Truth and lies about Spratly, Paracel

By Dr. Nguyen Nha. Nha’s Phd dissertation’s title is “The process of asserting sovereignty of Vietnam over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa”. He is the first Vietnamese to earn a Phd on this topic.

Vietnamese navy officers looking at maps proving
Vietnam's sovereignty over Hoang Sa at a museum in Da Nang on April 29

East Sea issues are escalating in intensity, worrying international scholars at many East Sea conferences who fear a tragedy could occur in Asia, like one that happened to Europe in World War II.
The world nowadays does not know or deliberately refuses to know that it is the sovereignty dispute over islands wherein involved parties or party pay(s) no heed to historical truths and to international law that causes intensity to escalate.
During a recent international conference in Quang Ngai, one scholar from a university in Hong Kong said that historical facts about Vietnamese sovereignty are propagandized in a very limited manner to the world. I have recently demanded for more heed to the historical truth about sovereignty over Paracel (Hoang Sa) and Spratly (Truong Sa).
The “ownerless land” declaration
Let’s pay attention to what actually happened in 1909. In that year, China started to claim sovereignty in the East Sea. The Guangdong  government reasoned that Paracel was an “ownerless land” and started to carry out its occupation via western means like ordering a warship to fire 21 shots, flag planting, erecting border lines in Paracel and renaming it Xisha.
Or let’s focus on the event in 1898 when a British insurance company demanded compensation from the Hainan government for the looting by Hainan residents of the Bellona ship (Germany) that sank in 1895 and of the Unofi Maru ship (Japan) that sank in 1896 in Paracel. The Hainan government then denied that Paracel belonged to China.
Vietnam has so much evidence to prove that Paracel belongs to Vietnam, from imperial court documents of the Nguyen dynasty, local government papers, court historical archives, monographs, and maps to Western documents, and maps drawn by the West and even documents and maps published in China.
Western documents like Gutzlaff (1849) or the Great Annam Map clearly wrote that Paracel is Yellow Sands or Hoang Sa.
Vietnam possesses the sovereignty truth on a continuous and peaceful basis through many eras with the Hoang Sa militia, the Bac Hai team travelling to Hoang Sa and Truong Sa for fish and for cast-away products as far back as the early 17th century, or with the navy planting landmarks, and erecting sovereignty steles from 1816-1836. Such activities have become an annual routine.
As China once announced Paracel was ownerless and did not belong to China, all other evidence surfaced thereafter was just fabrications or far-fetched deductions that are valueless and go against the historical truth.
The uncut history
In April, 1956, taking advantage of the French army withdrawing from Indochina, Taiwan occupied the largest island -- Itu Aba, i.e Ba Binh island, of Truong Sa (China renamed it Taiping Island to commemorate the Taiping warship that occupied it at the end of 1946); China occupied the largest island of Hoang Sa archipelago and taking advantage of new relations with the US after the Shanghai Communiqué (1972), occupied the whole Hoang Sa archipelago on January, 19, 1974.
From that time on (compared to the years before 1949), China started to pay more attention to the claim that China has exercised sovereignty over Hoang Sa for a long time with ample ahistorical evidence. China has been trying to collect, selectively use and manipulate data and if necessary, distort information, being helped by a number of scholars who reason on the premise that “islands in the South China Sea from time immemorial are part of China’s territory”, “they were discovered by the Chinese people the earliest”, “the Chinese carried out businesses there earliest”, or “managed by Chinese dynasties the earliest”. (Guangming Daily, November, 24, 1975).
After that, on January 30, 1980, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China released diplomatic documents that officialized claims as set out in the aforementioned newspaper article and in 1988, released a sizable compilation penned by Han Zhenhua and his associates.
But the information therein is very vague and not verified while most of the ancient documents that China cited are books written about foreign countries (Zhu Fan i.e the books did not discuss Chinese matters) such as Yi Wu Zhi (Exotic things) by Yang Fu and Zhu Fan Zhi (Notes on foreign countries) by Zhao Juguo.
As there is no truth in such rhetoric, with maps drawn by China and the West telling a different story, and since the Guangdong government once asserted Paracel ownerless, it is very easy to deny such claims, especially considering the international legal system at the end of the 19th century under which sovereignty was established only on the basis of effective, continuous and peaceful occupation on the state level.
If we want to invalidate China’s nine-dotted line declaration in 2009, it is also easy. Just rely on the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea – UNCLOS 1982, especially when China used hazy and unacceptable data.
Nowadays, most people in China brush aside the 1909 event when Guangdong government declared Paracel an “ownerless land”. Almost everyone there presumes something like “islands in the South China Sea from time immemorial belong to China; if we further consult ancient Chinese texts, this is apparent, nothing to suspect”… Such presumptions are widely propagandized among Chinese people. But the truth is that if we consult ancient texts, there will be nothing, just wild inferences.
To avoid a tragedy in Asia as many have feared, and for the sake of justice, stability, peace, and sustainable cooperation, there is no way but to respect the historical truth, respect international law; and struggle for a win-win solution. Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's.

Source tuoitrenews.vn

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Posted in: Asia,Vietnam

Japan marks 'return of sovereignty' day

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko gave added weight to the event

Japan has for the first time marked the anniversary of the end of the allied occupation, which followed its defeat in World War II.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the "restoration of sovereignty day" would give Japan hope for the future and help it become "strong and resolute".
The event is seen as part of Mr Abe's nationalist campaign.
He is also pushing for a revision of Japan's pacifist constitution to ease tight restrictions on the armed forces.
It was during last year's election campaign that Mr Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) proposed the event to mark the day in 1952 when the San Francisco Peace Treaty took effect, formally ending WWII and the allied occupation.
"I want to make this a day when we can renew our sense of hope and determination for the future," the 58-year-old said in front of officials gathered in Tokyo.
"We have a responsibility to make Japan a strong and resolute country that others across the world can rely on," he said.
Protests It was the latest in a series of events and remarks that have angered Japan's Asian neighbours.

Mr Abe infuriated China and South Korea when he suggested he may no longer stand by the wording of an apology issued in 1995 for Japan's war-time aggression, saying the definition of "aggression" was hard to establish.

China also strongly objected to the visits by several cabinet members and 170 MPs this month to the Yasukuni war shrine, which is seen as a symbol of Japan's imperialistic aggression.
Sunday's ceremony was also controversial with some Japanese. Thousands of people on the southern island of Okinawa took to the streets to denounce the event as a betrayal.
Okinawa was invaded by US marines in 1945 and was not returned to Japan until 1972.
Nearly three-quarters of US troops stationed in Japan under a bilateral treaty are based in Okinawa.

SOURCE BBC

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Posted in: Asia,war

Asia Stocks Near Two-Year High as Investors Weigh Profit Reports

Source bloomberg.

Asian stocks rose, with the regional benchmark index touching the highest intraday level since May 2011, as investors weighed earnings reports and energy shares led gains.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., the nation’s largest refiner, increased 1.4 percent after Morgan Stanley said China’s cut in fuel prices will benefit the company. Nidec Corp., the world’s largest maker of hard-disk drive motors, gained more than 6 percent for a second day in Osaka, Japan, after fiscal- year net income beat forecasts. Canon Inc. (7751), the world’s biggest camera maker, slid 6 percent after its income forecast missed analysts’ estimates on slumping demand for compact models.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.3 percent to 139.36 at 11:38 a.m. in Tokyo, with about the same number of companies falling and rising. The gauge is headed for its highest close since May 3, 2011.

“We have to look at earnings and wait to see if the first- quarter earnings are really good or bad,” said Grace Tam, Hong Kong-based global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management Ltd., which oversees about $1.3 trillion globally. “So far, it’s not really been impressive. In Asia, we don’t have an inflation threat. Inflation has been pretty benign and this is a positive factor for Asian equities because Asian economies are net importers of oil.”

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 7.4 percent this year through yesterday amid optimismJapan will deploy more measures to beat deflation and that policy makers in the U.S. and China remain on standby to support growth. The Asian benchmark traded at 14.1 times estimated earnings yesterday, compared with 14.3 times for the S&P 500 and 12.8 times for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index.

Nikkei, Kospi

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 0.1 percent after slipping 0.1 percent, while the broader Topix Index added 0.3 percent, as data showed foreign investors were net sellers of the nation’s equities last week. The Kospi Index (KOSPI) increased 0.4 percent as South Korea’s economy grew the most in two years in the first quarter. Markets in Australia and New Zealand are closed for a public holiday.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (HSI) climbed 0.4 percent and China’s Shanghai Composite Index retreated 0.7 percent. Taiwan’s Taiex Index slid 0.1 percent.

More than 60 companies on the MSCI gauge are scheduled to report earnings today, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Of the 69 firms which have reported quarterly results since April 1, and for which Bloomberg has estimates, 51 percent have exceeded profit forecasts.

Investors are weighing how the yen’s decline will improve the earnings outlook for Japanese exporters.

The yen has declined against all of its 16 major counterparts since April 4, when the Bank of Japan (8301) said it will double the amount of money circulating in the economy by the end of 2014 by buying government bonds, its boldest round of quantitative easing. The BOJ will convene tomorrow.

“The market has yet to show a definitive direction as investors wait for catalysts,” said Toshihiko Matsuno, a strategist at Tokyo-based SMBC Friend Securities Co., a unit of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., Japan’s second-biggest lender by market value. “A weaker yen is helping Japanese companies, but you need to look at each stock to figure out if the yen’s drop is coming on top of a company’s solid business or it’s being overshadowed by poor performance.”

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPXL1) were little changed today. The index rose just 0.01 point yesterday in New York, as investors weighed quarterly earnings.

To contact the reporter on this story: Yoshiaki Nohara in Tokyo at ynohara1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Gentle at ngentle2@bloomberg.net.

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Posted in: Asia,Business

Taiwan reports first bird flu case outside China

Theo BBC

A 53-year-old businessman in Taiwan has the first case of the H7N9 bird flu virus outside mainland China, health officials there have confirmed.

The man is in a serious condition in hospital days after returning from the Chinese city of Suzhou, officials say.

Taiwan is stepping up prevention measures against bird flu

China has confirmed 108 cases of H7N9 since it was initially reported in March, with at least 22 people dead.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says this strain appears to spread more easily from birds to humans.

The man in Taiwan was brought to hospital three days after he arrived from Suzhou via Shanghai, officials say.

He was not in contact with poultry, nor had he eaten undercooked birds while in Suzhou, Taiwanese Health Minister Chiu Wen-ta told local media.

Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou has ordered the health department to step up prevention measures, says the country's Central News Agency.

'Unusually dangerous'

Experts are still trying to understand the H7N9 virus, and it has not yet been determined whether it could be transferred between humans.

"This is definitely one of the most lethal influenza viruses we have seen so far," WHO flu expert Dr Keiji Fukuda said at a news conference in Beijing.

"When we look at influenza viruses this is an unusually dangerous virus."

He added that the WHO team was just beginning its investigation. But he said that based on the evidence, "this virus is more easily transmissible from poultry to humans than H5N1", a strain which spread in 2003.

Dr Fukuda led a team from the WHO on a one-week China visit to study H7N9, along with Chinese officials from Beijing and Shanghai.

The WHO believes that poultry is still the likely source of the H7N9 outbreak in China.

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Posted in: Asia,Health

Thais Flock to Japan as Weak Yen Means Bargains: Southeast Asia

Cherry trees blossom as pedestrians walk in front of
 buildings including the Tokyo Sky Tree, center, in Tokyo,
 Japan. Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg

The Thai baht’s biggest quarterly gain against the yen since 1998 was enough reason for Kornkarun Cheewatrakoolpong, a 32-year-old economics lecturer in Bangkok, to change her honeymoon destination to Japan from Italy.

“It’s more affordable,” Kornkarun said in an interview from her home in the capital on April 17, after returning from a business trip to Japan. “I don’t feel it’s that expensive like in the past. I still expect that when I go for my honeymoon in November, the yen will remain weak.”

Kornkarun followed 36,000 Thai tourists who headed to Japan in the first two months of the year, 31 percent more than the same period of 2012 and the largest increase among five major Southeast Asian countries, according to data from the Japan National Tourist Organization. The baht, Asia’s best-performing currency in 2013, strengthened 14 percent versus the yen in the three months through March before rising a further 6.3 percent in April, making costs for accommodation, shopping and food cheaper for visitors from Thailand.

Tourists look towards the Tokyo Skytree at the Sensoji temple
in Tokyo, Japan. Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg

The rise in tourists caused a shortage of yen banknotes in Thailand, central bank Governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul told reporters in Bangkok on April 9, before the nation’s markets closed for the four-day New Year holiday, known as Songkran. The Bank of Japan’s monetary easing, coupled with increasing investment, helped drive the baht to the strongest against the yen in five years on April 22. Japan’s currency may weaken to 100 per dollar for the first time since 2009 by year-end, according to 54 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Relatively Cheaper

Japan’s currency has depreciated 19 percent versus the greenback since mid-November, when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, then running for office, began a campaign to talk down the value of the exchange rate to revive the export-led economy. The weaker yen boosts competitiveness of Japanese goods such as cars made by Toyota Motor Corp. (7203), Nissan (7201) Motor Co. and Honda (7267) Motor Co.

The Bank of Japan announced April 4 it would buy 7.5 trillion yen ($76 billion) of debt a month, spurring outflows to higher-yielding assets. The BOJ’s benchmark interest rate is 0.1 percent, compared with the Bank of Thailand’s 2.75 percent.

The yen has weakened against all of the world’s 16 major currencies in 2013 and is leading losses in Asia, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The exchange rate has declined almost 18 percent versus the baht this year, which if sustained would be the biggest annual drop since at least 1992.

“The yen’s weakness accelerated, especially against Asian currencies, and that encourages inflows of tourists,” Takahiro Sekido, a strategist in Tokyo at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd., who formerly worked at the Bank of Japan, said in an April 22 telephone interview. “Things in other Asian countries are also getting more expensive, so when you shop in Japan and convert prices back to your own currency, people may feel things are much cheaper here.”

Reversal Signal

Bank of Thailand Governor Prasarn told reporters in Bangkok on April 19 that the baht’s advance has started to move beyond fundamentals. It reached 28.56 per dollar on April 19 and April 22, the strongest level since a devaluation in July 1997 that sparked the Asian financial crisis. The currency traded at 28.80 late yesterday, while one baht was buying 3.42 yen compared with 2.82 yen at the end of last year.

While ruling out imposing capital restrictions, Prasarn said on April 9 that the central bank stands ready to intervene should the currency move against fundamentals.

Some trading patterns show the baht is poised to fall. The dollar’s 14-day relative-strength index stayed below 30 between April 16 and April 22, a level that signals the greenback may be poised to rebound. Stochastics, which measure the price of a security relative to its highs and lows during a particular period, have fallen below 30 since March 12.

Passenger Traffic

Sisdivachr Cheewarattanaporn, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents in Bangkok, predicts the number of tourists to Japan will increase 15 percent this year, without providing specific or historical numbers.

“Japan has always been a popular destination for Thai people, but the strong baht made it even more attractive,” Sisdivachr said in an April 17 telephone interview from Bangkok. “A lot of Thais are going to Japan for shopping and sightseeing as they feel they will spend less than before.”

The country’s national airline, Thai Airways International (THAI) Pcl, saw the percentage of its seats filled for routes in Asia, including Japan, climb 7.6 percent in the first two months of the year to 76.8 percent, while those to Europe and North Pacific fell 3.2 percent and 6.6 percent, respectively, according to its website.

“We have seen rising numbers of Thai shoppers to Japan in the last couple of months,” Danuj Bunnag, executive vice president of Thai Airways, said in a phone interview from his office in Bangkok on April 22. “Bookings in the next few months are also looking good.”

78th Province

For Prapharat Tangkawattana, a 45-year-old chief financial officer, the weakening baht meant a 33 percent saving for a three-night stay at the Hilton Niseko over similar graded hotels on the southern Thai island of Ko Samui.

Prapharat, who started her trip in the ski resort on the northern island of Hokkaido and travels to Japan almost every year, paid 9,000 yen for a night’s board at the Hilton. She also dropped by a shop in Tokyo’s upmarket shopping and tourist district of Ginza during her visit and bought a Rolex Perpetual Datejust watch on a whim because it was the equivalent of 74,000 baht cheaper than in Thailand, a nation of 77 provinces.

She ran into her Thai friends three times in Tokyo which she said was “unbelievable.”

“Tokyo is like the 78th province of Thailand,” Prapharat said in an April 17 telephone interview in Bangkok. “I felt that the cost of eating and accommodation was so cheap during this trip.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Yumi Teso in Bangkok at yteso1@bloomberg.net; Suttinee Yuvejwattana in Bangkok at suttinee1@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Regan at jregan19@bloomberg.net; Stephanie Phang at sphang@bloomberg.net

Source Bloomberg.com

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Posted in: Asia,Business,Japan,Tourist

Japan PM Abe warns China of force over islands landing

Japan would respond with force if any attempt is made to land on disputed islands, PM Shinzo Abe has warned.

His comments came as eight Chinese government ships sailed near East China Sea islands that both nations claim.

A flotilla of 10 fishing boats carrying Japanese activists was also reported to be in the area, as well as the Japanese coastguard.

Mr Abe was speaking in parliament hours after dozens of lawmakers visited a controversial war-linked shrine.

Chinese and Japanese surveillance ships are monitoring each other closely

A total of 168 lawmakers paid their respects at the Yasukuni Shrine, which commemorates Japan's war dead, including war criminals, in a move likely to anger regional neighbours who say the shrine is a reminder of Japan's military past.

'Deal strongly'

The warning from the Japanese prime minister was the most explicit to China since Mr Abe took power in December, the BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes reports from Tokyo.

Asked in parliament what he would do if Chinese ships tried to land on the disputed islands, Mr Abe said they would be expelled by force.

"Since it has become the Abe government, we have made sure that if there is an instance where there is an intrusion into our territory or it seems that there could be landing on the islands then we will deal will it strongly," he said.

The warning came as eight Chinese ships sailed around the islands - called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.

The Japanese coast guard said it was the highest number of Chinese boats in the area since Tokyo nationalised part of the island chain in September 2012.

China said its ships had been monitoring Japanese vessels. The State Oceanic Administration issued a statement saying three of its ships had "found" several Japanese ships around the islands and "immediately ordered another five ships in the East China Sea to meet the three ships".

Ten Japanese boats carrying around 80 activists arrived in the area early on Tuesday, Reuters news agency reported, monitored by Japanese Coast Guard vessels. Public broadcaster NHK said the boats were carrying "regional lawmakers and members of the foreign media".

Japan's top government spokesman said the "intrusion into territorial waters" was "extremely regrettable". Japan also summoned the Chinese ambassador to protest, reports said.

The territorial row has been rumbling for years but was reignited last year when Japan bought three of the islands from their private Japanese owner.

China claims the island chain, which is controlled by Japan. Taiwan also claims the islands, which offer rich fishing grounds and lie in a strategically important area.

The dispute has led to serious diplomatic tension between China and Japan, most recently in January when Japan said a Chinese frigate locked weapons-controlling radar on one of its navy ships near the islands - something China disputes.

'Backlash'

The visit to the Yasukuni Shrine on Tuesday by lawmakers marking the spring festival is also likely to hit ties between Beijing and Tokyo.

Continue reading the main story

Yasukuni Shrine

• Built in 1869 under the Emperor Meiji
• Venerates the souls of Japan's war dead
• Those enshrined include convicted war criminals
• Japan's neighbours say it represents the country's past militarism

• Japan's Yasukuni Shrine

Visits to Yasukuni Shrine by lawmakers anger Japan's neighbours

Two cabinet ministers, including Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso, visited the shrine on Sunday. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe did not visit but made a ritual offering.

South Korea subsequently cancelled a proposed visit by its foreign minister, while China lodged "solemn representations" in response to the ministers' visit.

"Only when Japan faces up to its aggressive past can it embrace the future and develop friendly relations with its Asian neighbours," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Monday.

But Japanese lawmaker Hidehisa Otsujji said it was "natural" for "lawmakers to worship at a shrine for people who died for the nation".

"Every nation does this. I don't understand why we get a backlash," he said.

Analysis

Rupert Wingfield-HayesBBC News, Tokyo

The video pictures coming in from the islands today are quite dramatic.

There are more ships than I have ever seen before during one of these encounters - at least eight Chinese ships and an equal number of Japanese coastguard cutters.

Sailing alongside, dwarfed by the larger ships, are 10 fishing boats flying the Japanese flag and carrying right-wing Japanese nationalists from a group called Gambare Nippon.

It is the sort of situation that could quite easily get out of hand if, for example, the Japanese nationalists try to land on the islands, or if the Chinese ships try to board one of the Japanese fishing vessels.

China is now taking the position that its ships are there protecting "Chinese" territory, and consequently have the right to board any "foreign" vessels.

That may be why Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has decided to be more emphatic in his warning to China, making it explicit that if any of the Chinese vessels attempt to land on Japanese soil, they will be repelled with force.

He is laying down a clear line over which he hopes the Chinese know they would be unwise to cross.

Source BBC

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Posted in: Asia,China,Japan,Politics

North Korea marks birthday of Kim Il-sung

North Korea has marked the 101st anniversary of the birth of founding father Kim Il-sung as tensions continue over the country's nuclear programme.

Kim il-sung's birthday is traditionally
marked by national celebrations

Leader Kim Jong-un visited the mausoleum of his grandfather and his father Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang, the official KCNA news agency reports.

Despite the apparent celebrations, South Korea remains on high alert.

In recent weeks the North has threatened to attack South Korea, Japan and US bases in the region.

The US has ruled out holding any more "artificial talks" with the North.

"We cannot continue this charade and we cannot have a policy of rhetoric about denuclearisation. There have to be real steps here," Secretary of State John Kerry told the BBC after talks with leaders in Japan following a tour of East Asia.

Mr Kerry said the North's main diplomatic ally, China, had made a very strong statement criticising Pyongyang for its recent behaviour. He said he hoped Beijing was now recognising the regional instability created by the actions of Kim Jong-un.

A heightened state of vigilance has been in place for the past five days in South Korea and the defence ministry has said it believes the test firing of an intermediate range missile could still be imminent,

After Pyongang dismissed an offer of dialogue from South Korea on Sunday as a "crafty trick", Seoul announced on Monday that it would provide aid and co-operation to the North, if it made the "right choice", Yonhap news agency reported.

Red-letter day

Early on Monday Mr Kim was at the Kumsusan mausoleum to pay "high tribute and humblest reverence" to the country's former leaders, KCNA reports.

The streets of Pyongyang were adorned with flags and banners for the holiday, a red-letter day for one of the world's most powerful cults of personality, says the BBC's John Sudworth in Seoul.

It was a reminder perhaps of what really lies behind the recent bellicose threats - a need to ensure the regime's survival, our correspondent adds.

Tensions have been high on the Korean peninsula after North Korea conducted its third underground nuclear test on 12 February that resulted in sanctions from the UN.

There has been speculation that the North will use Kim Il-sung's birthday for a missile launch.

At this time last year, it launched a rocket with the stated aim of putting a satellite into orbit to mark the 100th anniversary of Kim Il-sung's birth. The rocket broke up shortly after take-off.

The UN Security Council condemned the launch, which many outside the country saw as an illegal test of long-range missile technology.

Kim Il-sung died in 1994, and was succeeded by Kim Jong-un's father Kim Jong-il, until his death in 2011.

Fiery rhetoric

Speculation has been building that the North is preparing a missile launch, following reports that it has moved at least two Musudan ballistic missiles to its east coast.

South Korean Defence Minister Kim Kwan-jin told a parliamentary committee on Monday that Pyongyang still appeared poised to fire off a missile, adding that Seoul was fully prepared for an attack.

Japan is also within range of Musudan rockets and has been taking precautions, including setting up batteries of US-made Patriot anti-missile systems around the capital and sending two warships to the Sea of Japan, with orders to shoot down any missiles fired towards the Japanese islands.

Speaking in Tokyo at the end of a four-day trip to the region on Monday, US Secretary of State John Kerry called on North Korea's leaders to take "meaningful steps" towards "denuclearisation".

He had earlier urged them to "come to the table in a responsible way" to end regional tensions, warning Pyongyang risked further isolation if its threats continued.

He also reaffirmed the US commitment to defend its allies, including Japan.

Washington and Tokyo have a security alliance dating back to the 1950s, under which Washington is bound to protect Japan if it is attacked.

North Korea habitually issues fiery statements denouncing the US and South Korea, but the rhetoric has grown increasingly aggressive since the UN imposed a fresh round of sanctions in March.

Pyongyang has also been angered by joint military manoeuvres by the US and South Korea, which it says are preparations for war.

It has responded by vowing to restart an inactive nuclear reactor, shut an emergency military hotline to the South and by urging countries to withdraw their diplomatic staff, saying it cannot now guarantee their safety.

Some estimates suggest that the Musudan missiles which North Korea has moved to its east coast could travel 4,000km (2,500 miles).

That would put US bases on the Pacific island of Guam within range, although the exact threat is unclear as it is not believed that the Musudan has been tested before.

Mr Kerry has stressed that it would be a "huge mistake" for the North to go ahead with a launch, saying it would further isolate North Korea and that the people of the country are in need of food, not missiles.

Source BBC

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Posted in: Asia,Korea,Politics

Sinh viên luật 'yêu cầu xin lỗi'

Nhóm ba sinh viên Đại học luật TP HCM ngày 14/4 đã viết thư yêu cầu Đoàn trường xin lỗi sau khi bị đả kích vì viết "Tuyên ngôn công lý cho Đoàn Văn Vươn".

Thư yêu cầu xin lỗi của nhóm ba sinh viên
trường Đại học luật Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh

Trước đó, các sinh viên này đã cùng nhau khởi xướng bản "Tuyên ngôn: Công lý cho Đoàn Văn Vươn" trước ngày diễn ra phiên tòa phúc thẩm xử vụ liên quan đến khiếu kiện đất đai ở Tiên Lãng.

Bản tuyên ngôn yêu cầu "cơ quan xét xử phải thực hiện xét xử công minh, tuân thủ các nguyên tắc xét xử của luật quốc gia và luật quốc tế, cùng các chuẩn mực nghề nghiệp khác."

Sau khi bản tuyên ngôn này được đăng lại trên một số trang blog và mạng xã hội, Đoàn trường Đại học Luật Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh đã có bài đả kích cả ba sinh viên này, bao gồm Nguyễn Trang Nhung, Bùi Quang Viễn, Phạm Lê Vương Các với tựa đề: "Thực hư về những người khởi xướng Công lý cho Đoàn Văn Vươn."

Công kích cá nhân?

Bài viết trên trang web của Đoàn trường cho rằng ý kiến của ba sinh viên nói trên "không đại diện cho tiếng nói sinh viên trường luật", là "hành động nhằm mục đích đánh bóng tên tuổi cá nhân hoặc bị ảnh hưởng bởi những luồng tư tưởng phiến diện", đồng thời "đi trái lại 'tư tưởng chính thống" và "đi ngược lại đường lối, chủ trương ... của Đảng, Nhà nước".

Đáng chú ý hơn là Đoàn trường Đại học luật Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh còn sử dụng các chi tiết như kết quả học tập của cả ba sinh viên để làm nguyên nhân cho điều mà bài viết trên trang web của cơ quan này gọi là " sự hạn chế về mặt tư duy pháp lý".

"Điển hình như: sinh viên Phạm Lê Vương Các điểm tích lũy học tập chỉ đạt 5.23 (xếp loại Trung bình yếu theo điểm tín chỉ) và có nhiều môn thi chưa đạt, trong đó có môn Luật Hình sự phần chung; sinh viên Bùi Quang Viễn là học viên văn bằng hai với điểm tích lũy là 5.19 và cũng trong tình trạng còn nợ nhiều môn", trích bài viết.

"Như vậy, phải chăng bản “tuyên ngôn” này là sản phẩm của những người có tư duy pháp lý chặt chẽ hay thực chất chỉ là hình thức đánh bóng tên tuổi cá nhân? Mượn "mác" sinh viên Luật để đánh bóng tên tuổi cá nhân?"

"Hoàn toàn phù hợp"

Trong lá thư yêu cầu lời xin lỗi từ đoàn trường, nhóm sinh viên này cho rằng việc khởi xướng Tuyên ngôn Công lý cho Đoàn Văn Vươn là "hoàn toàn phù hợp với quyền được quy định trong Điều 53 Hiến pháp hiện hành."

Cũng nhóm sinh viên này cho rằng lý lẽ và nội dung bài viết của Đoàn trường Đại học Luật Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh là phạm Tội vu khống, Tội làm nhục người khác thuộc Điều 122, 121 Bộ Luật Hình sự và Hành vi xâm phạm bí mật đời tư thuộc Bộ Luật Hình sự.

Qua thư, ba sinh viên nói trên yêu cầu Đoàn trường gỡ bỏ bài viết, xin lỗi công khai cũng như thông báo sẽ không loại trừ việc khởi kiện cơ quan này:

"Yêu cầu Đoàn Thanh niên Cộng sản Hồ Chí Minh trường Đại học Luật TP. HCM gỡ bỏ bài viết nêu trên, đồng thời công khai xin lỗi chúng tôi, Nguyễn Trang Nhung, Bùi Quang Viễn và Phạm Lê Vương Các, trên website doanthanhnienluat.com trong thời hạn 7 ngày kể từ ngày hôm nay, 15 tháng 04 năm 2013."

"Chúng tôi để ngỏ các hành động pháp lý – khởi kiện, hoặc tố cáo, hoặc yêu cầu khởi tố – trong trường hợp yêu cầu trên không được đáp ứng."

Theo BBC.

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Posted in: Asia,Vietnam,xã hội

Đại học Kinh tế và Chính trị London LSE yêu cầu BBC không phát phóng sự điều tra về Bắc Hàn do phóng viên giả danh sinh viên LSE thực hiện.

Trường này nói phóng viên BBC John Sweeney đã đóng giả là sinh viên đang làm luận văn tiến sỹ và tham gia chuyến đi do hội sinh viên LSE tổ chức để quay phim bí mật.

Chương trình Panorama về Bắc Hàn sẽ được phát vào tối ngày 15/4.

LSE nói các sinh viên đã "không được cung cấp đủ thông tin để đồng ý có chủ đích" và đã bị kéo vào tình cảnh "nguy hiểm".

Phóng viên John Sweeny trong khi đó nói các sinh viên đã được thông báo rằng một nhà báo sẽ đi cùng họ nhưng trường LSE không được thông báo vì đó không phải là chuyến đi do trường tổ chức.

'Nhà nước Phát xít'

Trả lời phỏng vấn đài BBC Radio 4, ông Sweeney nói: "Thật là lạ lùng khi LSE tự nói thay cho các sinh viên LSE. Đó là điều hoàn toàn sai trái khi họ muốn hủy chương trình này.

"Chúng tôi không đồng tình với những gì LSE tuyên bố. Tôi không thể nói thay các sinh viên đó được - họ là người lớn, những người tốt và dũng cảm.

"Tất cả những sinh viên đó có thể nộp tôi, nhưng họ đã không làm vậy.

"Đa số sinh viên đã ủng hộ chương trình."

John Sweeney đã có tám ngày quay lén ở Bắc Hàn. Ông đi cùng vợ và người quay phim.

Sweeney nói Bắc Hàn là "nhà nước Phát xít" và có "hình thức kiểm duyệt ngặt nghèo nhất".

Ông nói thêm: "Nó giống với nước Đức của Hitler hơn bất kỳ nhà nước nào khác trên thế giới.

"Đó là nơi đáng sợ, âm u và ác độc."

Tuy nhiên, trong một email gửi cho giảng viên và sinh viên, LSE nói: "Quan điểm của LSE là các sinh viên không được cung cấp đủ thông tin để đồng ý có chủ đích, nhưng lại được cho đủ thông tin để khiến họ gặp nguy hiểm nghiêm trọng nếu vỏ bọc bị phát hiện trước khi họ rời Bắc Hàn.

"Mặc dù chuyến đi này do hội sinh viên tổ chức, các khía cạnh về Bắc Hàn là đối tượng nghiên cứu của một số bộ môn do tính chất của việc giảng dạy và nghiên cứu của LSE.

"Hành động của BBC có thể làm phương hại nghiêm trọng uy tín học thuật thuần túy của LSE và có thể gây bất lợi nghiêm trọng cho các chuyến đi trong tương lai của sinh viên và giảng viên LSE nhằm nghiên cứu Bắc Hàn và cũng có thể là cả các nước khác khi có nghi ngờ về nghiên cứu học thuật độc lập."

Trường nói họ "hoàn toàn ủng hộ nguyên tắc về các điều tra báo chí nhằm phục vụ công chúng" nhưng không thể chấp nhận việc sử dụng tên hay học sinh của trường "làm vỏ bọc cho những hoạt động như vậy".

LSE cũng nói hai người làm việc cho BBC cũng đi cùng chuyến đi. "Trong suốt thời gian trước chuyến đi, người ta không nói rõ cho sinh viên biết một nhóm ba người của BBC có kế hoạch dùng chuyến đi làm vỏ bọc cho phim tài liệu lớn sẽ chiếu trên chương trình Panorama," LSE nói.

'Bắt giữ'

LSE nói Tổng giám đốc BBC Tony Hall đã từ chối đề nghị hủy chương trình và "đưa ra lời xin lỗi đối với LSE vì nhân viên BBC đã sử dụng trường và uy tín của trường để lừa dối."

Tờ báo của công đoàn sinh viên LSE, tờ Beaver, dẫn lời Alex Peters-Day, Tổng thư ký Công đoàn Sinh viên LSE nói "BBC không thể đưa ra quyết định thay cho sinh viên tham gia chuyến đi và BBC cũng không được gây nguy hiểm cho toàn bộ cộng đồng thuộc trường."

Một sinh viên giấu tên của trường, người tham gia chuyến đi nói với Beaver rằng "chúng tôi không được biết sự hiện diện của vài phóng viên BBC vào lúc bay đi Bình Nhưỡng.

"Chúng tôi nghĩ John Sweeney là giáo sư sử học cho dù sau đó người ta có ý nói rằng ông ấy không phải là giáo sư ở LSE."

Bản thân Hiệu trưởng LSE, Craig Calhoun, nói trên Twitter rằng "chương trình của BBC đã khiến sinh viên LSE gặp nguy hiểm nhưng không có vẻ tìm ra được thông tin gì mới và chỉ chiếu những gì Bắc Hàn muốn khách du lịch thấy."

Một phát ngôn viên của BBC nói: "Chúng tôi công nhận rằng vì chuyến đi có thể tăng tính rủi ro nên các sinh viên phải được biết trước rằng một nhà báo có ý định sẽ đi cùng với họ để các sinh viên có thể đưa ra quyết định về chuyện họ có muốn tiếp tục [tham gia chuyến đi hay không].

"Họ đã được cũng cấp thông tin và được nhắc nhở về chuyện đó từ trước để có thể thay đổi kế hoạch nếu họ muốn.

"Các sinh viên đều được cảnh báo về rủi ro có thể có khi đi cùng nhà báo tới Bắc Hàn trong đó có cảnh báo về nguy cơ bị bắt giữ và rằng họ có thể không được quay lại Bắc Hàn trong tương lai."

Theo BBC

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Posted in: Asia,Business,Korea

BBC 'used LSE students as human shield' in North Korea

The BBC has refused to drop a Panorama programme on North Korea after a students' union said it used students "as a human shield" to film there.

Three BBC journalists accompanied 10 London School of Economics students and spent eight days in the country.

The LSE students' union's Alex Peters-Day said Monday's programme should be dropped because students were lied to and could not give informed consent.

But the BBC said the students had been properly warned ahead of the trip.

Head of news programmes Ceri Thomas said the North Korean government was the only party the BBC had deceived.

"We have a duty to give enough information to people on a trip like this so they can give us fully informed consent," he said.

"There were 10 students. We told them there would be a journalist on the trip and, if that journalist was discovered, it could mean detention and that it could mean arrest."

Nine of the students were aged 21-28 while one was 18, he said.

'Student welfare'

The LSE complains the students had not been told there was an undercover team of three, filming a high-profile documentary.

Panorama reporter John Sweeney spent eight days undercover inside North Korea for the programme, travelling with his wife and a cameraman.

Mr Thomas admitted they had initially been told it was one journalist but that, when they were in Beijing before they flew into Pyongyang, they were told there would be three journalists.

He said North Korea was "one of the most oppressive regimes on the planet which is threatening nuclear war in the Korean peninsula".

The "public interest arguments" for making and showing the programme were "overwhelming", he added.

He said three of the students had since asked "that their images be taken out" and that they would be "pixellated or blobbed".

LSE students' union general secretary, Ms Peters-Day - who was not on the trip - told the BBC News Channel: "One of the students made it absolutely clear that she was not made aware of what happened.

"For us, this is a matter of student welfare - students were lied to, they weren't able to give their consent."

She said all LSE's future research was "now at risk".

"I think the trip was organised by the BBC as potentially a ruse for them to get into North Korea and that's disgraceful.

"They've used students essentially as a human shield in this situation."

LSE pro-director Prof George Gaskell said students had been put in a "potentially extremely dangerous" situation.

The university had been told last week that the BBC had used the party as cover for Panorama filming during the eight-day trip, he added.

He said he was glad LSE staff had not been left "wondering about how we were going to get these students out of solitary confinement in some North Korean jail".

"I think there is less danger to students than there is to my colleagues," he added.

"Some of my colleagues at the present are in Africa, China and various other sensitive countries.

"If their independence and integrity is challenged, they may find themselves in considerable risk."

'Extreme censorship'

Meanwhile Universities UK, the umbrella body for UK universities, said it regretted "the BBC's approach in this matter".

"Universities must be able to work with integrity and operate in sensitive areas of the world," chief executive Nicola Dandridge said.

She added: "The way that this BBC investigation was conducted might not only have put students' safety at risk, but may also have damaged our universities' reputations overseas."

Panorama reporter John Sweeney said the majority of the students he had travelled with supported the programme.

"What the LSE is saying we dispute," he told BBC Radio 4's Broadcasting House programme.

He added: "All of those students could have dobbed me in, they didn't."

He described North Korea as a "Nazi state" that practised the "most extreme form of censorship".

He added: "It's more like Hitler's Germany than any other state in this world right now. It's extraordinarily scary, dark and evil."

Source: BBC

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Posted in: Asia,Korea,Politics,war