Maritime fire fighting equipment

The Hanoitimes - The project significantly enables Vietnam to enhance freedom of navigation. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on July 28 signed an agreement to provide Vietnam JPY36.6 billion (US$347 million) to help the Southeast Asian country improve coast guard capacity to enhance freedom of navigation. Japan’s largest flattop visits Vietnam’s Cam Ranh port in June 2019. Photo: Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) The loan will bear an annual interest rate of 0.1%, have a repayment period of 40 years and a grace period of 10 years. Through the Maritime Security and Safety Capacity Improvement Project, the JICA will enable the Vietnam Coast Guard (VCG) to procure vessels, supporting an improvement in maritime rescue operations and maritime law enforcement. The project will contribute to the achievement of SDGs Goals 14 and 16 and the realization of a free and open Indo-Pacific, the JICA said in a press release Tuesday. The project … [Read more...] about Japan helps Vietnam improve maritime capacity with US$347 million loan

A fresh-water reservation pond (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Localities stricken by serious drought , water shortages , and saltwater intrusion will receive funding from the central budget to deal with these issues. Under a decision signed recently by Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung , beneficiaries are to include organisations managing and using irrigation facilities and rural water facilities, as well as other relevant units. People’s Committees in districts and communes facing water shortages have been directed to adopt urgent solutions in the fight. With the financial support, localities in the central, Central Highlands, and Mekong Delta regions must extend water pipes, purchase water containers and filters, and supply water to local residents, hospitals, and schools in disadvantaged areas. Notably, the central and Mekong Delta regions will receive funding for the building of anti-intrusion dams and water reservoirs. Funding for mountainous and Central … [Read more...] about Support given to localities to fight drought, water shortages, saltwater intrusion

Digital transformation is keeping life going but in a ‘new normal’ state. Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung said the Covid-19 pandemic poses a great challenge ad many activities have been delayed. But challenges come with opportunities. The Covid-19 pandemic helps us to rethink about many things. It is a breaking point in development. Many values and habits will change. The Covid-19 pandemic reminds us that the world is more fragile than we think. Whenever humanity is too confident in themselves, that is the time of problems. Globalization, cross-border flows of people, capital, goods and data have also brought a free flow of epidemics and crimes. Only when a crisis occurs do we see the shortcomings of states and institutions. When things are going well, the worst case must still be taken into account. Recent crises are often dual crises, not but also triple or more. Dual crises is the nature of a world in which everything is connected. The world … [Read more...] about Covid-19 and digital transformation

The Hanoitimes - From December 2019 to March 2020, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam sent circular notes to the UN to protest China's maritime claims. Indonesia has joined some neighboring countries in opposing China’s claims in the South China Sea by lodging a diplomatic note to the United Nations. China's claims in the South China Sea trigger protest among regional countries. Image: VOA Jakarta pointed out the Indonesian government’s support for a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which favored the Philippines in a case that Manila brought against China over a territorial dispute in the resources-rich sea. “Indonesia reiterates that the Nine-Dash line map implying historic rights claim clearly lacks international legal basis and is tantamount to upsetting UNCLOS 1982,” said the letter from Indonesia’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, referring to a boundary on Chinese maps that encompasses Beijing’s claims in … [Read more...] about Indonesia weighs in ASEAN countries to protest Chinese South China Sea claims

The Hanoitimes - Vietnam argues that the vaccination of sailors will help maintain the global supply chain. Vietnam has suggested the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to accelerate the Covid-19 vaccination of seafarers due to their transnational work. The first Singaporean seafarer to be vaccinated, Muhamad Nashrin Bin Ayub. Photo: Singapore Maritime Officers' Union Head of the Vietnam Maritime Administration Nguyen Xuan Sanh made the suggestion in a letter sent to IMO in late February, addressing the need to facilitate the trans-border safe movement of the seafarers who spend long periods of time away from their home country. In the proposal, Vietnam expects IMO’s Secretary General Kitack Lim to consider and regulate the vaccination in different countries for sailors regardless of their nationality. For which, the IMO’s member states should list seamen in the priority groups for the Covid-19 inoculation and the governments should allow them to … [Read more...] about Vietnam proposes to vaccinate international seafarers