#Reuters

Following threats from Beijing, Vietnamese authorities have ordered a foreign joint venture to abandon its gas-drilling efforts in a disputed area of the South China Sea.

Hanoi officially expressed its displeasure over Beijing’s annual fishing ban in the South China Sea at a regular press conference last week.

Hanoi has acknowledged its citizens’ newfound environmental activism, hoping to avoid any widespread social unrest. But it is also taking punitive measures to quell protests.

Vietnam and China pledged to settle disputes and to work toward a code of conduct for maritime operations after Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong’s visit to Beijing.

Hanoi has been actively fortifying its key holdings in the Spratlys, including the construction of a runway, tunnels and bunkers to defend its territory against China.

A recent report appears to suggest that Vietnam has placed rocket launchers on five bases in the Spratly Islands, pointing them toward Chinese facilities.

Despite concerns human rights violations in Vietnam, Obama opted to fully lift the arms embargo on lethal military equipment during his recent visit.

In the face of perceived threats from Beijing, Vietnam has embarked on its greatest military build-up in decades, albeit starting from a low base following economic problems after the Vietnam War.

Beijing attempted to quash any mention of the South China Sea dispute prior to Tuesday’s meeting in Kuala Lumpur of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

On April 30, Ho Chi Minh City, commonly referred to as Saigon, marked the 40th anniversary of the reunification of Vietnam, after the army of communist North Vietnam brought down the government of South Vietnam, and drove out the Americans following two decades of unsuccessful military involvement.

Beijing’s announcement on Thursday of a 10 percent increase in military spending, to $145 billion, marks the fifth consecutive year of double-digit increases, and is not without significant repercussions in Asia.

A new Reuters investigation details a key to Iran’s supreme leader’s power: a little-known organization created to help the poor that morphed into a business juggernaut worth tens of billions of dollars. “Setad Ejraiye Farmane Hazrate Emam” – Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam, or Setad – has become one of the most […]