Year: 2023

Hanoi: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers on December 30 issued a statement on maintaining and promoting stability in the maritime sphere in Southeast Asia.

In the statement, the ministers said they closely follow with concern the recent developments in the East Sea and reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, safety, security, stability, and freedom of navigation in and overflight above the maritime sphere of Southeast Asia, particularly the East Sea.

‘We also reaffirm the need to restore and enhance mutual trust and confidence as well as exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability, avoid actions that may further complicate the situation and pursue peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with the universally recognised principles of international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS,’ wrote the statement.

The FMs underscored the importance of the full and effective impl
ementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) in its entirety and committed to working towards the early conclusion of an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) that is in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS.

They also reiterated the importance of peaceful dialogue that contributes constructively to the promotion of regional stability and cooperation in the maritime domain. Welcoming the recent holding of a maritime dialogue between China and the US in Beijing and the meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the margins of the APEC Leaders’ Meeting in California, they hoped that such dialogues will continue to further ASEAN’s efforts to strengthen stability and cooperation in the region’s maritime sphere.

This is the 5th time ASEAN has issued a statement on maritime issues since 1995, with the most recent statement on the East Sea released in 2014./.
Source: Vietnam News Agency

Lam Dong: Da Lat, an enchanting city nestled in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, marked its 130th anniversary and received the prestigious title of “UNESCO Creative Music City” at a ceremony on December 30.

In his address, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai urged Da Lat city to pursue a development strategy in accordance with development orientations of the Central Highlands region, aligning with both regional and provincial master plans for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to2050.

He reiterated the determination to build Da Lat into a hub of the southern Central Highlands, making it a pivotal development centre in the region and the country as a whole, and a crucial link to the region and the world.

The city must actively engage and effectively leverage its role as a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, thereby substantially increasing the cultural industry’s robust contributions to the local economy, Khai said.

At the ceremony, a representative of UNESCO in Vietnam presented a let
ter recognising Da Lat’s official accession to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network to the city’s leaders.

The event entertained the audience in an epic narrative told through music, dance, and art performances, with the resonant echoes of gongs recounting the 130-year journey of Da Lat’s formation and development.

The origin of Da Lat, once a pristine land inhabited by the K’Ho Lach ethnic group, could be traced back to the moment when explorer and physician Alexandre Yersin discovered it and proposed to the Indochina Governor-General the construction of the Lang Biang Plateau as a resort hub of Indochina.

Over the course of 130 years, with ups and downs, Da Lat has evolved into a renowned tourism city, often described as the “city in the forest, forest in the city,” and the “Vietnam Flower Festival City’.

The city has earned accolades as the “ASEAN Clean Tourism City” twice and stands as one of the most romantic destinations in Asia. Beyond its allure as a tourist hotspot, Da Lat also stands at the forefr
ont of the country’s high-tech agricultural production./
Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has emphasised the need for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) to train and build a contingent of capable officials and public servants to fulfill the difficult and complicated tasks related to land, natural resources and minerals.

While delivering a speech at the MoNRE’s conference to review its performance in 2023 and launch tasks for 2024 held in Hanoi on December 31, PM Chinh asked the ministry to seriously and effectively follow the resolutions and conclusions of the Party Central Committee, the Politburo, and the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat as well as resolutions of the National Assembly (NA) and Government on the key tasks and solutions for socio-economic development in 2024.

Regarding the task of refining institutional frameworks and laws, the government leader suggested an immediate focus on resolving any impediments to the amended Land Law, with the aim of securing the NA’s approval at its upcoming session.

Cumbersome and unne
cessary administrative procedures that hinder development and cause inconvenience for people should be removed, he said.

The ministry should focus on digital transformation, green transition and circular economy, while pooling resources to establish databases on land, the environment and minerals connected with the Ministry of Public Security’s population database, he said.

The PM asked the ministry to drive the development of maritime economy, concentrating on meticulous planning to ensure land reserves for development, and review priority land bases earmarked for the planning of economic and industrial centres along the coastline.

Among the slated tasks for 2024, the ministry was tasked with evaluating water resources and forecasting challenges to propose strategic solutions to ensure water security.

Additionally, the MoNRE needs to deploy an action plan to fulfill the country’s political commitments with partners to support just energy transition, developing industries based on ecosystems, and deployin
g adaptive models to bolster resilience and minimise losses caused by climate change, PM Chinh said, adding that these initiatives involve specific projects and support mechanisms tailored for businesses./.
Source: Vietnam News Agency

Bangkok: The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Thailand has highlighted five types of cybercrimes running rampant in the past year, and is warning people to avoid being tricked online.

The first involves call centre scammers, who, they said, are always coming up with new tactics to deceive people.

Another involves online shopping scammers who set up bogus retail websites to rip off victims. Some ask shoppers to transfer money online for goods they will never receive. In some cases, the goods shoppers do receive are fake or of low quality and are not what is advertised.

Another type of scam involves a “hybrid method” where victims are lured into a relationship with a scammer before being asked to invest their money into a false investment scheme.

There are also job offer scams targeting people seeking employment.

From March 1, 2022 to December 20, 2023, over 314,000 complaints were filed to the police. Of them, 160,819 involved shopping scams./.
Source: Vietnam News Agency

Bangkok: Thai Deputy Minister of Commerce Napintorn Srisunpang has said Thai fruit exports will face more challenges in the future, especially in China’s market, due to greater competition.

In the first 10 months of this year, Thailand exported 1.74 million tonnes of fruits, up 12.7% year on year. The export value was worth 174.27 billion THB (5.06 billion USD), up 31.9% year on year.

The top five exported fruits were durian (965,284 tonnes), longan (274,064 tonnes), mangosteen (245,049 tonnes), mango (104,154 tonnes) and pineapple (36,618 tonnes).

China has been Thailand’s top fruit importer, accounting for 91.6% of the total value, followed by Malaysia (2.0%), Hong Kong (China) (1.6%), Indonesia (1.0%) and the Republic of Korea (0.8%).

The deputy minister explained that Vietnam has gained advantage in durian exports due to a longer harvest period, so the country can meet the demand of the Chinese market when Thailand is in the production period.

The General Administration of Customs China has allowed T
hailand to export 22 fruits, including tamarind, custard apple, papaya, star fruit, guava, rambutan, longkong, sapodilla, passion fruit, mandarin orange, orange, pomelo, pineapple, banana, coconut, jackfruit, longan, durian, mango, lychee, mangosteen and rose apple./.
Source: Vietnam News Agency

TACLOBAN CITY: The Catbalogan city government in Samar is a recipient of 18 sub-projects funded under the Local Government Support Fund – Support to the Barangay Development Program (LGSF-SBDP) to sustain peace in communities previously influenced by the New People’s Army (NPA).

Department of the Interior and Local Government Samar provincial director Judy Batulan said in a phone interview Sunday that each project has a budget of PHP6.6 million and will be implemented in 11 villages.

Recipient villages are Palanyogon, Totoringon, Cagudalo, Cagutian, San Andres, Albalate, Cawayan, Bangon, Lobo, Manguehay, and Libas, all upland communities in Catbalogan, the capital of Samar province.

The projects include seven farm-to-market roads concreting, provision of renewable electrification, construction of health stations in the villages, and construction of school buildings.

Residents identified the projects during the Retooled Community Support Program, a convergence mechanism for local governments in the village
that occurred earlier this year.

‘The LGSF-SBDP is a program that aims to make positive changes in upland barangays. It focuses on three main goals: stopping conflict, food security, and enhancing basic services like healthcare and education,’ Batulan said.

He added that by working closely with the community and using modern methods, the program will create lasting improvements in the upland areas, ‘making them stronger and more prosperous.’

The projects had their groundbreaking on Dec. 27 and are up for completion in 2024. The SBDP, a hallmark program of National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), brings progress to former conflict-prone communities.

The NTF-ELCAC, created under Executive Order 70 issued on Dec. 4, 2018, is tasked to ‘provide an efficient mechanism and structure for the implementation of the whole-of-nation approach to aid in the realization of collective aspirations for inclusive and sustainable peace.’
Source: Philippines News Agency