China is militarizing the south china sea

China constructs an illegal runway in Fiery Cross Reef on the East Sea. (Photo: AFP) Washington D.C (VNA) – China and other concerned nations should refrain from actions that further militarise the East Sea and parties need to sit down for negotiation via diplomatic channels to resolve the issue, according to an US expert. China’s growing militarisation of the East Sea makes the situation more complicated and probably causes misunderstanding in an area that has already suffered from many conflicts and complexity, Lindsey Ford, Director for Political-Security Affairs at the US’s Asia Society Policy Institute told Vietnam News Agency during a recent briefing by the University of Pennsylvania’s global research centre Perry World House. The briefing aimed to discuss latest developments in the regional diplomacy, legislation and military as well as policies of the governments of the US, China and other countries regarding to East Sea issues. It was also attended … [Read more...] about US experts: China should refrain from actions further militarising East Sea

Illustrative image (Source: internet) Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce has reported that the country’s exports of fruits and vegetable to China surged 31 percent in the January-May period to 1.2 billion USD. Export revenue of fruit rose 123 percent to 838.61 million USD. Of the figure, earnings from durian accounted for 48.5 percent, followed by longan, mangosteen and coconut. However, export revenue of vegetable in the period was only 361 million USD, a drop of 33 percent year on year. Cassava was the major currency earner of the country which made up 96 percent of the total exports of farm produce to China, followed by beans and dried vegetable. Speaking to the local media, Auramon Supthaweethum, head of the Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce’s Department of Trade Negotiations, said that the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) helped facilitate exports of vegetable and fruits. She held that the deal is an important tool for … [Read more...] about Thailand sees strong rise in exports of vegetable, fruits to China

A programme to promote milk products of Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company, Vinamilk, has been held in the Chinese province of Hunan within the framework of the 2019 China International Food & Catering Expo. Since September last year, yogurt products of Vinamilk are sold in He Ma in China. After a year of presence in the Chinese market, Vietnam's dairy brand has been among the top 3 best-selling products. At the launching ceremony on September 21, the leader of Hunan Department of Commerce said he was impressed with Vietnamese dairy products after visiting Vietnam two years ago. Therefore, despite the fierce competition in the Chinese dairy market, he believes that good products will win consumers' hearts. According to the Vietnam Dairy Association, choosing Vinamilk as a representative is to introduce to Chinese consumers high quality Vietnamese dairy products. Last August, a batch of Vietnamese milk was successfully shipped through Huu Nghi border gate and delivered to … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s dairy products promoted in China

Participants in the 9th ASEAN Maritime Forum pose for a photo (Photo: VNA) Da Nang (VNA) - The 9th ASEAN Maritime Forum (AMF-9) opened in the central city of Da Nang on December 5, seeing the participation of more than 50 delegates from the 10 ASEAN countries and the ASEAN Secretariat. In his remarks at the opening ceremony, Vu Ho, Director of the ASEAN Department under the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, affirmed that maritime security cooperation is always a high priority in ASEAN cooperation and in the partnership between ASEAN and its partners. He said currently, more than 10 ASEAN agencies are engaging in marine cooperation activities. The contents of cooperation range from ensuring maritime security and safety, conducting search and rescue and anti-piracy activities, and combating illegal fishing to promoting environmental protection and dealing with plastic waste. Given the current complicated situation at sea, the AMF this time needs to review cooperation … [Read more...] about Ninth ASEAN Maritime Forum opens in Da Nang

Hanoi (VNA) - According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, there are still complex developments in the remit of natural disasters in 2019 due to the impact of El Nino phenomenon. The storm season will come late, while hot weather is likely to appear earlier than that in many years across the country, and untimely rains will appear locally. Untimely rain may locally appear early in the South (Source: Vietnam+) Heat waves come early There are still complex developments for natural disasters in 2019 due to the impact of El Nino phenomenon. The ENSO phenomenon, the umbrella term for the El Nino and La Nina phenomena, is predicted to maintain its El Nino status in the first half of 2019 with a probability of 80-90 percent. The average temperature is forecast to be much higher than those of many years. From now until February 10, about three to five cold waves are likely to occur. The cold and chilly spells can occur in the last days of January to early … [Read more...] about 2019: untimely rain, less storms but abnormal