Vietnam-ASEAN Relations

[Battle of Bach Dang River]

The only way desperate vietnam can have good relations with asean country is boot licking asss kissing to all asean

We did not even beg a superpower the U.S, like China did do, why are the ASEAN countries, when we are also a member of ASEAN and have a win-win cooperation with them?

Lemme guess it's "Dai Viet"

Your ancestors were so afraid Đại Việt, a country has often killed over 100,000 chinese troops and has captured all the rest in every battle.

The largest battles (officially recorded in history) were three naval battles (all three are called Battle of Bạch Đằng): Ngô Quyền against the Chinese Southern Han forces in 938 (killed over 100,000 and captured a thousands Chinese sailors, killed Chinese Prince Liu Hongcao)

 

[Viet]

Rice Exporters Eye Cartel to Boost Prices
Updated August 23, 2012, 11:37 a.m. ET
By SAMEER C. MOHINDRU and PHISANU PHROMCHANYA

Farmers spray pesticide over a paddy field in Thailand's Ayutthaya province.

Southeast Asia's rice-exporting nations are in talks to create a formal alliance aimed at boosting prices and increasing export revenues, a move that could cause tensions with rice-importing nations.

But any bid by the five countries to drive up prices will be a challenge, given previous failures to cooperate. The latest effort comes as rice prices have barely moved this year, even as prices for wheat, corn and soybeans have climbed because of droughts in several exporting nations.

An alliance of Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar will aim to share information and cooperate in production and marketing, with the goal of increasing rice export prices, Yanyong Phuangrach, Thailand's permanent secretary for commerce said in Bangkok Wednesday. The aim is to form the alliance by the end of the year, he added.

Thailand and Vietnam usually control close to half of the global rice trade. But the London-based International Grains Council estimates their combined share will fall to 38% this year, as India has become the world's biggest exporter. This week's move to create a cartel is seen as a response to India's increased market share, which came after it lifted a 3½-year ban on exports of "ordinary" rice last September.

If this new effort is to succeed, it will need to keep Vietnam on board, said Chiaki Furui, chief executive of Agrow Enterprise, a Bangkok-based commodities brokerage.

Indeed, Vietnam responded to India's lifting of the export ban last year by cutting its own export prices, despite Thailand's lobbying of other exporters to keep prices high, and some are skeptical that the latest push for an alliance can work.

"A cartel on rice trade won't succeed. Vietnam already has a minimum rice export price, but traders continue to sell at lower prices to be competitive in the global market," said Tejinder Narang, an executive with New Delhi-based trading company Emmsons International.

An official with state-run Vietnam Southern Food Corp., the country's largest rice exporter, warned that efforts to boost prices could trigger world-wide protests, given that many people around the globe are starving.

Unlike other agricultural commodity prices, rice prices have been relatively stable this year because of ample stocks and excellent crops in exporting countries.

But prices could soon rise because of droughts in many part of India as well as seasonal fluctuations before the October harvest in Southeast Asia. Even without the planned cartel, traders and analysts expect the price of Thailand's benchmark 5% broken white rice to climb above $600 a metric ton, free on board before long. The price hit a three-year high of $650 in November 2011.

Thailand, the world's largest rice exporter, has long been the leader in efforts to increase rice prices. It has been paying above-market prices to its own farmers in a costly program to boost rural incomes and is reluctant to increase the flow of rice to the market by lowering prices. As a result, its stockpile has surged to more than 16 million tons, a record.

The country is also spearheading a similar effort to raise rubber prices. Earlier this month, the world's three largest rubber exporters—Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia—said they would cut exports to shore up prices, which hit a near three-year low on weak industrial demand. Vietnam, another large producer, has resisted joining that consortium.

But the push for higher rice prices could put Thailand at odds in this case with Indonesia, a major rice importer.

Indonesia's response to possible higher global prices will be to expand local buying and stockpiling by raising the domestic purchase price, said Mohammad Ismet, a former consultant to Indonesia's state-run buyer, Bulog.

"There is no reasonable basis to form such an alliance. Clearly, traditional importers such as Indonesia and the Philippines feel threatened by the unreliability of the world's rice market," Mr. Ismet said.

Officials from Indonesia and the Philippines couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

The proposed rice exporters' alliance comprises countries that are also members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a 10-member group that also includes Indonesia and the Philippines.

An Asean official said the plan doesn't have the blessings of the organization. "It will be misleading to call it an Asean plan," said a senior official in the Asean secretariat.

The group of the 10 Asean nations plus with China, Japan and South Korea, three other large rice consumers, recently put in place an emergency rice reserve of 787,000 tons for use during natural calamities, while the new proposed alliance is more aimed at commercial use, the official noted.

—Vu Trong Khanh in Hanoi contributed to this article.
Rice Exporters Eye Cartel to Boost Prices - WSJ.com

 

[Viet]

Cartel Pushes Up Price of Rubber
August 19, 2012, 12:26 p.m. ET. | Wallstreet Journal

Worker inspects a tire. The rubber cartel is moving to support prices.

The weak global economy has driven down prices for everything from copper to coal, and now the cartel that controls most of the world's production of rubber, one of the hardest-hit commodities, is fighting back.

The three Southeast Asian countries that control 70% of the world's supply of natural rubber said Thursday they would withhold supply now and keep supply tight by burning older rubber trees, hoping to boost prices, which have fallen 60% since their February 2011 peak.

The move by the Bangkok-based International Tripartite Rubber Council, which represents Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia and is the OPEC of the rubber market, rippled through markets. At one point on Friday, benchmark rubber futures at the Tokyo Commodity Exchange were up 9% from a nearly three-year low on Tuesday before settling at ¥221 ($2.78) a kilogram, 7% above the Tuesday low.

Higher rubber prices would hit tire makers, the largest consumers of natural rubber, as well as makers of rubber gloves, shoes, condoms and toy balloons.

But the Rubber Council faces challenges to its effort to boost prices.

"It's something like OPEC. There's always cheating somewhere," says Alvin Tai, plantations analyst for OSK Investment Bank in Kuala Lumpur.

Adding to the challenge, the world's fourth-biggest rubber exporter, Vietnam, isn't part of the club, despite recruiting efforts by the other three.

Users of rubber are taking steps to counter higher prices. Rubber latex makes up 60% of the cost of medical gloves, according to Top Glove Corp., 7113.KU +2.08%the world's largest exporter of rubber gloves.

A spokeswoman for the Malaysian company said in an email that, in the short term, Top Glove will make more gloves from synthetic materials. In the long term, the company will grow its own rubber. Top Glove recently bought an Indonesian company with 30,000 hectares of plantation land. The company also said it is able to pass 70% to 80% of rubber-price increases to customers.

"Producers should allow the market forces, such as demand and supply to determine the rubber price," a Top Glove spokeswoman said in a written statement.

Another challenge for the producers is the potential harm to politically important constituencies such as plantation owners and rubber tappers from holding back on what would be 450,000 tons of rubber, or 5% of global exports.

The prices of natural rubber hit a record high of ¥528 a kilogram in February 2011 and later fell along with commodities such as oil, down 16% from its 2011 peak, and copper, down 26%, on fears that global manufacturing was stalling. In fact, big rubber users such as heavy-equipment manufacturers have been reeling from the slowdown in construction activity in China and Brazil.

Natural rubber is integral in certain applications such as mining equipment and airplane tires and can't always be substituted with synthetic rubber.

Rubber trees grow only in the tropics where rubber tappers collect the milky sap, known as latex, much like sap used to make pancake syrup is taken from a maple tree. Incisions in the tree's bark cause sap to drip into half coconut shells or metal cups strung on the side of the tree trunks.

Government representatives from the rubber trio said in a statement Thursday that the price drop occurred "despite the fact that demand for natural rubber remains strong, with low stock levels."

China, the world's largest consumer of rubber, increased imports of natural rubber by 16% to 1.2 million tons this year through July from a year earlier, according to trade figures compiled by data provider CEIC. While the volume of rubber shipped into China has increased, the value of China's rubber imports has plummeted 16% to $551 million. In other words, China is buying more rubber, but paying a lot less for it, crimping profits for the rubber makers.

The rubber market is tiny compared with other commodities, with 10 million to 11 million tons produced a year, and the price increase shouldn't have broad economic impact.

The fall in rubber prices helped profit margins for tire giants such as Japan's Bridgestone 5108.TO -0.33%and South Korea's Kumho Tire. Bridgestone, the world's biggest tire maker by volume, posted a 45% on-year rise in second-quarter net profit thanks in part to lower raw material costs.

A Bridgestone spokesman said the company "certainly will see impact," from the cartel's production cuts but couldn't quantify how much of an impact.

A Kumho Tire spokesman said the company isn't implementing special measures in response to the cut in rubber exports, but noted Kumho is constantly seeking to diversify its rubber sources.

—Min-Jeong Lee contributed to this article.
Write to Alex Frangos at alex.frangos@wsj.com

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443713704577598443669409190.html

 

[Viet]

Asean seen as economic growth force by 2015
By Michelle V. Remo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
1:14 am | Saturday, May 5th, 2012

The Southeast Asian region, with an estimated population of 600 million, is anticipated to join the ranks of China and India as a major economic growth force in Asia should its constituent countries succeed in integrating their economies by 2015.

If the integration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is implemented as planned, trading of goods, inter-country investments and labor mobility within the region will become much easier, said Changyong Rhee, chief economist of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

This will significantly reduce the cost of production for the businesses and economic growth of member-countries and of the entire region will accelerate, said the ADB’s top economist.

With this favorable scenario, Southeast Asia will become more attractive to investors and thus corner more direct investments from multinational companies from outside the region, he said.

“A new growth force is coming in Asia,” Rhee told a press conference on the sidelines of the 45th annual meeting of the ADB board of governors that is being hosted this year by the Philippines.

The 10 countries of Southeast Asia, which together make up the geopolitical and economic organization called Asean, are Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Brunei, Burma (Myanmar) and the Philippines.

Integration by 2015

The Asean—established on Aug. 8, 1967, in Bangkok, by the five founding members composed of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand—aims at achieving full economic integration by 2015, creating a single market and production base that will allow the free flow of goods, services, investment, capital and labor throughout the region.

Under the Asean integration plan, tariffs on most goods coming from member-countries will be brought down to zero or near-zero, their financial systems will be integrated, and employment restrictions will be eased so that Southeast Asians would find it easy to find jobs in any country within the region.

Once Asean integration is completed, the region will be able to corner more foreign direct investments, which now mostly go to China and India, said Rhee.

China and India are currently leading growth in Asia and the world, with gross domestic products expanding between 8 and 10 percent over the past few years. Southeast Asian countries are also exhibiting decent growth rates, but at a slower pace.

With integration, growth rates of Southeast Asian countries would be expected to be faster, initially inching closer to and eventually matching those of China and India.

Territorial disputes

Some economists and social science experts, however, believe that Asean integration could be derailed if the ongoing conflicts among some Asean members with China over ownership of territories on the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) is not resolved soon.

Asean members Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines are claiming ownership in whole or in part of the resource-rich Spratly archipelago, which is also claimed by China and Taiwan.

China and the Philippines are currently facing off at Panatag Island (Scarborough Shoal), which the Philippines says is not in the disputed Spratlys but is well within its 200-mile economic zone, but which China also claims for its own.

Yu Yongding, a professor from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and one of the Chinese delegates to the ADB event, said it would be difficult to implement Asean integration if the geopolitical conflict is left unresolved.

Economic Planning Secretary Cayetano Paderanga Jr. agreed with Yu, although he expressed optimism that Asian policymakers will be able to resolve the conflict soon.

3 characteristics of growth

While Asia remains a potential global growth driver, ADB president Haruhiko Kuroda said Asian countries have to expand their goal from merely sustaining healthy economic growth rates to having an economic growth that is “inclusive,” “green” and “knowledge-based.”

Growth must be inclusive, meaning it should benefit not only the middle class and the rich but also the poor, Kuroda said.

Kuroda noted that while many Asian countries have been experiencing decent growth rates, their expanding economies have so far failed to significantly bring down poverty levels.

In the case of the Philippines, for instance, the country has managed to continually grow despite the global economic crisis, but its poverty incidence remains high, at 26.5 percent as of end-2009.

“There are still hundreds of millions of Asians living on $1.25 a day,” Kuroda said in remarks at the opening session of the ADB governors’ meeting.

Some of the proposals raised to reduce poverty include heavier investments in public education and more lending to micro enterprises.

Green, knowledge-based

Kuroda said economic growth must be “green,” that is, the rise in incomes must not come at the expense of environmental degradation. Economic growth will not be sustainable if environmental conditions continue to deteriorate, he said.

Lastly, growth must be knowledge-based, meaning enterprises must invest in research and development and in technology to help accelerate the growth of production, Kuroda said.

He echoed statements made by other economists at the meeting that more extensive use of technology is necessary for emerging Asian economies like the Philippines to escape the middle-income trap and graduate to becoming an advanced economy.
Asean seen as economic growth force by 2015 | Inquirer News

 

[sicsheep]

Asean seen as economic growth force by 2015
By Michelle V. Remo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
1:14 am | Saturday, May 5th, 2012

The Southeast Asian region, with an estimated population of 600 million, is anticipated to join the ranks of China and India as a major economic growth force in Asia should its constituent countries succeed in integrating their economies by 2015.

If the integration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is implemented as planned, trading of goods, inter-country investments and labor mobility within the region will become much easier, said Changyong Rhee, chief economist of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

This will significantly reduce the cost of production for the businesses and economic growth of member-countries and of the entire region will accelerate, said the ADB’s top economist.

With this favorable scenario, Southeast Asia will become more attractive to investors and thus corner more direct investments from multinational companies from outside the region, he said.

“A new growth force is coming in Asia,” Rhee told a press conference on the sidelines of the 45th annual meeting of the ADB board of governors that is being hosted this year by the Philippines.

The 10 countries of Southeast Asia, which together make up the geopolitical and economic organization called Asean, are Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Brunei, Burma (Myanmar) and the Philippines.

Integration by 2015

The Asean—established on Aug. 8, 1967, in Bangkok, by the five founding members composed of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand—aims at achieving full economic integration by 2015, creating a single market and production base that will allow the free flow of goods, services, investment, capital and labor throughout the region.

Under the Asean integration plan, tariffs on most goods coming from member-countries will be brought down to zero or near-zero, their financial systems will be integrated, and employment restrictions will be eased so that Southeast Asians would find it easy to find jobs in any country within the region.

Once Asean integration is completed, the region will be able to corner more foreign direct investments, which now mostly go to China and India, said Rhee.

China and India are currently leading growth in Asia and the world, with gross domestic products expanding between 8 and 10 percent over the past few years. Southeast Asian countries are also exhibiting decent growth rates, but at a slower pace.

With integration, growth rates of Southeast Asian countries would be expected to be faster, initially inching closer to and eventually matching those of China and India.

Territorial disputes

Some economists and social science experts, however, believe that Asean integration could be derailed if the ongoing conflicts among some Asean members with China over ownership of territories on the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) is not resolved soon.

Asean members Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines are claiming ownership in whole or in part of the resource-rich Spratly archipelago, which is also claimed by China and Taiwan.

China and the Philippines are currently facing off at Panatag Island (Scarborough Shoal), which the Philippines says is not in the disputed Spratlys but is well within its 200-mile economic zone, but which China also claims for its own.

Yu Yongding, a professor from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and one of the Chinese delegates to the ADB event, said it would be difficult to implement Asean integration if the geopolitical conflict is left unresolved.

Economic Planning Secretary Cayetano Paderanga Jr. agreed with Yu, although he expressed optimism that Asian policymakers will be able to resolve the conflict soon.

3 characteristics of growth

While Asia remains a potential global growth driver, ADB president Haruhiko Kuroda said Asian countries have to expand their goal from merely sustaining healthy economic growth rates to having an economic growth that is “inclusive,” “green” and “knowledge-based.”

Growth must be inclusive, meaning it should benefit not only the middle class and the rich but also the poor, Kuroda said.

Kuroda noted that while many Asian countries have been experiencing decent growth rates, their expanding economies have so far failed to significantly bring down poverty levels.

In the case of the Philippines, for instance, the country has managed to continually grow despite the global economic crisis, but its poverty incidence remains high, at 26.5 percent as of end-2009.

“There are still hundreds of millions of Asians living on $1.25 a day,” Kuroda said in remarks at the opening session of the ADB governors’ meeting.

Some of the proposals raised to reduce poverty include heavier investments in public education and more lending to micro enterprises.

Green, knowledge-based

Kuroda said economic growth must be “green,” that is, the rise in incomes must not come at the expense of environmental degradation. Economic growth will not be sustainable if environmental conditions continue to deteriorate, he said.

Lastly, growth must be knowledge-based, meaning enterprises must invest in research and development and in technology to help accelerate the growth of production, Kuroda said.

He echoed statements made by other economists at the meeting that more extensive use of technology is necessary for emerging Asian economies like the Philippines to escape the middle-income trap and graduate to becoming an advanced economy.
Asean seen as economic growth force by 2015 | Inquirer News

This is good, please quote more Philippine news papers. They are such experts on economy.

 

[Sonyuke_Songpaisan]

ASEAN should be led by Thais. Thai is the only one country that did not endure colonialism in the past. And Thai is regional power in southeast asia.

 

[sicsheep]

ASEAN should be led by Thais. Thai is the only one country that did not endure colonialism in the past. And Thai is regional power in southeast asia.

Just watch out, Vietnam is gonna be the Greece of ASEAN soon lol

 

[ahfatzia]

ASEAN should be led by Thais. Thai is the only one country that did not endure colonialism in the past. And Thai is regional power in southeast asia.

Indonesia has been very assertive in ASEAN affairs in recent months and seems she wants the leadership role. Thailand can lead in many area while Vietnam is ambitious but not enough political clout. At the end of the decade whoever has best economy comparatively, aside from Singapore (being too small), will look upon by others.

 

[Viet]

This is good, please quote more Philippine news papers. They are such experts on economy.

I just want to quote from a different view, not only from a vietnamese standpoint. The most important step is creating a common market for goods, services, investment, capital and labor throughout 10 ASEAN member states by 2015!

 

[Battle of Bach Dang River]

I think Indonesia has many advantages over all, plus the largest economy, the largest population...
It seems Thailand is diminished its role in recent times.

Vietnam is just trying to integrate back after a long time we were embargoed by the US. We have no ambition at all, in addition desiring to integrate with other countries.

 

[Viet]

Vietnam-Indonesia ties to be lifted to strategic partnership
Posted on September 5, 2012 Written by vovworld

(VOVworld) – The Speaker of Indonesia’s House of Representatives Marzuki Alie arrived in Hanoi yesterday, starting a two-day working visit to Vietnam.

The visit shows the determination of the two countries to bring bilateral ties to the level of a strategic partnership. Alie’s visit follows visits in 2010 to Vietnam by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the Chairman of the People’s Consultative Assembly Taufik Kiemas. In 2003, Vietnam and Indonesia issued a joint statement on a framework of comprehensive friendship and cooperation for the 21st century during a visit by President Megawati Sukarnoputri. During a visit to Indonesia by PM Nguyen Tan Dung last September, the two sides signed a Vietnam – Indonesia action program for 2012 – 2015, which serves as an important legal basis for the two countries to realize their goal of bringing bilateral ties to the level of a strategic partnership.

Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh commented on the prospects of bilateral relations: “We have a good prospect of bringing Vietnam – Indonesia to a strategic partnership. We have built a strategic partnership with other countries but none in Southeast Asia. Building a strategic partnership with Indonesia will benefit both countries and contribute to peace, development and stability in Southeast Asia”.

During the visit, Alie and NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung will discuss further cooperation in international arenas to boost the role of ASEAN, promote ASEAN’s parliaments in building a common community by 2015, and bring into full play the bloc’s role in the Asia Pacific region.
Vietnam-Indonesia ties to be lifted to strategic partnership

 

[SinoChallenger]

^ The Viets tried to get Indonesia to say something bad about China but they failed again

Everybody in ASEAN hates Vietnam, especially neighbors Cambodia and Laos.

 

[Rechoice]

^ The Viets tried to get Indonesia to say something bad about China but they failed again

Everybody in ASEAN hates Vietnam, especially neighbors Cambodia and Laos.

Russia, Korea, Mongolia, Japan, Vietnam, Philippine, India... hates China.

ASEAN should be led by Thais. Thai is the only one country that did not endure colonialism in the past. And Thai is regional power in southeast asia.

Red and Orange shirt parties is still fighting for leading position in Thailand, they are busy now.

 

[ChinaToday]

Just watch out, Vietnam is gonna be the Greece of ASEAN soon lol

Man you are a genius read this


Will Vietnam Become SE Asia’s Greece?

By Luke Hunt

September 11, 2012

The fiscal omens arising out of Vietnam are not good. Talks of bank runs, the arrests of corrupt officials and an end to an economic era marked by robust growth say it all. More so, is the prospect that Hanoi will seek outside help.

The idea that Vietnam could seek a bailout to resolve debt incurred by the county’s biggest lenders from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was raised by a Parliamentary Committee but the idea was then almost immediately dismissed by the country’s central bank.

This prospect remains just that, but it did increase the heat on the Vietnamese government to spell out exactly what is needed to correct fiscal imbalances and put the economy back on a secure footing.

Communist governments are not known for making such declarations, which would be mandated if the government was to seek outside help, like an IMF bailout.

Additionally, Chinese finances are also looking very shaky as was detailed in a must read column by Minxin Pei who recently wrote in The Diplomat that we should be worried about the consequences stemming from years of easy credit in China.

The ramifications of a financially depleted China and a recession-prone Vietnam are enormous for Southeast Asia whose economies have done a stoic job in fending off the challenges of the debt-plagued financial route that has hammered the world economy since 2008.

Deregulation within the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) had vastly improved the ability of the 10-member bloc to trade among themselves, while China’s investment and largesse, particularly in countries like Cambodia, has further improved regional economic outlook.

But on their own some countries – notably Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia – are looking vulnerable. Growth is weakening, debt is growing, the initial regional benefits of deregulation have run their course and traditional trading partners from the U.S. to Europe, Japan and now China are unlikely to see a return to the boom times anytime soon.

It’s too early to say whether Vietnam will become Southeast Asia’s Greece. Its government and people are of a vastly different character, inflation is under control and the exchange rate has stabilized.

Nevertheless, housing prices have halved, foreign investment is down by a third and forecast growth rates of five percent over the next two years are paltry for a developing country out to improve its lot.

The outlook is far from good and this will also hurt Vietnam’s immediate neighbors, Cambodia and Laos and ripple across a region where economic uncertainty is fast becoming the issue of the day.

Will Vietnam Become SE Asia’s Greece? | ASEAN Beat

Just watch vietnam thick skin and shamless PM will come to china with a begging bowl pretty soon

 

[Battle of Bach Dang River]

^ The Viets tried to get Indonesia to say something bad about China but they failed again

This is a statement baseless and childish.

Everybody in ASEAN hates Vietnam, especially neighbors Cambodia and Laos.

Previously, southeast asian countries are divided into 2 ideological blocks, that are communism and capitalism. Most countries capitalist hate communist countries.

Today that no longer exists. All countries in the region are members of Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN.
No one hates Vietnam, except Han Chinese descent. It is easy to understand.
Laos and Vietnam are brothers. Only a fool as you say Laos people hate Vietnam.
Cambodians thankful for Vietnam who saved them from the genocidal regime which founded by the Chinese in Cambodia, of course except Han Chinese descent.