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FOCUS: 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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