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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40006053

Vietnam reassures US of efforts to maintain supply chains: Trade minister

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyễn Hồng Diên held phone talks with US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to discuss bilateral economic and trade issues.

Diên, who is also Chairman of the Việt Nam-US Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) Council, suggested the US Department of Commerce enhance discussions to recognise Việt Nam as a market economy and give objective and fair opinions in line with the World Trade Organisation (WTO)’s regulations in trade defence investigations.

The maintenance of goods supply, manufacturing activities and import-export were the top important priorities of the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade, Diên said in response to concerns over potential disruptions to supply chains in Việt Nam due to the severe ongoing fourth wave of infections.

The Vietnamese minister added that Việt Nam would step up vaccinations against COVID-19, creating favourable conditions for firms to mobilise workers back to work, ensure the flow of goods, resume business and production activities, to meeting global chains supply demands, including those of the US firms.

Diên stressed that Việt Nam was ready to increase dialogue with the US to deal with existing bilateral economic and trade issues. He also hailed the US for offering opinions to further perfect existing legal framework.

Raimondo said economy and trade remained a high priority under President Joe Biden’s policy, stressing that US enterprises want to invest in many fields in Việt Nam, with energy as a top priority.

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The US would actively work with Việt Nam to ensure the continuity of the goods supply chain amid the complicated developments of the pandemic in the country, she said.

The US official also said that in March next year, she would lead a major US delegation to Việt Nam in search of trade and investment opportunities.

Diên asked Raimondo to convey his message to the US Government about giving further priority to assisting Việt Nam in COVID-19 vaccines given current shortages, accelerating the implementation of signed vaccine supply contracts, and facilitating vaccine production technology transfer.

Both sides expressed their belief that bilateral ties would maintain stable growth momentum, with economic and trade collaboration as a focus and key driving force.

Over the past five years, Việt Nam’s export to the US has surged by 230 per cent while the US’s shipment to Việt Nam has soared by over 175 per cent. The US became Việt Nam’s largest importer while Việt Nam was the 10th biggest trade partner of the US. — VNS

Published : September 13, 2021

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40006052

Asean ministers to start talks on regional digital economy agreement by 2025

SINGAPORE – As Asean continues to grapple with Covid-19 cases and an uncertain recovery, its economic ministers have committed to conducting a study on a region-wide digital economy pact by 2023.

They also agreed to start negotiations on the Asean Digital Economy Framework Agreement by 2025.

A focus on digital transformation to enable the smooth flow of goods and services and data will help ensure the region continues to draw global trade and investments, and better position itself for future growth, Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong said at meetings with his counterparts last week.

“Asean remains fully committed to free and open trade and deepening regional economic integration, especially amidst the challenging backdrop posed by Covid-19,” he said.

“As the region emerges from the pandemic, it is important to leverage new growth opportunities in areas such as digitalisation and sustainability so that we entrench Asean as an attractive trade and investment proposition for our global partners.”

The 53rd Asean Economic Ministers’ Meeting was held via video conference on Sept 8 and 9, and will continue from Sept 13 to 15 when the ministers will meet their counterparts from the grouping’s key partners, including the United States and China.

At the meeting, chaired by Brunei, which holds the rotating leadership of the grouping this year, the Asean ministers endorsed the Bandar Seri Begawan Roadmap, which sets out an agenda to turn the ongoing pandemic crisis into an opportunity for South-east Asia through digital transformation and greater integration of its digital economy till 2025.

The road map highlights digital initiatives that are expected to boost the region’s competitiveness over the immediate and longer term.

These initiatives seek to build a foundation for an Asean digital economy that the ministers described as one “where the seamless and secure flow of goods, services and data is underpinned by enabling rules, regulations, infrastructure and talent”.

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The Digital Economy Framework Agreement and timeframe are part of this road map.

A digital economy agreement establishes trade rules and facilitates interoperability between the digital systems of two or more economies.

It also supports cross-border flows of data, safeguards personal data and consumer rights, and encourages innovation and cooperation in areas such as artificial intelligence.

Singapore has so far negotiated two such agreements: the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement with Chile and New Zealand, and the Singapore-Australia Digital Economy Agreement, both of which were signed last year.

It has also started talks on digital economy agreements with South Korea and Britain.

At their meeting, the Asean ministers acknowledged that e-commerce and digital services are now providing alternative channels for people to continue activities such as working and learning.

To that end, the Workplan on Asean Agreement on E-Commerce, which identifies priority areas to ensure the continued development of electronic commerce in the region, was adopted.

The ministers also took note of the implementation of the Asean Comprehensive Recovery Framework – adopted by leaders at the Asean Summit last November – which serves as an exit plan from the pandemic through five broad strategies around health, human security, economic integration, digital transformation and sustainability.

The moves come at a time when economic recovery across the region remains “fragile” amid a resurgence in Covid-19 cases as new variants emerge and disrupt efforts to reopen borders, the ministers noted.

Nonetheless, the Asean ministers also said that the regional economy is picking up, with gross domestic product in South-east Asia expected to reach 4 per cent this year and 5.2 per cent next year.

In 2020, the Asean economy contracted by 3.3 per cent primarily due to mobility and cross-border travel restrictions.

As the region tries to sustain that recovery, vaccination remains the top priority and continued fiscal and monetary stimulus is necessary to reinforce the economy, the ministers added.

They also said: “Support for vulnerable groups, including informal workers, women and youth, is important to minimise the development gap that has been amplified by the pandemic.”

Published : September 13, 2021

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40006051

Hanoi, Beijing will shore up marine stability

Vietnams hospitality for FMs visit shows trust, friendship, cooperation

In a series of high-level talks between China and Vietnam, both socialist countries sent clear signals on jointly stabilizing the South China Sea situation, exchanging political support and advancing collaboration in economic recovery.

In particular, properly handling maritime issues and carrying forward the consultations on the expected text of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea were among the new consensuses made during State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to the southeast Asian country over the weekend.

Behind these positive gestures are Beijing and Hanoi’s mutual trust and willingness to control maritime differences despite Washington’s recent attempts to use the topic to alienate them, experts said.

Wang had a packed schedule during his stay in Hanoi from Friday to Sunday, meeting with prominent figures including Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee.

Su Xiaohui, deputy director of the Department of American Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, said Hanoi’s great hospitality and the high level of meetings arranged for Wang “reflect Vietnam’s great emphasis on ties with China and the positive atmosphere between the two countries”.

During meetings on Saturday, Wang said the two sides should cherish the hard-won stable situation in the South China Sea, “find a proper place in the overall bilateral ties for maritime issues”, and refrain from worsening the situation.

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Also, the two countries should “jointly guard against attempts made by external forces for alienating” them, and they should convince the world that the two nations have both the capability and wisdom to manage their divergence, Wang added.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh told Wang that his country is ready to keep the maritime situation stable, embark on maritime cooperation with an incremental approach and contribute to ensuring the region’s peace.

In Wang’s separate talk with Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, both sides highlighted the need to carry forward the consultation on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea together with the nine other members besides Vietnam of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Beijing looks forward to formulating “a valid, substantive agreement that aligns with international law”, Wang said.

The Vietnamese minister echoed the call for promoting the consultation, and said both sides should continue advancing their cooperation in the Beibu Gulf and in areas of low sensitivity.

Su, the CIIS scholar, noted that this year, senior US political figures including Vice-President Kamala Harris have visited Vietnam in an attempt to weaken Beijing-Hanoi ties by hyping maritime tension.

“But the latest messages issued over the weekend show that China still enjoys adequate trust from its neighbors and positivity prevails in their interactions, and their differences are under control,” Su added.

During the weekend meetings, the two sides reaffirmed political support for each other’s following the socialist path, and Wang relayed Beijing’s strong support to Vietnam’s new leadership that took office this year.

For his part, the Vietnamese foreign minister said Hanoi will continue its clear support for China in topics such as democracy, human rights, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Tibet, Taiwan and novel coronavirus origin tracing.

The two countries should join hands to push back at smearing and attacks made by external forces against socialist countries, champion their common interest, further honor the noninterference principle and support the international system and international order, Wang said.

Yang Baoyun, a professor specializing in ASEAN studies at Thailand’s Thammasat University, said, “The positive signals issued during Wang’s visit show that Beijing is a reliable neighbor for Hanoi given the ravaging pandemic, and that both countries need each other politically, economically and internationally.”

As China and ASEAN became each other’s top trade partner last year, the steadfast growth of trade between China and ASEAN countries including Vietnam “helps keep production chains there afloat and cushion the blow from the pandemic”, Yang said.

Speaking on the lasting impact made by the pandemic, Wang said Beijing is willing to offer support with vaccines, share experiences in COVID-19 response and therapeutics and help Vietnam promote economic recovery.

To keep bilateral economic and trade exchanges afloat, Beijing is ready to advance the construction of cross-border economic cooperation areas, and help Vietnam speed up its industrialization process, he added.

The Vietnamese prime minister said Hanoi is ready to learn from China’s experience in COVID-19 response, shore up teamwork in trade and investment and facilitate China’s investment in Vietnam.

Published : September 13, 2021

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40006050

N. Korea test-fires new long-range cruise missiles: state media

North Korea has successfully test-fired a new type of long-range cruise missile over the weekend, state media reported Monday, a low-level provocation amid stalled talks with the United States.

The test-firings, which took place Saturday and Sunday without leader Kim Jong-un in attendance, came right after the North held a scaled-down military parade, and appeared to be intent on demonstrating its military power in a low-level provocation without violating UN sanctions.

The North is banned from using ballistic technology under multiple UN Security Council resolutions. Cruise missiles, however, are not subject to the sanctions as they are considered less of a threat than ballistic missiles.

The missiles “traveled for 7,580 seconds along an oval and pattern-8 flight orbits in the air above the territorial land and waters” in North Korea and “hit targets 1,500 km away,” the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

“The development of the long-range cruise missile, a strategic weapon of great significance in meeting the key target of the five-year plan for the development of the defense science and the weapon system … has been pushed forward according to the scientific and reliable weapon system development process for the past two years,” the KCNA said.

“Detailed tests of missile parts, scores of engine ground thrust tests, various flight tests, control and guidance tests, warhead power tests, etc. were conducted with success,” it added.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said that an in-depth analysis is under way in close cooperation with US intelligence authorities but refused to confirm details, including where the test was conducted and if they detected the launches in advance.

The South Korean military has disclosed information on North Korea’s test-firings of ballistic missiles almost on a real-time basis, but not for cruise missile tests.

Experts say the North’s newly unveiled weapon resembles the US’ long-range Tomahawk and South Korea’s Hyunmoo-3C cruise missiles.

Ballistic missiles have a much longer range and move faster than cruise missiles of the same size. But cruise missiles are still threatening as they fly in a relatively straight line and at low altitudes, making them harder to detect. Cruise missiles can also carry nuclear warheads, according to the experts.

The latest test-firings came after the North held a scaled-down military parade at midnight Thursday to mark the 73rd state founding anniversary.

The North paraded mostly paramilitary troops, fire engines and artillery-carrying tractors rather than intercontinental ballistic missiles and other strategic weapons. The event appeared to be aimed at consolidating internal solidarity amid challenges from the coronavirus pandemic and global sanctions on its economy.

Pak Jong-chon, member of the Presidium of the politburo of the ruling Workers’ Party watched the test-firings, along with other senior officials, the KCNA said. Leader Kim did not attend the tests.

“This is another great manifestation of the tremendous capabilities of the defense science and technology and the munitions industry of our country,” Pak said, according to the KCNA.

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“He stressed the need for the field of the national defense science to go all out to increase the defense capabilities, the war deterrence of the country and keep making achievements in meeting the grand and long-term targets of securing war deterrence.”

Experts said that North Korea appears to have conducted the test-firings in a way that demonstrates its military power, but by using cruise missiles, not ballistic missiles, it avoided provoking the U.S. too much.

They still worried that the North could continue conducting such tests going forward and seek to make those missiles smaller and possibly adaptable to submarines down the line.

“Given that the missile development was launched two years ago as part of the five-year plan, the project appears to have started after mid-2019,” said Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, a state-run think tank.

“The North could continue such tests so as to make them smaller as part of the five-year plan, and there is also a possibility that the missiles could be developed to be able to be launched from submarines.”

The latest firing marks the third known major missile test by the communist country so far this year.

On March 21, the North fired two cruise missiles off the west coast, according to the JCS. Four days later, it fired off two ballistic missiles into the East Sea, believed to be an upgraded version of its KN-23 Iskander-type missile.

Some local media also reported that the North conducted a cruise missile test in January just hours after US President Joe Biden took office. (Yonhap)

Published : September 13, 2021

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40006049

India, US set to launch Climate Action and Finance Mobilisation Dialogue

India and the US would launch the Climate Action and Finance Mobilisation Dialogue (CAFMD) on Monday as US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Change, John Kerry visits India as part of his multi-country tour in the run-up to the annual climate summit less than 50 days ahead.

The CAFMD is one of the two main tracks of the US-India Agenda 2030 Partnership that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden had announced at the Leaders Summit on Climate in April 2021. The other is the Strategic Clean Energy Partnership.

Slated to reach on Sunday, Kerry will be in India till September 14, meeting ministers, top bureaucrats, and private sector leaders. The US State Department has said Kerry will travel to India to “discuss efforts to raise global climate ambition and speed India’s clean energy transition.”

Kerry has visited Korea, Argentina, Japan, and China over last few days to continue vital discussions on reducing emissions and raising ambition ahead of COP26, the annual climate summit that in UK’s Glasgow.

A spokesperson from the Environment, Forests and Climate Change Ministry confirmed the CAFMD launch event on Monday but did not divulge further details.

Earlier in the year, in their joint statement at the launch of the “India-US Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership”, the two nations had said: “Through this collaboration, India and the United States aim to demonstrate how the world can align swift climate action with inclusive and resilient economic development, taking into account national circumstances and sustainable development priorities.”

On August 24, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav had held a telephonic conversation with Kerry to discuss CAFMD Track and had said these platforms provide greater opportunities for working together for climate actions and emphasized that India stands committed to working with the US on clean energy.

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The annual climate summit, the Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC), at Glasgow from October 31, is being seen as a last ditch effort to bring around countries to enhance their emission targets to keep the global temperatures from rising to beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to the pre-Industrial era.

On September 9, when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) had released its sixth Assessment Report of the Working Group I (AR6WGI), Kerry had tweeted: “Life is about making choices, and we’re facing the biggest one yet. The @IPCC_CH report makes it clear our window is narrowing, but it’s not too late to act. We must choose to earnestly respond to the climate crisis while we still can.”

Published : September 13, 2021