FOCUS: VIETNAMVietnam: Searching for long lasting peace and ethnic equality by SEACSN Vietnam.

     

    BulletinJun03FOCUS: VIETNAM Vietnam: Searching for long lasting peace and ethnic equality by SEACSN

    Vietnam

    The dragon-shaped Vietnam is situated in the east of the Indochina peninsula. It borders China to the north, Laos and Cambodia to the west and looks to the Bien Dong (the South China Sea) to the east. Vietnam lies in the strategic East-West sea-lanes linking the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean.

    The history of Vietnam is a long story of human resistance to natural calamities and foreign invasions. The conflict between Vietnamese patriotism and foreign aggression has prevailed throughout all historical periods. Thus, the national concern about real independence is central to peace and conflict issues in Vietnam. History has witnessed the unity of different Vietnamese groups in the struggle for national independence. A great block of national solidarity has been formed in the consecutive resistant wars for national independence and unification, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

    During the wars, the Vietnamese were forced to use military power to defend their country. When the wars were over, the Vietnamese shelved rifles to take ploughs and hoes to build up their nation. They would like to live in peaceful harmony with all countries of the world, considering it to be the best way to maintain their national security. In reality, Vietnam has improved relations with all world countries, including former rivals. In addition, Vietnam has eliminated the sources of its inter-state conflicts with others. Vietnam has signed agreements on overlapping areas with Thailand and Malaysia and is negotiating with the Indonesians over the exclusive economic zones (EEZ). Besides this, Vietnam and China reached the Land border Treaty and the Agreement on Demarcation of the Tonkin Gulf in 1999 and 2000 respectively.

    A peaceful environment creates favourable conditions for the country’s development. Since the start of doimoi (renovation), Vietnam has scored many economic achievements. Driven from economic crisis in the mid 1980s, Vietnam now enjoys an economic growth rate of around 7 %. Yet, Vietnam, like other developing nations in the process of nation-building and international integration, has to settle some economic conflicts such as those between economic sectors, and between domestic and international economic laws. In the multi-sector economy, it is natural that each economic sector competes with another to set up its own position. Even in one sector, new comers compete with old guards. Furthermore, to let every single Vietnamese enjoy economic achievement, one task is to fill the gap between the rich and the poor, or in other words, to eliminate poverty, particularly in the mountainous areas.

    Currently there are 1,870 villages in difficulties. The rate of poverty is 11%, down from 13% in 1999. In 52 minorities ethnic, poverty and hunger account for two-third of population while in ethnic Kinh the ratio is just 35-38%, i.e. the hunger and poverty in ethnic groups are 1.5-3 times bigger than those in majority, depending on different areas.1 The main reasons are connected with characteristics of disadvantaged, mountainous areas in terms of geography, habits and customs, and production methods. Thus, it is necessary to have long-term, synchronised policies to help the mountainous areas catch up with areas in the plains, creating an equal development in the country.


     

     

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