Category: Vietnam

Vietnam delivered when the Philippines needed it most

Ellen Leave a comment

Alliance forged.Pres. Aquino and Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in Malacanang May 2014.

Alliance forged. Pres. Aquino and Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in Malacanang May 2014.

It means a lot to the Philippines that Vietnam submitted a Position Paper to the Arbitral Tribunal of the United Nations that is handling the complaint filed by the Philippines against China on the conflict in the South China Sea.

Probably so as not to further antagonize China, with whom the Philippines has rekindled relations marked by the meeting of President Aquino with Chinese President Xi Jinping last month on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, the statement of the Department of Foreign Affairs in reaction to the statement of Vietnam was sober.

The statement, released three days after Vietnam made public the Dec. 4 submission to the U.N. Arbitral Tribunal in The Hague, said: “PH has had close consultations with Vietnam, bilaterally as well as within ASEAN, on claims and issues in the South China Sea. We now understand that Vietnam has made its position on our arbitration case known to the Tribunal. This is not wholly unexpected, since Vietnam naturally seeks to protect its own interests. What we understand, however, consistent with our previous discussions, is that the Vietnam’s basic position largely accords with ours with regards to the South China Sea.

Chinese oil rig in Paracels in May 2014. It was removed two months after.

Chinese oil rig in Paracels in May 2014. It was removed two months after.

“As such, the Vietnamese position is helpful in terms of promoting the rule of law and in finding peaceful and nonviolent solutions to the South China Sea claims based on international law, including UNCLOS. This promotes peace and stability in our region.”

Asean diplomats in Vietnam were briefed about the submission to the Arbitral Court Dec. 5. Sources at the DFA said Vietnamese Ambassador Truong Trieu Duong met with Foreign Undersecretary Evan Garcia also on Friday and the latter profusely thanked the envoy.

What the Philippines was most happy about was that Vietnam underscored that the Tribunal has jurisdiction on the case and the decision on the Philippine case would help clarify legal issues on the conflict.

Aside from China, Philippines and Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan are also claiming parts of the South China Sea.

It is in the issue of jurisdiction that even Philippine experts on the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) are concerned about because the issues raised by the Philippines could be interpreted as matters of territorial dispute and sovereignty, which are outside the scope of the Arbitral Court.

Territorial disputes are under the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, which requires the participation of parties involved in the case. China has refused to participate in the international arbitration and prefers bilateral negotiation.

Lack of jurisdiction of the Arbitral Court in the Philippine complaint was stressed by China in its Dec. 7 Position Paper, released three days after Vietnam submitted its statement in The Hague.

“It is the view of China that the Arbitral Tribunal manifestly has no jurisdiction over this arbitration, unilaterally initiated by the Philippines, with regard to disputes between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea,” China said.

Jurisdiction is the Achilles heel of the Philippine suit. The Philippine legal team feels it had remedied that concern because it is not asking the Arbitral Tribunal to rule on who owns Scarborough Shoal or Mischief reef or any of the disputed features in the South China Sea.

The Philippine suit merely asked the Arbitral Court to rule on three basic issues: the validity of China’s nine-dash lines; Low tide elevations where China has built permanent structures should be declared as forming part of the Philippine Continental shelf; and that the waters outside the 12 nautical miles surrounding the Panatag Island (Scarborough shoal) should be declared as part of the Philippines Exclusive Economic Zone.

Vietnam also said it supports the competence of the Arbitral Tribunal in interpreting the provisions of UNCLOS in respect to construction of structures and artificial islands in the EEZ and continental shelves of coastal states.

In a briefing with reporters early this year, then Solicitor General (now Supreme Court Associate Justice) Francis Jardeleza said the Court acceded to their request that they rule on both the jurisdiction and merits of the case.

He said: “There’s so much tactical advantage to that procedure because we are very strong on the merits and by discussing the merits more and more you gain an advantage hoping to convince the tribunal that they should take the case and rule that they have jurisdiction.”

The day after Vietnam submitted its position paper to the Arbitral Tribunal, the U.S. Department of State released a report by Office of Ocean and Polar Affairs, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs on China’s maritime claim in the South China Sea.

The report ripped apart China’s nine –dashed line map, the number one item in the Philippine complaint.
The report concluded: “…unless China clarifies that the dashed-line claim reflects only a claim to islands within that line and any maritime zones that are generated from those land features in accordance with the international law of the sea, as reflected in the LOS Convention, its dashed-line claim does not accord with the international law of the sea.”

The submission of Vietnam of its position paper with the Arbitral Court and the release of the U.S. report on China’s nine-dash line map are not a coincidence. The Arbitral Court has given China until today, Dec. 15, to submit its comments to the Philippine complaint in the Arbitral Court. With or without China’s participation, the Arbitral Court will proceed with the hearings.

Vietnam supports PH position: UN tribunal has jurisdiction on South China Sea dispute

Ellen Leave a comment

Water cannon fight in Paracels between China and Vietnam last May.

Water cannon fight in Paracels between China and Vietnam last May.



By Ellen T. Tordesillas, VERA Files

The Philippine case against China’s nine-dash line before the United Nations Arbitral Tribunal gained support from Vietnam in a statement it submitted to the court in The Hague on Thursday.

The Vietnam Foreign Ministry said the tribunal has jurisdiction to settle disputes concerning the interpretation of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.

In a press briefing Thursday, Vietnam Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Le Hai Binh said: “To protect its legal rights and interests in the East Sea which may be affected in the South China Sea Arbitration case, Vietnam has expressed its position to the Tribunal regarding this case, and requested the Tribunal to pay due attention to the legal rights and interests of Vietnam.”

These include Vietnam’s rights and interests over geographical features of the Paracel Islands and Spratly islands, he said. China calls the Paracel Islands Xisha and Vietnam, Hoàng Sa. Spratlys is known as Nansha in China, Truong Sa in Vietnam and Kalayaan in the Philippines.

“It is Vietnam’s consistent position to fully reject China’s claim over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes and the adjacent waters, as well as China’s claiming of ‘historic rights’ to the waters, sea-bed and subsoil within the ‘dotted line’ unilaterally stated by China,” the Vietnamese spokesperson said.
Vietnam’s submission in the U.N. court was made a day before the United States Department of State released a 26-page report titled “Limits in the Seas – China Maritime Claims in the South China Sea.”

Philippine Foreign Affairs Spokesman Charles Jose said Manila is still studying Vietnam’s submission and “its possible implications.”

A source in the Department of Foreign Affairs, however said, they are “very thankful” to Vietnam.

Last Sunday, China released a statement insisting that the U.N. Arbitral Tribunal has no jurisdiction on the complaint filed by the Philippines in January 2013 seeking a ruling on three basic issues:

1. The validity of China’s nine-dash lines

2. Low tide elevations where China has built permanent structures should be declared as forming part of the Philippine Continental shelf

3. The waters outside the 12 nautical miles surrounding the Panatag Island (Scarborough Shoal) should be declared as part of the Philippines Economic Exclusive Zones ( EEZ)

China said the essence of the Philippine complaint is “the territorial sovereignty over several maritime features in the South China Sea, which is beyond the scope of the Convention and does not concern the interpretation or application of the Convention.”

China has until Dec. 15 to answer the Philippine complaint in court. In its position paper, China reiterated its stand not to participate in the U.N. proceedings.

China claims almost the whole of South China Sea, parts of which are also being claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

The Philippines does not claim Paracel islands, scene of several fierce clashes between China and Vietnam.
Vietnam also said it believes the Tribunal has the competence to interpret the provisions in the Convention with respect to the construction of artificial islands in the EEZ and Continental Shelves of coastal states.
Vietnam reiterated its earlier declaration that it reserves the right to intervene in the U.N. Court if it is appropriate.

Reacting to Vietnam’s statement before the U.N. Tribunal, China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hong Lei said, “The Chinese side urges the Vietnamese side to earnestly respect China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, work with China to resolve relevant disputes over the Nansha Islands through consultation and negotiation on the basis of respecting historical facts and international law so as to jointly safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea.”

He added: “China will stick to its principled position of neither accepting nor participating in the South China Sea arbitration unilaterally initiated by the Philippines… China’s position will not change. “

Earlier, China slammed the U.S. on the report on maritime claims in the South China Sea.
“The United States has violated its commitment of not holding a position and not taking sides in the South China Sea issue, such a move is inconducive to the resolution of the South China Sea disputes and the peace and stability of the South China Sea,” Hong said.

(VERA Files is put out by veteran journalists taking a deeper look at current issues. Vera is Latin for “true.”)

Businesses regard Asean as the most attractive for investment

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A recent survey conducted by the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC) revealed that China and Myanmar stand to be the most promising destinations for foreign direct investment between now and 2015.

China was the most attractive in the world for such activities with 17.3%, followed by 12% voting for Myanmar.

The rest are as follows: Malaysia – 11%; Singapore – 8%; Indonesia – 7%; Vietnam – 6%; Laos – 4%; Thailand – 3%; Cambodia – 3%;  the Philippines – 1%;  and Brunei – 0.3%)

Furthermore, the survey found that more than half of the businesses considered ASEAN economic integration to pose a low or very low threat to their organizations, rating the threat level at an average of 2.49 on a scale of 1 (very low) to 5 (very high).

Close to 60 percent of the businesses considered ASEAN economic integration to be providing high or very high opportunity for their organizations, giving the opportunity level an average rating of 3.59 on a scale of 1 (very low) to 5 (very high). However, the survey also noted that a lower share of small or local firms shared this sentiment.

The 2013 Survey collated 502 usable responses across various firm-size categories, age, ownership profiles and industries from all ten ASEAN member economies.

Peter Tyroller takes over responsibility for Bosch in Asia Pacific

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The supervisory board of the Bosch Group, a leading global supplier of technologies and services, appointed Peter Tyroller to take over the responsibility for Asia Pacific effective from July 1, 2013.


Based in Shanghai, PR China, he will  be responsible for Southeast  Asia and all other countries in the Asia Pacific  region. “Asia Pacific will continue to be the main driver  of growth for Bosch and I am honored  to take over the responsibility for this important region,” commented Peter Tyroller  on his new assignment. He has been a member  of the Bosch board  of management  since 2006. Up to now, he has been responsible for marketing and sales, original  equipment sales, and the Automotive Aftermarket division.

Asia Pacific main growth region for Bosch

“In 2012, Asia Pacific already contributed 24 percent  to the global  sales of the Bosch Group and we have made it our target to increase this figure  to 30 percent over the mid-term,” said Tyroller.  “Over the next few years, Asia Pacific will see the Bosch Group’s highest  capital expenditure and biggest workforce increases. Southeast  Asia will  continue to play an important role for the further development of the region,” he added. In 2013, the company will invest around 680 million euros in the region.

With his new role Peter Tyroller  assumes the responsibility for Asia Pacific from Uwe Raschke, who was responsible for the region since 2008 and has been assigned  with  the regional  responsibility for Europe, Russia, the Middle East, and Africa, as well as for the worldwide responsibility for the Consumer  Goods business sector  since January 2013. Additionally, Tyroller will  assume responsibility for India previously held by Bernd Bohr, who isto retire  after 30 years with  Bosch.

“From  2008 to 2012, we registered sales growth of 60 percent  in Asia Pacific,” resumed Uwe Raschke the progress  in the region during his tenure. “To support these developments, the workforce in Asia Pacific has been growing steadily,  as has capital  expenditure. We have expanded  our presence  in the region, in particular in China and Southeast  Asia,” he added. In 2012, Bosch increased  its sales by 5.6 percent  to 12.6 billion euros in the region.

Strong focus on R&D in Asia Pacific

Thanks to the growing strength of local marketing and R&D presence, Bosch has gained a sound understanding of what our customers  in Asia Pacific’s  diverse markets  want. There are now 13,800  engineers  based in the region – 2,200 more than one year ago and five times as many as just five years ago. And by the end of the decade, this number  will have doubled. “We are particularly concentrating on products that  are tailored to their  respective markets. Especially  in emerging  markets, the local mid­ priced segment is growing the fastest,” said Tyroller.

Southeast Asia fastest-growing region for Bosch

Southeast  Asia is the fastest-growing region in the world for Bosch. In 2012, Bosch grew by 30 percent in the region, year on year, amounting to some 702 million euros. With  a buoyant  economy, emerging  markets  and a huge population, Southeast  Asia is a prime  region  for Bosch to further expand its footprint and sales growth, and maintain its double-digit growth momentum for the coming  years. Employing  over 5,500 associates in the region  as of 1Jan 2013, the company  is also expecting to increase its workforce steadily  in tandem with its business growth.

Bosch further increased its footprint in Southeast Asia with  the opening  of a representative office  in Yangon, Myanmar, earlier this year in April, and offices  beyond the capital  cities  of Thailand and the Philippines into  Chiang Mai and Cebu respectively in May this year. Last year, the company expanded into  Da Nang, Vietnam, and Medan, Indonesia.  This year, it broadened its presence in Indonesia into  Balikpapan.

Bosch upholds  a long-standing commitment to social responsibility. Together  with  financial support, like in 2011 when Bosch donated  190,000 euros in emergency  relief to help the communities affected  by the floods  in Thailand,  Bosch associates have also demonstrated this commitment  through corporate volunteerism. In addition to charity  and relief  efforts, the Bosch approach to social  responsibility focuses very heavily on education with  projects across Southeast  Asia.

Vietnamese Traditional Craft Village

Chhaly Samsokrith Leave a comment

partially By Doraemon Tran 

For a long time, craft villages have been an important element of Vietnamese culture and economy. The existence of these villages could date back thousands of years, as archeologists have unearthed a 3500-year-old large bronze making center in Vĩnh Phúc province of Vietnam (a little west of Hanoi), evidence of a town specialized in bronze crafting, as well as indication of a complex society with stratification and craft specialization. Into the Han period, craft villages have been well-established in Northern Vietnam with a catalogue of numerous products well desired from India to China.

Craft villages continued to exist in Vietnam throughout the feudal time and well into the modern time, particularly highly concentrated in areas with bustling commercial activities like the capital Hanoi. Visiting Hanoi today, you'll hear the phrase "36 streets of Hanoi". Hanoi today has over hundreds streets, but the 36 "streets" here, or should be more correctly translated as "36 towns" imo, were the 36 areas of the old Hanoi, each of with specialized in a craft product.

How did craft villages form in Vietnam? I'll leave this question to more thorough research, but from what I know, even until this day, most villages in Vietnam, especially the Northern part, have something that they call the "traditional occupation" of the village. This occupation could be making silk fans, lanterns, ceramics, conical hats, wood printing etc.

A sad reality is that these villages are dying, and along with them are the beautiful traditional handicrafts of Vietnam.

This is caused by an array of factors, many of which are unavoidable results of development, industrialization, and open market economy. Mass production made possible by assembly lines and machineries have driven down the price of industrial products (many of which are imported from other countries), making it hard for handcrafted products to compete. Artisans receive less and less profit until they cannot maintain a living by their occupation anymore. Not many young people are willing to continue the traditional occupation of their family when they can make more money following other paths.

Preserving traditional villages has been a concern of many Vietnamese, for it's an important cultural element of Vietnam. Many craft villages, like Bat Trang ceramic village, have existed for many many centuries and have produced high-quality arts and crafts throughout their history and it would be a pity to see them die. Artisans in some villages have tried to change their production methods to cope with the changing market and environment. In the past years, the government have made effort to encourage revival of many craft villages to attract tourists. But the task is harder done than said.

Bát Tràng village, one of the four famous ancient ceramic villages of Vietnam, and the only one that still thrives today.

Established in the Tran dynasty, the village has become so famous that if you read Vietnamese history, hear folk songs or come across countryside proverbs, you cannot fail to meet with this name. Vases of the finest quality or delightful plates for home decor have brightened the homes of the aristocracy, rice bowls have held the food of farmers, and in more recent times, electricity has been transported across the country thanks to ceramic insulators produced in Bat Trang. In the area of arts and antics, Bat Trang ceramics are famous in various places in the world and are displayed in the museums of many countries including Japan, the Philippines, France, Belgium and Turkey.

According to Vietnamese annals, migrant potters from Thanh Hoa province established Bat Trang village in the middle of the 14th century. Situated on the banks of the Red River, close to the capital. Bat Trang had very favorable geographic conditions to develop its craft. The region was also gifted with kaolin reserves that are an essential material for ceramic production. Consequently, Bat Trang ceramics quickly became prosperous. In the 15th century, its finest production was selected to be offered as tribute to the Chinese Minh. The village further prospered throughout the 16th century, producing high-grade ceramic articles for the noble class as well as for the people. From then onward, Bat Trang went through many ups and downs in the following centuries, but its kilns kept burning mid ceramics were still exported to Japan, East and Southeast Asian countries. Today, after orienting its production toward artistic items, Bat Trang ceramics have kept a strong foothold in international markets such as Taiwan, South Korea Japan, German, Denmark, Belgium, France, Holland, Australia and America.

Situated 15 kilometers away from Hanoi. Bat Trang actually covers the two hamlets of Bat Trang and Cao Giang, for a total area of 164 hectares. It currently has a population of 6,500 including some 1,300 ceramics production households Hat operate more than 2,000 kilns. More than 30 companies are also producing and trading ceramics in Bat Trang and the village is buzzing with activities. In 2002, the total revenue from ceramics production and trading almost reached VND500 billions, of which domestic consumption amounted for VND200 billions and export for VND300 billion. Major items for export are utilitarian articles mid art ceramics.


Some products of Bát Tràng village today



















But be very careful when you enter the market in Bát Tràng today. I'm serious. Many of the products sold there are fake, not authentic Bát Tràng handcrafts but industrial stuff. Of course they will tell you it's Bát Tràng products, but they're lying. You just have to check carefully.

Some Lê dynasty pieces unearthed (15th century)






Sơn Đồng village (Hanoi)

This village has hundreds years history of making wood sculptures


Located next to 32 road, the center of the capital about 15km, Son Dong commune, Hoai Duc, Hanoi is known for its famous wood products, fine art and carved lacquer. Here, people could hear the sound of carve and cut around the village.


So far, the class descendants of wood Son Dong village no longer remember the origin of the craft, only that the product of villages have been identified from hundreds of years. A hundred years, the village of Dong Son not only talented in the paint, carve, create the Buddha statues thousand arms, thousand eyes, the Thien (Good) statue, the Ac(Evil) statue, the Arhat statues, eight pole palanquin.. known throughout the country, but from the ancient times, the Son Dong know each other always prompt professional respect given to their ancestors: painting, pagoda sculpture - has created a job for Son Dong village know how artists have talented hands, the King Khai Dinh's prizes, French were awarded the artist.

From the land of King Hung to the The best cave in the North of Vietnam - Huong pagoda, anywhere in the country, we also see the worship statue by the Son Dong craftsman. A very special with village workers in the wood that even though there is no sign on the statue but the Son Dong people can easily recognize the product were done by your village people manipulate. They look so proud that you have a good job to be crystallized in the hands home workers that others village want to learn are also difficult to follow and also "in heart" to hold round of prestige for the ancestor profession .

The pilgrim as well as respect for this quality of "uniqueness" of products that the Son Dong village that want visited the wood village... What is the trick that makes the product of Son Dong village is love, create credibility with customers, while the country has so many professionals as well as villages such as Dong Son worshiping? The question of who is doing missionary work, keep industry of the village explained very rustic and simple: "Many generations now, the only wood carving village always thought, one thing is to know, to understand the sentence : “ know every thing is to know nothing”.


The consideration of Son Dong village artisans for products of their village is also manifested in behavior, communicating daily trading. Everyone in this land, from the elderly men in village to the baby 2 to 3 years, future generations of wood village, also called wood products very successful arranged clear order of precedence, while shipments to customers have a red cloth covering statues. Generations remain loyal to the natural paint materials used to the painting statues, which must be manually processing workers in the village are confident ... The small jobs that full respect implies that become thought in the each villager wood. For the respect that many people far away to visit the village and respect for feelings, special favor with Dong Son people, who make these products are everywhere aspire for worship. Hundred years old definition remains...

Buddha goods can only carved jack wooden, because the concept, which is wood "sacred" - very appropriate for making worshiping things. Moreover, jackfruit wood characteristics flexible, soft, durable, less cracking, easy to trim. Wood transport that removed rubbish wood, only use core to carve. Single measurement instrument in the hands of the workers are gauge wire and a "Tam rule ". Head and face of statue was always processed first. Carve outline the cap (if any) and the forehead, nose, lips, ears, etc. ... Ear of Buddha large and flowing, to the set a reasonable balance in the distance from the hairline (the 2 side of head) to chin, maybe ear touched the shoulder.

Gilded painting technique is also wonderful as the art of lacquer. After each stage must be grinding statue by the stone and water. Paint then grind away, then paint on ..., so never saw the flat surface and stretch then use a paint layer (called Cam Thep paint) cover. For Cam Thep paint be almost dry (touch by hand feel sticky) then silver paste or gold paste (silver, gold depending on customers). Therefore, each statue by artist Dong Son remake brings a different look. These parallel sentences, horizontal board that horse, large crane, all shone bright yellow, purple, pink in the sun soon. Every product here is both harmony, has portrayed its own dynamic characteristics, requires financial resources both human mind here.





La Xuyên village (Wood carving village in Nam Định)



La Xuyen Village at 70 km from Hanoi, is famous for wood carving from ancient. It has a rich history of thousands of years with dozens of skilled workers who participated in building palaces, temples for feudal dynasties. Ninh Huu Hung, the first founder in setting up hamlet, imparting to local native, was the famous craftsman in both of Dinh – Le dynasty using at an important function.

Traditional carpentry in La Xuyen which the pinnacle is the carving art almost reached perfectly. These local carpenters had been not only in Eastern but also in Western country to make a lot of villages’ beauty. Their huge productions are the architectural works with widen spaces and heighten the height of antique dome. Plentiful and common productions such as incense-table, hammock, sindora wood bed, tea chest… all showed high level technique.

Till now, a part of traditional craft village has remained in communal house. The talented carpenters contributed their minds, skilled hands into a huge architectural works. These artisans really infused a vital spirit into the carving and relief works throughout the time.

Nowadays, La Xuyen is just a small village of Yen Ninh commune, Y Yen district, but this craft village is still alive throughout the time and become more and more famous. With the tradition of a long-standing craft village, La Xuyen has been contributing to bring fame to motherland.


Note: Pictures are directly distracted from the original source. We are not credited for taking these pictures.

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