HANOI: Fifty years after the last U.S. combat troops left South Vietnam, Secretary of State Antony Blinken looked Saturday to strengthen America’s ties with its old foes in Hanoi as it seeks to counter China’s growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific.
Blinken and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh pledged to boost relations to new levels as they met just two weeks after the 50th anniversary of the U.S. troop withdrawal that marked the end of America’s direct military involvement in Vietnam.
And it came as Blinken broke ground on a sprawling new $1.2 billion U.S. embassy compound in the Vietnamese capital, a project the Biden administration hopes will demonstrate its commitment to further improving ties less than 30 years after diplomatic relations were restored in 1995.
Despite concerns over Vietnam’s human rights record, Washington sees Hanoi as a key component of its strategy for the region and has sought to leverage Vietnam's traditional rivalry with its much larger neighbor China to expand U.S. influence in the region.
“We think this is an auspicious time to elevate our existing partnership,” Blinken told reporters after meetings with Chinh, Vietnam's foreign minister and Communist Party chief.
"This has been a very comprehensive and effective relationship and going forward we will continue to deepen relations,” Chinh said. “We highly appreciate the role and responsibility of the U.S. towards the Asia Pacific, or, in a larger scheme, the Indo-Pacific.”
He added that Vietnam's communist government is keen to “further elevate our bilateral ties to a new height.”
Along with a number of China's smaller neighbors, Vietnam has maritime and territorial disputes with Beijing in the South China Sea. The U.S. has responded by offering diplomatic support and bolstering military cooperation with the Philippines and the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which China claims as a renegade province.
Blinken noted that the U.S. is currently finalizing the transfer to Vietnam of a third Coast Guard cutter, which will complement existing maritime security cooperation that has seen Washington give Hanoi 24 patrol boats since 2016 along with other equipment and training.
"All of these elements bolster Vietnamese capacity to contribute to maritime peace and stability in the South China Sea,” he said.
Just last month, China threatened “serious consequences” after the U.S. Navy sailed a destroyer around the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea for the second day in a row, in a move Beijing claimed was a violation of its sovereignty and security. The Paracels are occupied by China but also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam.
U.S. officials are reluctant to describe any visit to Asia in terms of China, preferring instead to discuss the importance of improving bilateral ties. But they frequently speak to broader concerns in the region that are clearly directed at China.
“We focused on how our countries can advance a free and open Indo-Pacific; one that is at peace and grounded in respect the rules-based international order," Blinken said.
And five decades after the Nixon administration pulled U.S. combat forces out of Vietnam on March 29, 1973, Blinken said the U.S. is seeking a more strategic orientation with the country.
Blinken's visit comes as the administration grapples with its own record of troop withdrawals and is facing congressional criticism and demands to explain the chaotic U.S. departure from Afghanistan two years ago.
Some have likened that to the Vietnam experience, especially as it relates to the fate of Afghans who supported the 20-year military mission but were left behind when the Biden administration pulled out of Afghanistan in 2021.
US, Vietnam pledge to boost ties as Blinken visits Hanoi
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US, Vietnam pledge to boost ties as Blinken visits Hanoi
- Despite concerns over Vietnam’s human rights record, Washington sees Hanoi as a key component of its strategy for the region
- “We think this is an auspicious time to elevate our existing partnership,” Blinken told
UK summons Iranian charge d’affaires over transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia
“Today, in coordination with European partners and upon instruction from the Foreign Secretary, the Chargé d’Affaires of the Iranian Embassy in London was summoned to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
“The UK Government was clear in that any transfer of Ballistic Missiles to Russia would be seen as a dangerous escalation and would face a significant response.”
Russia pushes back Ukrainian troops in some areas of Kursk, commander says
- Major General Apti Alaudinov, who commands Chechnya’s Akhmat special forces fighting in Kursk, said that Russian troops had gone on the offensive and taken back control
- “A total of about 10 settlements in the Kursk region have been liberated”
MOSCOW: Russian forces have begun a significant counter-offensive against Ukrainian troops who smashed their way into western Russia last month, and have taken some territory back, pro-Moscow war bloggers and a senior Russian commander said.
Ukraine on Aug. 6 launched the biggest foreign attack on Russia since World War Two, bursting through the border into the region of Kursk with thousands of troops supported by swarms of drones and heavy weaponry, including Western-made arms.
Major General Apti Alaudinov, who commands Chechnya’s Akhmat special forces fighting in Kursk, said that Russian troops had gone on the offensive and taken back control of about 10 settlements in Kursk, TASS reported.
“The situation is good for us,” said Alaudinov, who is also deputy head of the Russian defense ministry’s military-political department.
“A total of about 10 settlements in the Kursk region have been liberated,” he said.
Reuters was unable to verify the battlefield reports due to reporting restrictions on both sides of the war. Russia’s defense ministry said it had defeated Ukrainian units at a number of villages in Kursk.
There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last week that his forces controlled 100 settlements in Kursk region over an area of more than 1,300 sq km (500 sq miles), a figure disputed by Russian sources.
Yuri Podolyaka, an Ukrainian-born, pro-Russian military blogger, and two other influential bloggers — Rybar and the Two Majors — said that Russian forces had begun a significant counter-offensive in Kursk.
“In the Kursk region, the Russian Army launched counter-offensive actions on the western flank of the enemy’s wedge, reducing the Ukrainian zone of control near the state border,” the Two Majors blog said.
Podolyaka said that Russian forces had taken several villages on the west of the sliver of Russia that Ukraine carved out, pushing Ukrainian forces to the east of the Malaya Loknya River south of Snagost.
Russian forces also advanced in eastern Ukraine, and were fighting in the center of the town of Ukrainsk in the Donetsk region, according to Russian war bloggers and open source maps of the war.
Italian court ends detention for MSF migrant rescue ship
- A court in Salerno, the southern Italian port where the vessel had been blocked, suspended the measure, the charity wrote on X
- “The ship is free to rescue lives!” it said
ROME: The international aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders — MSF) on Wednesday obtained the release of its migrant rescue ship, which had been grounded two weeks ago by Italy’s right-wing government.
MSF’s Geo Barents vessel was handed a 60-day detention order, the longest on record, for allegedly failing to properly coordinate with Italian and Libyan authorities as it picked up migrants off Libya on Aug. 23.
A court in Salerno, the southern Italian port where the vessel had been blocked, suspended the measure, the charity wrote on X.
“The ship is free to rescue lives!” it said.
The detention order was the third against the vessel, and the longest to date. MSF International President Christos Christou traveled to Salerno to support the organization’s appeal against it.
“At this exact moment the Mediterranean is a huge emergency room and Geo Barents and the doctors are sitting in a corner with their hands tied,” Christou told Reuters, accusing the government of obstructing humanitarian sea rescues.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has passed legislation to curb the activities of NGOs in the Mediterranean, including by impounding of their vessels or forcing them to travel long distances to disembark migrants, increasing their fuel costs.
Christou dismissed government charges against the MSF ship, saying it had been “waiting for instructions” as it approached a migrant boat, and spontaneously picked up its passengers after they jumped into the sea.
Meloni has defended her approach, pledging at a cabinet meeting last month to launch another crackdown — this time on migrant work permits — and saying the fall in sea arrivals under her watch also resulted in fewer migrant drownings.
“The only way to prevent further tragedies at sea is to stop departures and fight unscrupulous traffickers,” she said.
The MSF chief said Meloni’s claims overlooked the fact that many deaths at sea go unreported, and argued that migrants blocked on their way to Italy would reach Europe via other routes.
In the year to date, there have been about 44,500 sea arrivals in Italy, and around 1,100 people drowned or went missing at sea. Year-on-year, arrivals are down by 62 percent, while the dead or missing have fallen by a lesser extent — about 50 percent.
As part of its deterrence strategy, Meloni’s government is also building detention camps in Albania for migrants picked up at sea. The plan, hit by delays and criticism from human rights advocates, is expected to be operational within weeks.
Christou said MSF had “serious concerns” about the initiative, calling it “another new way of externalizing the duty of the Italians and Europeans” to assist people fleeing from poverty or conflict.
Kosovo prosecutors charge 45 people over a deadly incursion by Serb gunmen
- Among those charged in absentia is Milan Radoicic, a politician and wealthy businessman with ties to Serbia’s ruling populist party and President Aleksandar Vucic
- Prosecutor Naim Abazi said he is considered the leader of the group who “has played an important role in coordinating and in the criminal activity”
PRISTINA: Kosovo prosecutors on Wednesday filed charges against 45 people over a gunfight following an incursion by heavily armed Serb gunmen last year, as tensions rise between Serbia and its former breakaway province.
A Kosovo policeman and three Serb gunmen were killed in the shootout in the village of Banjska in September. Kosovo has accused Serbia of involvement, but Belgrade denied it.
Among those charged in absentia is Milan Radoicic, a politician and wealthy businessman with ties to Serbia’s ruling populist party and President Aleksandar Vucic. Prosecutor Naim Abazi said he is considered the leader of the group who “has played an important role in coordinating and in the criminal activity.”
Last year Serbia briefly detained Radoicic after he fled back into Serbia on suspicion of criminal conspiracy, unlawful possession of weapons and explosives and grave acts against public safety. Radoicic denied the charges although earlier admitted he was part of the paramilitary group involved in the gunfight.
Radoicic also has been under US and British sanctions for his alleged financial criminal activity. Serbia said that Radoicic and his group acted on their own.
The 45 people face charges of violation of the constitutional and legal order, terror activities, funding terrorism and money laundering. They carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Abazi considered the case as the “most complex they have ever had,” adding they cooperated closely with international institutions, the European Union and the United States to build up the “powerful charges.”
EU and US officials have demanded that Serbia bring the perpetrators to justice.
Brussels and Washington are pressing both sides to implement agreements that Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti reached in February and March last year. They include a commitment by Kosovo to establish an Association of the Serb-Majority Municipalities. Serbia is also expected to deliver on the de-facto recognition of Kosovo, which Belgrade still considers its province.
The US and EU have urged Kosovo to refrain from unilateral actions, like closing the so-called parallel state institutions in the Serb-majority north, the full reopening of a bridge in the flashpoint city of Mitrovica, and the closure of six branches of a Serbia-licensed bank earlier this year.
The NATO-led international peacekeepers known as KFOR have increased their presence in Kosovo after last year’s tense moments.
Kosovo was a Serbian province until NATO’s 78-day bombing campaign in 1999 ended a war between Serbian government forces and ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo, which left about 13,000 dead, mainly ethnic Albanians, and pushed Serbian forces out. Kosovo proclaimed independence in 2008.
Thousands of industry players gather at India’s top green hydrogen forum
- PM Narendra Modi seeks to position India as ‘global hub’ for green hydrogen exports
- Government targets producing 5 million tons of green hydrogen a year by 2030
NEW DELHI: The Indian government opened the International Conference on Green Hydrogen in New Delhi on Wednesday, bringing together thousands of energy transition leaders, industry experts and innovators to discuss strategies to scale-up green hydrogen production.
Green hydrogen is emerging as a future alternative to fossil fuels throughout the world, and developing technologies to produce it is part of India’s flagship initiatives.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a video speech opening the three-day conference that India sought to position itself as a “global hub for the production, utilization and export of green hydrogen” under its National Green Hydrogen Mission.
“India is fully committed to building a cleaner, greener planet. We were the first among G20 nations to meet our Paris Agreement commitments on green energy, well ahead of schedule. While we continue to strengthen existing solutions, we are also focused on embracing new and innovative approaches,” Modi said.
“Green hydrogen is one such breakthrough, with the potential to decarbonize hard-to-electrify sectors like refineries, fertilizers, steel and heavy-duty transportation.”
Also known as renewable hydrogen, green hydrogen can be used as fuel and is produced from the electrolysis of water. The process does not generate polluting carbon emissions but is currently very expensive.
India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission, launched in 2023, aims to reduce production costs and increase the scale of the industry by 2030, as it targets the production of 5 million tons of green hydrogen generating 125 GW of power a year.
It is expected to cut about 50 million tons of annual carbon emissions, as the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases seeks to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070. The plan is also forecast to help reduce India’s dependence on fossil fuels.
New and Renewable Energy Minister Prahlad Venkatesh Joshi said during the conference that India would also cut fuel import costs.
“This mission not only has the potential to attract INR 8 lakh crore ($95.3 billion) in investments and generate 6 lakh jobs (600,000) but will also significantly reduce reliance on imported natural gas and ammonia, leading to savings of INR 1 lakh crore ($11.9 billion),” he told the audience.
The conference, first held last year, aims to be a forum connecting all those involved in creating the ecosystem of green hydrogen — users, producers, policymakers and financiers.
Dr. Umish Srivastava, executive director for alternative energy at the Indian Oil Corporation, an Indian multinational under the ownership of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, displayed a model bus powered by green hydrogen developed at the company’s research center.
“We produced this hydrogen using electrolysis. In our research center, we also have a project where we are converting compressed biogas into green hydrogen. We’re also putting up a plant for converting biomass directly to hydrogen,” Srivastava told Arab News.
“Green hydrogen is a very promising fuel of the future.”
Another clean-energy vehicle — a heavy-duty, long-haul truck powered by hydrogen gas — was showcased by Abhilash Savindhan from Reliance Industries.
“Exhaust gas from this vehicle is primarily water, water vapor, and some traces of nitrogen,” he said. “If you compare this with a diesel vehicle, this is near zero emissions, and it’s also very silent.”
Ronak Sani, manager of ReNew, one of India’s largest independent power producers, presented the company’s first project producing green ammonia, scheduled to be commissioned in 2028.
“We are effectively decarbonizing the world, ensuring the future of new generations,” he said. “This conference allows us to initiate those discussions.”
Varun Desai, manager of Xynteo, which runs the Energy Leap platform connecting green hydrogen companies with the commercial market, saw India’s potential in the field.
India is very well positioned in terms of access to renewable resources, especially solar, wind, hydro ... There’s a lot of potential to generate clean electricity at a low cost, which inputs into the hydrogen production environment as well,” he said.
“I think the policy is there in terms of enabling the adoption of green hydrogen. I think they’re heading in the right direction.”
