-on effects.

Recent photos taken off Hon Mun island -- about 14 kilometers from the city of Nha Trang and popular with divers thanks to its diverse ecosystem -- showed the reef bleached and damaged.

"The Nha Trang bay management authority decided to halt swimming and scuba diving activities in areas around Hon Mun island," officials said.

In a statement they said the ban was to "evaluate the condition of sensitive area so that an appropriate plan to enact the sea conservation area" could be made.

Effective from Monday, the ban would last "until further notice", they added.

Around 60 percent of the coastal bed in the area was covered by living coral in 2020, according to state media, but more recent findings showed that had shrunk to less than 50 percent.

Previously local authorities blamed the shrinking ecosystem on climate change, noting that powerful storms in 2019 and 2021 had damaged the coral.

They also blamed illegal fishing, dredging, construction of industrial parks and waste disposal.

Divers expressed anger over the decision to close the waters.

"Swimming and diving activities were the least influence on the coral reefs, compared to other activities," diver Nguyen Son, from Ho Chi Minh City, told AFP.

"The ecosystem (around Hon Mun) should have recovered after two years of pandemic," said diver Trinh Ngoc Sang.

"Without proper management, the fishing vessels came in and destroyed the sea bed," he told AFP, recalling the sight of rubbish and dead coral during a recent dive.

"It would take dozens of years for the coral reefs to be restored, so they want to close it throughout?"

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned that 4.5 million people in Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean region could be affected by damaged coral reefs.

The reefs support about 25 percent of marine biodiversity.

Vietnam's decision follows a similar move in Thailand, which restricted access to Maya Bay -- immortalized in the Leonardo DiCaprio film "The Beach" -- to give the local ecosystem a chance to recover.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3726746/vietnam-halts-scuba-diving-popular-island-protect-coral.

Mexico 3rd in global pandemic deaths, Vietnam struggles anew

August 01, 2020

PARIS (AP) — Mexico now has the third most COVID-19 deaths in the world, behind the United States and Brazil, while former success story Vietnam is struggling to control an outbreak spreading in its most famous beach resort.

China reported a more than 50% drop in newly confirmed cases in a possible sign that its latest major outbreak in the northwestern region of Xinjiang may have run its course. However, in Hong Kong, infections continue to surge, with more than 100 new cases reported as of Saturday among the population of 7.5 million. Officials have reimposed dining restrictions and mask requirements.

South Korean prosecutors arrested the elderly leader of a secretive religious sect linked to more than 5,200 of the country's 14,336 confirmed cases. He has denied charges of hiding members and underreporting gatherings to avoid broader quarantines.

Mexican health officials on Friday reported 688 new deaths, pushing the country’s total to 46,688. That put Mexico just ahead of the United Kingdom, which has 46,119, according to the tally by Johns Hopkins University.

In Vietnam, a third person died of coronavirus complications, officials said Saturday, a day after it recorded its first-ever death as it struggles with a renewed outbreak after 99 days with no local cases.

All three died in a hospital in Da Nang, a hot spot with more than 100 cases in the past week. Thousands of visitors had been in the city for summer vacation and are now being tested in Hanoi and elsewhere.

Twelve additional cases were confirmed on Saturday, all linked to Da Nang Hospital. The city has tightened security and set up more checkpoints to prevent people from leaving or entering the city, which has been in lockdown since Tuesday.

A makeshift hospital was set up in a sports auditorium and doctors have been mobilized from other cities to help. “I want to be tested so I can stop worrying if I have the virus or not,” said Pham Thuy Hoa, a banking official who returned to the capital from Da Nang. “We must be responsible for the entire community.”

India recorded its steepest spike of 57,118 new cases in the past 24 hours, taking its coronavirus caseload close to 1.7 million, with July alone accounting for nearly 1.1 million infections. The country's Civil Aviation Ministry delayed resumption of international flights by another month until Aug. 31. But it will continue to allow several international carriers from the United States, Europe and the Middle East to operate special flights to evacuate stranded nationals.

The global pandemic has impacted nearly every aspect of this year’s Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, with as few as 1,000 pilgrims already residing in Saudi Arabia taking part, down from 2.5 million last year.

Poverty brought on by the pandemic is making it harder for many to join in the four-day Eid al-Adha, or “Feast of Sacrifice,” in which Muslims slaughter livestock and distribute the meat to the poor.

“I could hardly buy food for my family,” Somali civil servant Abdishakur Dahir said. “We are just surviving for now. Life is getting tougher by the day.” The Saudi Health Ministry said there have been no cases of COVID-19 among this year’s pilgrims. All were tested, their movements monitored with electronic wristbands and required to be quarantined before and after.

In the U.S., Hurricane Isaias’ imminent arrival forced the closure of some outdoor testing sites even as Florida reached a new daily high in deaths. “We had to put safety first,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said at an online news conference Friday.

In Utah, the Salt Lake City School District Board of Education announced that its schools will start the year with all online-only classes in response to an increasing number of confirmed cases in the city. Just days after public schools around Indiana reopened their doors, at least one student and one school staff member in districts around Indianapolis have tested positive for the virus.

The debate over school openings came as Dr. Anthony Fauci dismissed a tweet by President Donald Trump claiming the U.S. global lead in coronavirus cases is because of increased testing. Fauci said the scale of the U.S. outbreak is the result of multiple factors, including some states opening up too quickly and disregarding federal guidelines.

On Friday, the head of the World Health Organization predicted the effects of the pandemic will be felt for “decades to come.” “Most of the world’s people remain susceptible to this virus, even in areas that have experienced severe outbreaks,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in London. “Although vaccine development is happening at record speed, we must learn to live with this virus and we must fight it with the tools that we have."

Leicester reported from Le Pecq, France and McGuirk from Canberra, Australia. AP journalists around the world contributed to this report.

Vietnam Detects 1st Virus Case in Nearly 100 Days

Saturday, 25 July, 2020

Vietnam has detected its first locally-transmitted case of coronavirus in nearly 100 days, authorities said Saturday, in a country whose swift and full lockdown won praise for controlling the spread of the disease.

"Patient 416" is a 57-year-old retired Vietnamese man in the southern city of Danang, and the first community transmission since April 16.

Local health officials have tested 105 people who had been in close contact with him, the Ministry of Health said on its website.

The man had taken his mother to a hospital in the days before after showing symptoms of the sickness, authorities said, but gave no confirmation of how he was infected in a country where the virus appeared to have been stubbed out for several months.

"The patient is currently on ventilator support due to respiratory failure," it said, adding his family believe his contacts with others were limited.

"He didn’t go out of the city and only stayed at home to look after his grandchild and interact with neighbors, he didn’t make contact with strangers," it said.

Danang has been packed with local tourists returning to its beaches and restaurants since Vietnam lifted its lockdown.

Despite sharing a long, ungovernable border with China, Vietnam has recorded just 416 virus cases -- including the latest from Danang -- with no deaths.

Communist authorities were quick to lock down the country after the virus emerged in neighboring China, with a rigorous state quarantine and contact-tracing system put in place.

International flights remain strictly limited with a two-week mandatory quarantine laid out for visitors.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.
Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2410496/vietnam-detects-1st-virus-case-nearly-100-days.

Vietnamese village holds funeral for trafficking victims

November 28, 2019

DIEN THINH, Vietnam (AP) — The village of Dien Thinh is bidding farewell to two of its sons, victims of the human trafficking tragedy unveiled last month when the bodies of 39 Vietnamese were discovered in a truck in England.

This village's church did double duty Thursday as coffins with the bodies of cousins Nguyen Van Hung and Hoang Van Tiep were carried in for a funeral attended by about 300 people. The remains of 16 of the 39 people found Oct. 23, east of London in the town of Grays, were repatriated to Vietnam on Wednesday and sent on to their families.

The 31 men and eight women are believed to have paid human traffickers for their clandestine transit into England. Police say the victims were aged between 15 and 44.

North Korea's Kim leaves Vietnam after summit breakdown

March 02, 2019

DONG DANG, Vietnam (AP) — Smiling and holding up his clasped hands in a victorious pose, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday boarded his private train at the Vietnam-China border for a 60-plus-hour ride home, ending a trip to Vietnam that saw a summit breakdown with President Donald Trump.

He spent his last day in Hanoi laying large red-and-yellow wreaths at a war memorial and at the mausoleum of national hero Ho Chi Minh, surrounded by Vietnamese soldiers in crisp white uniforms and his own entourage of top North Korean officials. At the border, he got out of his armored limousine and clasped his hands, waving to a crowd of people cheering his departure.

Since Trump flew home to Washington, Kim has stepped assuredly into the spotlight, keen to show himself as a poised leader taking his rightful place on the international stage. He met Friday with President Nguyen Phu Trong, the country's top leader and Communist Party chief, grinning broadly as he was feted by top officials and escorted down a red carpet.

As Kim met with officials in Hanoi, the United States and North Korea have both been spinning their versions of what happened during one of the most high-profile diplomatic collapses in recent years. But some experts believe that Kim, by standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Trump at a summit that captivated many around the world, will have one sure win: He'll be able to portray himself to his people and supporters as the charismatic head of a nuclear-armed power, not an international pariah that starves its citizens so it can build nukes and missiles.

On Saturday, Kim, his trademark high-and-tight pompadour a bit disheveled, walked slowly behind a wreath with his name on it and a message that said, "I mourn the heroes and patriotic martyrs," as it was taken to the Monument to War Heroes and Martyrs. He also oversaw the presentation of a large wreath at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, where he bowed and walked inside.

Talks between Kim and Trump broke down on Thursday, the second day of their two-day summit, in a dispute over how much sanctions relief Washington should provide Pyongyang in return for nuclear disarmament steps. Despite a senior North Korean official's suggestion — in a rushed, middle-of-the-night news conference called to dispute Trump's version of the summit's end — that Kim may have "lost the will" for diplomacy, the North Korean leader seems to have emerged from the diplomatic wreckage as a winner.

Kim answered questions with humor and ease when confronted by an aggressive international media contingent here. And, crucially for his image at home, he stood firm on his demands for the relief of sanctions imposed over a nuclear program North Korea says it built in the face of unrelenting U.S. hostility meant to end its leadership.

Kim, as he considers his next move after Hanoi, will be backed by state-controlled media that were already busy portraying the summit as a victory for their leader, saying Kim and Trump "appreciated that the second meeting in Hanoi offered an important occasion for deepening mutual respect and trust and putting the relations between the two countries on a new stage."

North Korea said it had asked for partial sanctions relief in return for closing its main nuclear site at Yongbyon, an important nuclear-fuel production facility but not the only place the North is believed to make bomb fuel.

The United States also has been spinning the summit breakdown, with senior officials saying that North Korea wanted billions of dollars in sanctions relief in return for only partial dismantlement of Yongbyon, and demanded the North scrap more of its nuclear program for such a high level of concessions.

It's unclear what will come next: Working-level meetings among experts to close the negotiating gap? Another summit? Or will Trump, consumed with controversy in Washington and burned by the failure in Hanoi, lose interest?

The worst-case scenario would be a return to the personal insults and threats of war between Trump and Kim in 2017 as the North staged a series of increasingly powerful weapons tests, including a nuclear detonation and displays of long-range missiles that can target the U.S. mainland, though experts believe those ICBMs are not yet complete.

Trump maintained ahead of the Hanoi summit that the economic benefits of a deal could push Kim to give up his nuclear ambitions. Kim came into the summit feeling confident that he could settle something that would end painful economic sanctions while letting him keep much of his nuclear program and only making a "a variety of gestures that mimic disarmament," Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear expert at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, wrote after the summit collapse. This outcome would be a signal that "the world must live with North Korea's bomb, but Kim won't rub it in anyone's face."

"Since it would be utter madness to try to topple a nuclear-armed dictator, it seems obvious which side should yield," Lewis said. If Trump "does not accept the reality that we now live with a nuclear-armed North Korea, then we are doomed to the collapse of negotiations, and perhaps even a return to the terror of 2017."

Klug reported from Hanoi, Vietnam. Associated Press writer Hyung-jin Kim in Hanoi, Vietnam, contributed to this report. Foster Klug, AP's bureau chief in South Korea, has covered the Koreas since 2005.

NKorea leader Kim Jong Un tours Hanoi after summit breakdown

March 01, 2019

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — A day after his stunning summit breakdown with Donald Trump, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un smiled broadly as he strode down a red carpet with Vietnam's president Friday, a military band playing as stiff-backed soldiers goose-stepped by.

With Trump back in Washington, and both countries spinning their version of what happened during one of the most high-profile diplomatic collapses in recent years, Kim seemed confident and poised — a world leader taking his place on the international stage — as he stepped out of his armored limousine, embraced President Nguyen Phu Trong, the country's top leader and Communist Party chief, and accepted a bouquet of flowers from a beaming girl.

On Saturday he is expected to be driven back to the border with China where he will board his armored train for a 60-plus-hour trip, through the sprawl of China, back home to Pyongyang, North Korea's capital. But Friday saw his black limousine rolling beneath fluttering Vietnamese and North Korean flags — the U.S. ones have been mostly taken down — as a large crowd jammed the city's streets and waved flowers.

Talks between Kim and Trump broke down on Thursday, the second day of their two-day summit, in a dispute over how much sanctions relief Washington should provide Pyongyang in return for nuclear disarmament steps. Despite a senior North Korean official's suggestion — in a rushed, middle-of-the-night news conference called to dispute Trump's version of the summit's end — that Kim may have "lost the will" for diplomacy, the North Korean leader seems to have emerged from the diplomatic wreckage as a winner.

Kim stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Trump at the summit, an image that allows his propaganda services to portray him to his people and supporters as the leader of a nuclear-armed power, not an international pariah that starves its citizens so it can build nukes and missiles. He answered questions with humor and ease when confronted by an aggressive international media contingent here. And, crucially for his image at home, he stood firm on his demands for the relief of sanctions imposed over a nuclear program North Korea says it built in the face of unrelenting U.S. hostility meant to end its leadership.

Kim, as he considers his next move after Hanoi, will also be backed by state-controlled media that were already busy portraying the summit as a victory for their leader, saying Kim and Trump "appreciated that the second meeting in Hanoi offered an important occasion for deepening mutual respect and trust and putting the relations between the two countries on a new stage."

North Korea said it had asked for partial sanctions relief in return for closing its main nuclear site at Yongbyon, an important nuclear-fuel production facility but not the only place the North is believed to make bomb fuel.

The United States also put its interpretation on the summit breakdown, with senior officials saying that North Korea wanted billions of dollars in sanctions relief in return for only partial dismantlement of Yongbyon, and demanded the North scrap more of its nuclear program for such a high level of concessions.

It's unclear what will come next: Working-level meetings among experts to close the negotiating gap? Another summit? Or will Trump, consumed with controversy in Washington and burned by the failure in Hanoi, lose interest?

The worst-case scenario would be a return to the personal insults and threats of war between Trump and Kim in 2017 as the North staged a series of increasingly powerful weapons tests, including a nuclear detonation and displays of long-range missiles that can target the U.S. mainland, though experts believe those ICBMs are not yet complete.

Trump maintained ahead of the Hanoi summit that the economic benefits of a deal could push Kim to give up his nuclear ambitions. Kim came into the summit feeling confident that he could settle something that would end painful economic sanctions while letting him keep much of his nuclear program and only making a "a variety of gestures that mimic disarmament," Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear expert at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, wrote after the summit collapse. This outcome would be a signal that "the world must live with North Korea's bomb, but Kim won't rub it in anyone's face."

"Since it would be utter madness to try to topple a nuclear-armed dictator, it seems obvious which side should yield," Lewis said. If Trump "does not accept the reality that we now live with a nuclear-armed North Korea, then we are doomed to the collapse of negotiations, and perhaps even a return to the terror of 2017."

AP writer Hyung-jin Kim in Hanoi contributed to this report. Foster Klug, AP's bureau chief in South Korea, has covered the Koreas since 2005.

Before meeting Kim, Trump oversees big Vietnamese plane deal

February 27, 2019

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — President Donald Trump and Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong presided over the signing of several trade deals in Hanoi on Wednesday, including agreements to sell the booming Southeast Asian country 110 Boeing planes worth billions of dollars.

The deals give Trump tangible progress to take home ahead of meetings expected for later in the day with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the Vietnamese capital. Those talks, which follow an initial summit in Singapore last year, are focused on North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons and seeking peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Trump has downplayed the likelihood of a breakthrough at the summit. "Hopefully great things will happen later on with our meeting but a lot of good things are happening before, and that's the signing of trade deals with the United States, and we appreciate it very much," Trump told Nguyen as the trade agreements were being unveiled.

In the biggest of the deals, Chicago-based aircraft manufacturer Boeing Co. said it is selling 100 of its 737 MAX planes to Vietnamese low-cost carrier Vietjet. The privately owned carrier operates domestic and regional flights using Airbus planes.

Boeing and Vietjet said their deal was worth $12.7 billion at list prices. Airlines typically negotiate discounts for bulk orders. Vietjet is doubling down on its bet for the 737 MAX, which is an updated version of the workhorse single-aisle 737 model. It already had 100 of the planes on order following a 2016 deal, though none have been delivered so far.

The deal marks a major confidence boost for Boeing, which has faced questions about the plane's safety since a 737 MAX 8 operated by Indonesia's Lion Air plunged into the Java Sea, killing all on board, just minutes after taking off from Jakarta on Oct. 29.

Boeing sealed a second sale to Bamboo Airways of 10 787 Dreamliners, which they valued at $3 billion. The startup airline was founded in 2017 and began operating domestic flights in January. It is owned by Hanoi-based conglomerate FLC Group and already had 20 Dreamliners on offer.

U.S.-based aviation technology company Sabre also inked a deal with the flag carrier Vietnam Airlines during Trump's visit. It said the memorandum of understanding has a "potential value" of $300 million.

The deals follow a determination by the Federal Aviation Administration earlier this month that Vietnam now meets international standards for aviation safety. That decision, which follows an assessment by the agency in August, would allow Vietnamese airlines to fly to the United States and to cooperate with U.S. carriers.

There are currently no direct flights between the two countries.

Vietnam vows 'maximum level' security for Trump-Kim summit

February 25, 2019

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — With North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on an armored train barreling through China toward Vietnam's capital, and U.S. President Donald Trump about to board a jet for Hanoi, Vietnamese officials scrambled Monday to finish preparations for a rushed summit that will capture global attention.

Officials in Hanoi said they had about 10 days to prepare for the summit — much less than the nearly two months they said Singapore was given for the first Trump-Kim meeting last year— but still vowed to provide airtight security for the two leaders.

"Security will be at the maximum level," Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung told reporters at a briefing meant to showcase the nation's efforts to welcome Kim and Trump. Another official, Nguyen Manh Hung, the leader of the information ministry, said the 3,000 journalists from 40 countries expected in Hanoi could rely on his agency as "you'd count on a family member."

The world will be watching as Trump and Kim deal with one of Asia's biggest security challenges: North Korea's pursuit of a nuclear program that stands on the verge of viably threatening any target on the planet.

Although many experts are skeptical that Kim will give up the nukes he likely sees as his best guarantee of continued rule, there was a palpable, carnival-like excitement among many in Hanoi as the final preparations were put in place.

T-shirts were being sold bearing Kim's face along with the phrase "Rocket Man," a nod to the insulting nickname Trump gave Kim in 2017, when North Korean weapons tests and back-and-forth threats by the leaders had many fearing war. Kindergarteners dressed in traditional Korean Hanbok were practicing songs meant to welcome Kim. Grinning tourists were posing in front of the hundreds of U.S. and North Korean flags around the city.

The ultra-tight security will be appreciated by North Korean authorities, who are extremely vigilant about the safety of Kim, the third member of his family to rule the North with absolute power. Kim's decision to take a train, not a plane, may have been influenced by better ability to control security. When Kim flew to Singapore, North Korea borrowed a Chinese plane.

Vietnam is eager to show off its huge economic and development improvements since the destruction of the Vietnam War, but the country also tolerates no dissent and is able to provide the kind of firm hand not allowed by more democratic potential hosts.

Take the reaction to two men impersonating Kim and Trump who'd been posing for pictures with curious onlookers ahead of the summit. Last week, the Kim lookalike, whose name is Lee Howard Ho Wun, posted on Facebook that about 15 police or immigration officers demanded a mandatory "interview" and threatened him with deportation. He said officials later told him that his visa was invalid and he had to leave the country.

"I feel a little bit annoyed," the Hong Kong-based impersonator, who uses the name Howard X, said as he checked out of his hotel. "But what is to be expected of a one-party state with no sense of humor?"

Vietnam has also announced an unprecedented traffic ban along a possible arrival route for Kim. The Communist Party's Nhan Dan newspaper quoted the Roads Department as saying the ban will affect the 169-kilometer (105-mile) stretch of Highway One from Dong Dang, on the border with China, to Hanoi.

Hundreds of soldiers guarded the area near the Dong Dang railway station on Monday ahead of Kim's expected arrival. Kim may get off his train in Dong Dang and finish his journey to Hanoi by car. There are high expectations for the Hanoi summit after a vague declaration at the first meeting in June in Singapore that disappointed many.

In a meeting with senior aides in Seoul, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Monday that the Trump-Kim talks would be a critical opportunity to achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula. Moon, who met Kim three times last year and has lobbied hard to revive nuclear diplomacy between the U.S. and North Korea, is eager for a breakthrough that would allow him to push ambitious plans for inter-Korean engagement, including lucrative joint economic projects that are held back by U.S.-led sanctions against the North.

"If President Trump succeeds in dissolving the world's last remaining Cold War rivalry, it will become yet another great feat that will be indelibly recorded in world history," Moon said. Trump, via Twitter, has worked to temper those expectations, predicting before leaving for Hanoi a "continuation of the progress" made in Singapore but adding a tantalizing nod to "Denuclearization?" He also said that Kim knows that "without nuclear weapons, his country could fast become one of the great economic powers anywhere in the World."

North Korea has spent decades, at great political and economic sacrifice, building its nuclear program, and there is widespread skepticism among experts that it will give away that program cheaply. South Korean media have reported that Trump and Kim might strike a deal that stops short of a hoped-for roadmap for full North Korean denuclearization.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on "Fox News Sunday" that he was hoping for a "substantive step forward." He cautioned, "it may not happen, but I hope that it will."

AP journalists Yves Dam Van in Dong Dang and Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.

Vietnam to hold state funeral for President Tran Dai Quang

September 24, 2018

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam will hold a state funeral and national mourning this week for President Tran Dai Quang, who died last week of a viral illness at age 61. Flags will fly at half-staff and entertainment activities will be canceled during the two-day funeral that starts Wednesday, the Communist Party and government announced.

Quang will be buried in his home village in northern Ninh Binh province, some 115 kilometers (72 miles) south of Hanoi on Thursday. His passing is a "great loss to our Party, state and people," the announcement said.

He died at a Hanoi hospital on Friday. State media quoted a government doctor as saying he died due to a rare virus but the reports did not identify it. World leaders have sent condolences. President Donald Trump, with whom Quang hosted his first state visit to the communist country last year, called Quang a "great friend of the United States" while Chinese President Xi Jinping said Quang was "close comrade and friend of the Chinese people."

A career security officer, Quang rose through the ranks to be minister of public security in 2011 and was elected by the National Assembly as the nation's president in April 2016. Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh has been named acting president. No date has been given for the election of a new president.

The country's other top leaders are Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan. Analysts say Quang's death is unlikely to shake up the Communist country's politics which are led collectively.

Vietnam President Tran Dai Quang dead at 61 due to illness

September 21, 2018

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang, the country's second in command after the Communist party's leader, died Friday of a serious illness, the government said. He was 61. The website statement said Quang passed away despite "utmost efforts to treat him by Vietnamese and foreign professors and doctors and care by the Party and State leaders." It said he died at the 108 Military Hospital in Hanoi but did not elaborate on his illness.

Quang hosted President Donald Trump during his first state visit to the communist country last year where Trump attended a summit of Pacific Rim leaders. His last public appearance was at a Politburo meeting of the ruling Communist Party and a reception for a Chinese delegation on Wednesday. He looked frail on the state-run Vietnam Television broadcast.

Quang did not appear in public for more than a month last year, raising speculation about his health. Born in northern Ninh Binh province, Quang attended a police college and rose through the ranks at various positions at the Ministry of Public Security before being appointed minister in 2011.

A career security officer and four-star general, Quang was elected president in April 2016 by the Communist-dominated National Assembly, effectively becoming the second most powerful man in the country after General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

The National Assembly is scheduled to convene a session next month and expected to elect a new president.

Vietnam gives harsh jail terms to 6 for advocating democracy

April 06, 2018

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Six human rights activists were sentenced to harsh prison terms in Vietnam after being convicted of attempting to overthrow the government by advocating a multiparty democracy. Prominent human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai received the most severe penalty of 15 years in prison and five years of house arrest at the one-day trial Thursday, said his lawyer Nguyen Van Mieng. The others received sentences from seven to 12 years.

They were charged with affiliating with a group called Brotherhood for Democracy, whose purpose was to change the leadership of the Communist Party and build a multiparty system. "The sentences are too harsh to the defendants," Mieng said. "They fought for human rights, they fought for the rights of multi-party system ... which are recognized achievements of mankind, but the court sees it as serious (threat) to the regime."

Five of the defendants including Dai maintained they were innocent because what they did was right, Mieng said. One defendant confessed to the crime and got the most lenient sentence, he added. "The purpose of the group is to change the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, build a multi-party system," the official Vietnam News Agency quoted the verdict as saying. "The defendants' act is not fight for democracy, but acts that aim at overthrowing the people's administration."

"The defendants' act is especially serious because it directly impacts the survival of the people's administration," it said. Prosecutors identified Dai as the mastermind of the group who recruited members and sought financing from foreign organizations and individuals, which totaled more than $80,000, VNA reported earlier.

Dai and four others had previously been jailed for violating national security laws, and Dai's license to practice law was revoked. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the United States was deeply troubled by the harsh sentences under a "vague charge" and called for the release of all "prisoners of conscience" immediately.

"Individuals have the right to the fundamental freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly, both online and offline," she said in a statement. "The United States is deeply concerned by the Vietnamese government's efforts to restrict these rights, through a disturbing trend of increased arrests, convictions, and harsh sentences of peaceful activists."

Speaking to reporters at a regular briefing Thursday, Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said there are no "prisoners of conscience" in Vietnam and no one has been arrested for freedom of expression.

"In Vietnam, like other countries in the world, all acts that violate the laws are seriously dealt with in accordance with law," she said. Amnesty International says 97 people are serving jail sentences for violating national security laws in Vietnam, while Human Rights Watch counts 119.

Mekong countries' leaders call for $66 billion investment

March 31, 2018

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — The leaders of six countries along the Mekong River on Saturday adopted an ambitious investment plan worth $66 billion over the next five years. At least $7 billion will come from the Asian Development Bank and the rest from governments and the private sector.

The plan was adopted at a summit in Vietnam that included the prime ministers of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as a vice president of Myanmar and the Chinese foreign minister. The Greater Mekong Sub-regional (GMS) economic cooperation program was initiated by the ADB in 1992 and has since mobilized $21 billion, with the bulk going to infrastructure projects.

"GMS is starting a new era of development with unprecedented opportunities and challenges which require us to have a creative approach with long term and comprehensive vision in order to tap into the internal power of each country while effectively promoting connectivity to create strength resonance across the GMS for rapid economic growth and harmonizing economic and social development with environmental protection," Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said in his opening remarks.

The five countries along with China's Yunnan province and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous region with the population of 340 million and combined GDP of $1.3 trillion have recorded one of the world's fastest-growing economies.

Closing the one-day summit, Phuc said cooperation will remain the driving force the region's development. "I believe that given the results we have realized as well as our solidarity and determination, GMS cooperation will continue to be part of the cooperation mechanism of the region and will make concrete contribution to the economic and social development of member countries, promote sustainable development and reinforce the peaceful and stable environment in the region," he said.

In the meantime, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the world's second-biggest economy supports "the multilateral trading system and promotes an open, inclusive and balanced economic globalization that benefits all."

"China has long been an advocate of an open world economy. China is committed to win-win cooperation in opening up and firmly opposes trade protectionism," Wang said. "Protectionism harms others without benefiting oneself — it is a one-way street that leads to nowhere. The right approach to address trade disputes is to conduct consultation in line with international rules and as equals."

President Donald Trump's move last week to impose tariffs on as much as $60 billion on Chinese goods prompted Beijing to consider imposing tariffs on a number of American goods exported into the country.

Ride-hailing services transform Vietnam's transport culture

June 29, 2017

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Nguyen Kim Lan used to make a decent living shuttling customers around town on his Honda motorbike. But his clientele has dwindled as young and tech-savvy Vietnamese increasingly use ride-hailing apps like Uber and Grab to summon cheaper, safer motorbike taxis.

The expansion of the ride-hailing services across Southeast Asia is shaking up traditional motorcycle taxi services that are a key source of informal work for people like Lan. In some cases, the Xe Om, or motorbike taxi, drivers are venting their anger in attacks on the new competitors.

Lan is just frustrated. He says his income has fallen to just 20 percent to 30 percent of what it used to be. "Nowadays, my frequent customers have all booked Grab and Uber, so they don't come here anymore," said Lan, 62, as he waited for customers at an intersection in downtown Hanoi.

"Before, office workers would come here after work. Now they just sit in their offices and get picked up at the door," he said. As elsewhere in the region, motorbikes are Vietnam's main form of transportation, especially in the capital Hanoi and the southern commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City. They can maneuver through crowded, narrow city streets more easily than cars and are less expensive to buy and run.

Having invaded the conventional taxi market, ride hailing apps like Uber and Malaysia-based Grab are now elbowing aside the Xe Om with their UberMoto and GrabBike services. Vietnam, a communist-ruled country of 93 million, has about 45 million motorbikes, the highest rate of motorcycle ownership per capita in Southeast Asia. Some 3.1 million new motorbikes were sold last year.

Practically everyone has mobile phones, and cheap Internet access has enabled most Vietnamese city dwellers to get online. Nguyen Tuan Anh, chairman of Grab Vietnam, said the number of GrabBike drivers has jumped from 100 when they first launched in late 2014 to more than 50,000, with hundreds joining every day.

The growth of passengers is "explosive," he said. Many Vietnamese now prefer to use ride hailing apps, viewing their services as safer and cheaper, Tuan Anh said. "GrabBike brings transparency and that's why customers love it. They know that they will not be cheated by the drivers."

But Tuan Anh said he knows of more than 100 cases where GrabBike drivers were attacked in the past year, often by Xe Om drivers worried about losing business. Bus stations, hospitals and schools are hotspots for conflict. In one case, a GrabBike driver was stabbed in the lung. In another, police fired warning shots to disperse crowds of Xe Om and GrabBike drivers who were battling near a bus station in Ho Chi Minh City.

Similar problems have been reported in Thailand and Indonesia. Tuan Anh said GrabBike tells its drivers to be cautious and to seek help from police. Many Vietnamese seem keen to use such services despite the potential for conflict.

Tran Thuc Anh, a 21-year-old video games designer, says she switched to using GrabBike to commute from bus stations to and from her office about six months ago. It costs her half as much as using Xe Om did, she says.

"I just need to be online to book a bike without going around to look for a traditional Xe Om, so it's very convenient," Thuc Anh said. Many GrabBike drivers originally worked as Xe Om, but not all are willing to sign up. Older motorbike taxi drivers say they don't know how to use online apps or lack the cash to buy smart phones. Others are put off by the cheaper fares GrabBike charges.

But Nguyen Quang Trung, a 30-year-old salesman who began moonlighting for GrabBike six months ago, said Xe Om drivers who try to overcharge their customers are finished. "Uber and Grab are safe and their fares are reasonable and customers see this," Trung said. "Only elder people or those who are in hurry use traditional Xe Om. Young people and people who are not short on time never use Xe Om."

Vietnamese dissident recounts forced deportation to France

June 26, 2017

PARIS (AP) — A Vietnamese dissident who says he was arrested at his home in southern Ho Chi Minh City and forcibly exiled to France said he is determined to continue his activity as a pro-democracy blogger.

Pham Minh Hoang, a 61-year-old math lecturer, recounted his arrest and deportation in a phone interview Sunday with The Associated Press a few hours after his arrival in France. He said three police officers burst into his house on Friday and grabbed his arms when he refused to follow them while wearing only shorts, an undershirt and slippers.

"Once outside, I was horrified to see that there were not three, but a hundred policemen in uniform and in plainclothes around my house and in the neighboring streets," said Hoang, who was a dual French-Vietnamese national before he was stripped of his Vietnamese citizenship last month.

After being detained in front of his wife, Hoang said he was driven to a detention center two hours away, where he spent 24 hours and was visited by the Consul General of France. He said Vietnamese authorities forced him on a plane to Paris on Saturday night.

Hoang's deportation came two weeks after he learned a presidential decree had revoked his Vietnamese citizenship. Human Rights Watch denounced Hoang's expulsion in a statement as a "blatantly illegal, rights violating act" that effectively forces the activist into "indefinite exile."

Vietnam's Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment Sunday. The French foreign ministry confirmed that its Consul General assisted Hoang in Ho Chi Minh City. As a French citizen, he can settle in the country and enjoy full freedom of speech, the ministry said.

The human rights activist and blogger was sentenced to three years in prison in 2011 for attempted subversion by posting articles on his blog criticizing the Communist government and for being a member of the California-based Vietnam Reform Party, or Viet Tan. The government considers Viet Tan a terrorist organization.

Hoang eventually served 17 months in prison and three years of house arrest. International human rights groups and some Western governments have criticized Vietnam for jailing people for peacefully expressing their views, but Hanoi says only law breakers are put behind bars.

"The vaguely worded decision was a thinly veiled move to silence Pham Minh Hoang for his peaceful advocacy," Viet Tan said in a statement about the stripping of Vietnamese citizenship from Hoang. Before being deported from his country, Hoang said he was questioned at length by two officials whom he thinks were members of the political police. When he refused to consent to his deportation, he said officials reminded him that his wife and daughter were still living in Vietnam. Two policemen slept in the room where he was held, he said.

France is not a country unknown to Hoang. He studied and lived here for 27 years between 1973 and 2000, working as a computer and civil engineer. It is where he started to write articles critical of his country's regime. He said he returned to Vietnam to teach and help the Vietnamese youth with the new technologies.

Today, he doesn't know who will take care of the disabled brother who lived with him in Ho Chi Minh City. He hopes he'll be able to stay in regular contact with his wife and his 13-year-old daughter. "I will continue to help my daughter do her homework, using internet video or other secure means," he said.

Hoang assumes he will have to remain in France for a long time and said he is determined to continue his political activism — "my raison d'être" — as an exile. "I still have a little hope, one day, to come back to live and die in Vietnam," he said.

Arrests as Vietnam breaks up anti-China rally

Hanoi (AFP)
Jan 19, 2017

Vietnamese police on Thursday scuffled with activists marking the 1974 Chinese invasion of a disputed island chain as they arrested several people and dispersed journalists.

About 100 people gathered in central Hanoi for the 43rd anniversary of the Chinese takeover of the Paracel islands in the South China Sea -- territory claimed by both nations that remains a diplomatic flashpoint.

In a rare act of public defiance in the communist nation, activists chanted "Down with the invaders!" and held banners against the "age-old enemy" near the capital's Hoan Kiem Lake.

Plainclothes police swiftly swooped in, snatching banners away and hauling at least a dozen people into a nearby bus.

Journalists were unceremoniously ordered to leave the scene and turn off cameras.

Though Hanoi and Beijing routinely trade barbs over contested territory in the South China Sea, Vietnam often breaks up anti-China protests to avoid stoking anger from regional powerhouse China.

The Paracels remain a bitter bone of contention between the neighbors.

China has controlled the islands since invading them shortly after US-backed Vietnamese soldiers withdrew in 1974.

The attack left 70 Vietnamese soldiers dead.

Activists called on Vietnam to take a tougher stance with China.

"I think Vietnam must be determined towards China... to get back Hoang Sa and Truong Sa Islands," said activist Pham Van Troi, 46, using Vietnamese names for the Paracels and the nearby Spratly islands, which are also disputed.

Beijing lays claim to virtually all of the South China Sea, and has built up islands capable of hosting military installations.

The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have also sparred with Beijing over territory in the disputed waterway.

Tensions have eased slightly in recent months but the issue remains a potential global flashpoint.

In 2014 China moved a controversial oil rig into contested territory, prompting deadly riots in Vietnam.

Last week Chinese state media reacted with fury to comments by US secretary of state nominee Rex Tillerson that he would seek to deny Beijing access to the artificial islands it has built up in the contested sea.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Arrests_as_Vietnam_breaks_up_anti-China_rally_999.html.

Vietnam decries Chinese missile deployment on island

Hanoi (AFP)
Feb 19, 2016

Vietnam on Friday hit out at China's deployment of missiles on a disputed island chain, saying Beijing had "seriously violated" its sovereignty as international censure mounted over the apparent militarisation of the hotly-contested zone.

Chinese state media on Thursday confirmed the presence of unspecified weapons on Woody Island, part of the Paracels chain.

The admission came after Fox News reported that surface-to-air weapons had arrived there in the past week -- although Chinese media suggested they have been in place for longer.

Vietnamese authorities handed "a note of objection" to the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi on Friday, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"These were moves that seriously violated Vietnam's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa archipelagoes," spokesperson Le hai Binh said Friday, using the Vietnamese name for the Paracels.

"Threatening peace and stability in the region as well as security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation. Vietnam requests China to immediately end those wrongful acts."

China claims all of the Paracels, though Hanoi and Taipei have overlapping claims.

Earlier on Friday Australia urged China to refrain from the "militarisation of islands", a day after the United States slammed Beijing for deploying missiles in the disputed South China Sea.

Tensions in the sea -- through which a third of the world's oil passes -- have mounted in recent months after China transformed contested reefs in the Spratly islands further south into artificial islands capable of supporting military facilities.

Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines also lay claim to parts of the sea.

US President Barack Obama this week hosted Southeast Asian leaders for a summit.

The US wants to shore-up its regional alliances with a view to avoiding flashpoints in the seas and keeping shipping lanes open.

The US and Australia have carried out several so-called "Freedom of Navigation" overflights and sail-bys in the region, which China has described as "provocations".

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Vietnam_decries_Chinese_missile_deployment_on_island_999.html.

Russian Helicopters strikes deals with China, Vietnam at Singapore Airshow

Changi, Singapore (UPI)
Feb 16, 2016

Russian Helicopters struck an agreement to sell nine helicopters to China and is reviewing helicopter repair and maintenance cooperation with Vietnam.

Under the signed contracts with China, Russian Helicopters will supply seven Ka-32A11BC and two Mi171 helicopters to various Chinese entities. The Ka-32A11BC is a multi-role helicopter designed to operate in urban, mountainous and forested environments. They can also be used for search-and-rescue and firefighting missions.

"Our multirole helicopters can perform any task in various climates and weather conditions," Russian Helicopters CEO Alexander Mikheev said.

In addition, Russian Helicopters is reviewing potential plans to conduct Mi-8/17 military helicopter repairs at the joint Russo-Vietnamese venture HELITECHCO. The company is scheduled to perform a technical audit of the venture to check its compliance to perform maintenance and repairs for the aircraft.

Russian Helicopters aftersales service deputy CEO Igor Chechikov says the operations will involve re-equipping the venture and more training for their specialists. HELITECHCO has been used to repair civilian helicopters since it was founded in 1994.

The company added that the Vietnamese delegation has also showed interest in purchasing the Ansat helicopters for training purposes.

The agreements were made during the 2016 Singapore Airshow, a biennial event where defense and aerospace contractors showcase their products. Russian Helicopters is part of the Russian state-owned Rostec corporation.

Source: Space Daily.
Link: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Russian_Helicopters_strikes_deals_with_China_Vietnam_at_Singapore_Airshow_999.html.

Vietnam Communist Party on track for smooth power transition

January 26, 2016

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam's ruling Communist Party was on track Tuesday for a smooth power transition after settling a power struggle between the party chief and the pro-business prime minister trying to unseat him.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung effectively withdrew from the contest to become the Communist Party general secretary, clearing the way for his rival to keep the post in what appears to be a compromise to present a united front to the nation, delegates at a party congress said Monday.

The drama began after Dung was excluded from an official list of candidates for positions in the Central Committee that will be elected Tuesday. In an apparently orchestrated move, his supporters then nominated him on Sunday in a last-minute challenge. But according to party rules Dung was required to turn down the nomination since he was not an official candidate.

Dung abided by the party rules and refused the nomination. The congress then formally voted to accept his refusal. Had he wished, Dung could have tried to pull together enough support on the congress floor to have his refusal rejected. In that scenario, he might have won a place in the Central Committee, and then would have been in contention for party general secretary.

The path is now clear for Nguyen Phu Trong to stay as general secretary, the de facto top position in Vietnam's collective leadership. The delegates were presented with 220 candidates late Monday, of whom 180 were elected to the Central Committee, one of the two pillars of the ruling establishment. The names of the winning candidates were not immediately announced, but Trong is almost certainly one of them.

Later this week, the congress will elect the all-powerful Politburo, which handles the day-to-day governance of Vietnam. It is expected that the Politburo will be expanded from the current 16 members to 18.

Of the Politburo members, one will be chosen general secretary. Three others will be chosen, in respective order of seniority, the prime minister, the president and the chairman of the National Assembly.

Trong had been trying unsuccessfully for years to sideline Dung, and while contests for the top post are not unheard of, they are usually settled well ahead of the party congress, which takes place once every five years to choose new leaders.

But this year the rivalry between Dung and Trong extended into the party congress, which ends Thursday, although regardless of who is in power the fundamental makeup of the government and its policies will not change radically, according to analysts.

Dung has built a reputation for promoting economic reforms and for boldly confronting China's territorial assertiveness in the South China Sea. But even though Trong, a stolid party apparatchik with closer leanings toward China, is now set to take the top job, it doesn't mean the economic reforms will stall or Vietnam will capitulate to Chinese assertiveness in Vietnamese-claimed waters, according to observers.

"Ideologically, there isn't a yawning gap between Trong and Dung, although most people believe that the pace of economic reform might slow a bit if Trong remains at the helm and Dung is ousted," said Murray Hiebert, a Southeast Asian expert based in Washington, DC.

Dung, who rose through the ranks of the party and held senior positions, is a two-term prime minister. His economic reforms have helped Vietnam attract a flood of foreign investment and helped triple the per capita GDP to $2,100 over the past 10 years.

Trong's camp accuses Dung of economic mismanagement, including the spectacular collapse of state-owned shipping company Vinashin; failing to control massive public debt; allowing corruption; and not dealing adequately with the non-preforming loans of state-owned banks.

Vietnam is one of the last remaining communist nations in the world, with a party membership of 4.5 million out of its 93 million people. But like its ideological ally China, the government believes in a quasi-free market economy alongside strictly controlled politics and society.

Vietnam PM withdraws from contest for Communist Party chief

January 25, 2016

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam's pro-business prime minister has effectively withdrawn from a contest to become the Communist Party chief, clearing the way for his rival to keep the post in what appears to be a compromise to present a united front to the nation, delegates at a party congress said Monday.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung had mounted a last-minute challenge during the congress after being excluded from an official list of candidates for positions in a key party panel. Had he continued his challenge, he could have become part of the Central Committee, and subsequently could have been in contention for party general secretary.

The path is now clear for Nguyen Phu Trong to stay as general secretary, the de facto top position in Vietnam's collective leadership. Several delegates at the congress said Dung decided on Sunday to abide by party rules that obliged him to refuse the nomination for a Central Committee slot proposed by his supporters. The congress then voted on Monday to accept his refusal, completing a formality. The Central Committee, one of two pillars of the ruling establishment, will be chosen Tuesday.

Trong has been trying unsuccessfully for years to sideline Dung, and while contests for the top post are not unheard of, they are usually settled well before the party congress, which takes place once every five years to choose new leaders.

This year, the rivalry between Dung and Trong has gone down to the wire in the party congress, which began last Thursday and ends this Thursday. But regardless of who is in power the fundamental makeup of the government and its policies will not change radically, according to analysts.

Dung has built a reputation for promoting economic reforms, and being bold enough to confront China's territorial assertiveness in the South China Sea. But even though Trong, a stolid party apparatchik with closer leanings toward China, is now set to take the top job, it doesn't mean the economic reforms will stall or Vietnam will capitulate to Chinese assertiveness in Vietnamese-claimed waters, according to observers.

"Ideologically, there isn't a yawning gap between Trong and Dung, although most people believe that the pace of economic reform might slow a bit if Trong remains at the helm and Dung is ousted," said Murray Hiebert, a Southeast Asian expert based in Washington, DC.

Dung, who rose through the ranks of the party and held senior positions, is a two-term prime minister. His economic reforms have helped Vietnam attract a flood of foreign investment and helped triple the per capita GDP to $2,100 over the past 10 years.

Trong's camp accuses Dung of economic mismanagement, including the spectacular collapse of state-owned shipping company Vinashin; failing to control massive public debt; allowing corruption; and not dealing adequately with the non-preforming loans of state-owned banks.

On Tuesday, the delegates will be presented with 222 candidates in an election for the 180-member Central Committee. After that, they will elect at least 16 members of the all-powerful Politburo, which handles the day-to-day governance of Vietnam. It is possible that the Politburo will be expanded to 18 members this year.

Of the Politburo members, one will be chosen general secretary. Three others will be chosen, in respective order of seniority, the prime minister, the president and the chairman of the National Assembly.

Vietnam is one of the last remaining communist nations in the world, with a party membership of 4.5 million out of its 93 million people. But like its ideological ally China, the government believes in a quasi-free market economy alongside strictly controlled politics and society.

Vietnam PM makes last-minute comeback in leadership battle

January 25, 2016

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam's pro-business prime minister, who last week appeared to have lost a power struggle in the ruling Communist Party, has made a last-minute comeback and will know Monday if he can re-enter the contest for the top job in the country.

Using a loophole in party rules, supporters of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Sunday proposed that his name be added to the list of candidates who can contest for membership to the Central Committee, one of the two pillars of the ruling establishment.

If Dung makes it, he will stand a good chance to be elected to the committee, and then would be in a position to challenge his rival, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, for his job. The party general secretary is the de facto No. 1 leader in the collective leadership that governs Vietnam.

"Dung is a skilled and determined infighter and most people agreed there was still a remote chance that he would try to mount some sort of comeback," said Murray Hiebert, a Southeast Asian expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Trong has for years been trying unsuccessfully to sideline Dung, and while contests for the top post are not unheard of, they are usually settled well before the party congress, which take place once every five years to choose new leaders.

This year, the rivalry between Dung and Trong has gone down to the wire into the party congress that began last Thursday and will end this Thursday. But regardless of who wins, the fundamental makeup of the government or its policies will not change radically, according to analysts.

Dung has built a reputation for promoting economic reforms, and being bold enough to confront China in its territorial aggression in the South China Sea. But even if Trong, a stolid party apparatchik with closer leanings toward China, manages to sideline Dung eventually, it doesn't mean the economic reforms would stall or Vietnam will capitulate to Chinese maritime aggression in Vietnamese waters, according to observers.

"Ideologically, there isn't a yawning gap between Trong and Dung, although most people believe that the pace of economic reform might slow a bit if Trong remains at the helm and Dung is ousted," Hiebert told The Associated Press.

For now, the road to the top is paved with hurdles for Dung. He faces the first one later Monday on the floor of the Communist Party congress that is being attended by 1,510 delegates behind closed doors.

The delegates will pick 234 candidates for an election to the 180-member Central Committee. Of these, 199 people endorsed by the outgoing committee are guaranteed to be picked. The remaining 35 will be chosen from the 62 politicians proposed by some of the delegates, which includes Dung's name.

If he does get chosen, he will still need to win an endorsement from the floor to make it to the final 180 in an election on Tuesday. After that, they will elect at least 16 members to the all-powerful Politburo, which handles the day to day governance of Vietnam. It is possible that the Politburo will be expanded to 18 members this year.

Of the Politburo members, one will be chosen the general secretary, the country's top leader. Three others will be chosen, in respective order of seniority: the prime minister, the president and the chairman of the national assembly.

Dung, who has risen through the ranks of the party and has held senior positions, is a two-term prime minister. This means he can't be the prime minster for a third term, leaving only the general-secretary's post as a viable option.

His economic reforms in the country have helped Vietnam attract a flood of foreign investment and helped triple the per capita GDP to $2,100 over the past 10 years. Trong's camp accuses him of economic mismanagement, a prime example of which was the spectacular collapse of state-owned shipping company Vinashin, failing to control massive public debt, allowing corruption and for failing to deal with non-preforming loans of state-owned banks.

Vietnam is one of the last remaining communist nations in the world, with a party membership of 4.5 million. But like its ideological ally China, the government believes in quasi-free market economy alongside a strictly controlled society that places several restrictions on its 93 million people.

Minh Van Tran in Hanoi and Grant Peck and Vijay Joshi in Bangkok, contributed to this report.