In Vietnam, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested to resolutely and effectively implement the vaccine strategy, which accelerates access to purchase and import of Covid-19 vaccine sources for Vietnam, including through COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Program (COVAX). UNICEF and WHO representatives in Vietnam welcomed the first batch of Covid-19 vaccine including 811,200 doses in COVAX’s commitment to support Vietnam. (Source: UNICEF) From defense to attack According to the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang, following the Prime Minister’s direction with the spirit of “fighting the epidemic like fighting the enemy”, right from the time the Covid-19 epidemic broke out and countries conducted research and production, Successfully testing a vaccine against the disease, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Vietnamese representative agencies abroad have made efforts to find, approach and negotiate with partners to provide vaccines against Covid-19 to soon import vaccines using vaccines. used in the country. In the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, the COVAX mechanism is one of the best solutions to ensure the rapid and equitable deployment of safe and effective vaccines to all countries around the world. COVAX is coordinated by three organizations including the World Health Organization (WHO), the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI) and the Coalition for Epidemic Response Innovations (CEPI), with distribution partners being United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). With the policy of joining COVAX early, in December 2020, Vietnam submitted a dossier to this mechanism to propose vaccine support. On that basis, COVAX has allocated vaccines and committed to provide Vietnam with a vaccine quantity guaranteed to immunize 20% of the population, equivalent to nearly 39 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine. Up to now, Vietnam has received more than 2.5 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine under the COVAX mechanism. This is part of a total of 4.1 million doses of vaccine, worth up to $17 million, committed to Vietnam by COVAX in the first six months of 2021. The remaining batches will arrive in Vietnam by the end of this year and early 2022. All vaccines are provided free of charge by COVAX through UNICEF. Thus, up to now, this is the largest amount of vaccines Vietnam has received. According to Mr. Do Hung Viet, Director of the Department of International Organizations (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), participating in Vietnam’s COVAX program is about finding “the right person at the right time”. COVAX has promptly provided the first two batches of vaccines so that Vietnam can deploy its vaccination strategy, especially for the frontline forces against the epidemic, contributing to helping us begin to change the state of epidemic prevention from defense to prevention. translation attack. In ASEAN, before Vietnam, two countries have committed to contribute to COVAX: Singapore ($5 million) and the Philippines ($100,000). Spread the spirit of solidarity Up to now, COVAX has received funding from more than 40 countries and partners, mainly from the US, European Union (EU), Japan, Australia, UK… AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine, distributed under the COVAX mechanism, has been vaccinated in Vietnam since early March. For COVAX’s goal of providing 2 billion doses of vaccine to developing countries, middle and low-income countries, the amount of money that COVAX needs to continue to mobilize is still very large. In addition, the global Covid-19 vaccine supply chain is being disrupted and disrupted by the resurgence of the pandemic in many places, especially in India – a large vaccine production “factory”. best of the world. In that context, the COVAX mechanism must be flexible and adjusted to meet more urgent needs in places where the epidemic situation is severe. The supply is low, many places have severe outbreaks of the disease, greatly affecting the vaccine supply schedule of COVAX. As a major beneficiary of the COVAX program, Vietnam is determined to join hands with the international community to respond to the pandemic. This is also the policy that Vietnam is strongly promoting in recent years. Since the outbreak of the epidemic, Vietnam has stepped up to strengthen international cooperation and solidarity to cope with the epidemic, because Vietnam understands that no country will be safe when the world is still not safe. With that policy and spirit, Vietnam has decided to contribute $500,000 to the COVAX initiative. Thus, Vietnam is classified as one of the few developing countries contributing to COVAX. Mr. Do Hung Viet emphasized that the contribution to COVAX demonstrates Vietnam’s sense of responsibility in global efforts, strengthens multilateral cooperation, thereby enhancing Vietnam’s image and position in the eyes of foreign partners. international organizations as well as international friends. As soon as Vietnam announced its contribution to COVAX, many international organizations, including GAVI, UNICEF, WHO… gave thanks and appreciated this decision. “Through this contribution, Vietnam hopes to have a synergistic effect, spreading the spirit of international solidarity so that governments of other countries and other partners can take necessary actions to increase support for the country. COVAX”, shared Mr. Do Hung Viet. The frontline against epidemics abroad The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is tasked by the Government with the Ministry of Health as the main agency in finding and accessing vaccine sources. With a network of more than 90 Vietnamese representative offices abroad, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has coordinated to drastically implement this task. Thereby, Vietnam has access to a number of vaccine sources of countries and international organizations to contribute to Vietnam’s vaccination strategy. Currently, on a global scale, vaccines are not only a medical issue but also contain many political factors. The decision of countries to support each other with vaccines depends a lot on bilateral relations in many fields. Therefore, the Vietnamese representative missions abroad and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have conducted hundreds of contacts and mobilized access to vaccine sources in countries and international organizations. This tireless effort has yielded practical results such as the recent commitments to provide Covid-19 vaccines from COVAX and the US, Russia, Japan, China… to Vietnam. UNICEF has also expressed its willingness to support our country in accessing and purchasing a vaccine against Covid-19. As the world’s largest vaccine “buyer” with longstanding relationships with leading pharmaceutical companies, UNICEF has the ability to assist Vietnam in connecting and negotiating contract terms, prices and timeframes. vaccine supply time. Mr. Do Hung Viet said that this is an effective channel to access and buy vaccines that Vietnam needs to take advantage of. In addition to accessing vaccine sources of countries, international organizations, and Vietnamese representative missions abroad, they also make efforts to connect with state and provincial governments in some countries, taking advantage of the relationship. Twinning relationship with localities to mobilize vaccine support. Obviously, dealing with the epidemic requires the cooperation of the whole community. While doctors and medical staff are on the frontline against the epidemic at home, diplomats are also soldiers on the front lines abroad to “fight” to collect vaccine sources to increase vaccination coverage. vaccination for Vietnamese people, contributing to early fight against the pandemic. COVAX’s initial goal is to purchase and mobilize 2 billion doses of vaccine by the end of 2021, enough to protect high-risk, vulnerable people and frontline healthcare workers worldwide, half of which were shipped to 92 low- and middle-income countries to vaccinate about 20% of the population of these countries. However, because the amount of COVAX vaccine received was much short of the set target, by May 24, 2021, COVAX had only distributed 72 million doses of the vaccine to 125 countries and economies.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Moscow is pursuing normalization of relations with Washington and called on the US to also take responsibility in these efforts. (Source: Press TV) In the context that the summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Joe Biden will take place in a week in Geneva, Switzerland, Deputy Minister Ryabkov said: “This is really an important event in the world. international agenda. We hope this event will answer many questions.” The Russian diplomat said that he did not know after this contact whether a sustainable trend towards solving problems and normalizing relations could be guaranteed, but Russia would pursue this. . This is the crux of all the tasks Russia is trying to solve today, Ryabkov said, calling on the Biden administration to be “as responsible and capable as Moscow” to achieve it. this. The Russian Deputy Minister said that at the current stage of development of international relations, time passes faster than what the two countries have done, referring to the Treaty on the Reduction of Strategic Offensive Arms (New START). The Russian diplomat said that, despite just renewing the Treaty, “the US midterm elections are approaching and the countdown to the 5-year extension of New START is happening very quickly”, so need not waste time and focus on achieving a certain new modern paradigm of arms control. “We need not only to find a solution to the question of whether there is an opportunity to de-escalate tensions, but also to the problem of a new ‘security equation’ in relations between the two countries. Russia is also ready for this.” (according to TASS)

Introducing the application “Путешествую без COVID-19”. On April 23, at the headquarters of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk introduced the mobile application “Путешествую без COVID-19” (temporarily translated Travel No Covid-19) to the Heads of foreign missions. assigned by many countries, including Vietnam. Participating in the presentation and answering questions about the application “Путешествую без COVID-19” and questions related to the situation of Covid-19 also included representatives of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Health Protection and Monitoring Agency. consumer interests in Russia (Rospotrebnadzor), Eurasian Development Bank. At the application session, Russian Deputy Prime Minister A.Overchuk explained the principles and procedures for using “Путешествую без COVID-19”, and invited foreign partners to consider the possibility of connecting the technical platform. this number. According to Deputy Prime Minister A.Overchuk, Russia is considering a complete transition to the application “Путешествую без COVID-19” to receive foreigners entering Russia. That is, this application may become mandatory upon entry to Russia. Deputy Prime Minister A.Overchuk also said that currently citizens of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) entering Russian territory from Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan can use the application “Путешествую без COVID-19”. In Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Russia, 348 laboratories connected the application. In principle, before departure, passengers need to download the application “Путешествую без COVID-19” to their mobile phones. Then, from the list of recommended laboratories, select the closest facility for Covid-19 assay. The lab will display the results in the national system, and this information in the form of a QR code appears in the application. User submits this QR code to third parties for verification.

Latvian Foreign Minister Edgar Rinkevich announced that he would expel a Russian diplomat and said he would “not allow hostile operations in his or her own territory”. Consecutively, many EU countries expelled Russian diplomats Meanwhile, the Estonian Foreign Ministry has also issued a decision to expel a Russian diplomat involved in the explosion of the Czech army’s ammunition in 2014. The Estonian side confirmed, this incident is clear “vi violating international law, undermining the security and stability of Europe and is unacceptable “. New diplomatic tensions with Russia began after the Czech ordered 18 Russian diplomats to leave the country on suspicions they were involved in a 2014 ammunition explosion. Russia responded by expelling 20 Czech diplomats after denying Prague’s accusations. Confrontation between the two countries continued to escalate, with the Czech demanding that 63 Russian diplomats leave the country. Before three countries Baltics, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Poland also announced the deportation of Russian diplomats respectively.

According to the Kremlin’s announcement, Putin signed the decree relating to “diplomatic missions and consulates, representative offices of foreign agencies or organizations” that act against the state, Russian people or organizations, collectively referred to as “hostile foreign countries”. Accordingly, “unfriendly countries” will be restricted – or in certain cases banned – from hiring or employing Russian nationals. Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: TASS The Russian government is tasked with determining the number of Russian staff that can be hired by foreign agencies and representative offices in Russia. The Ordinance states that the number of employees in foreign agencies and representative offices in excess of the prescribed number of Moscow government, even though there is a contract before the decree is signed, will have to be terminated. . This decree does not affect diplomats, consulates or citizens of the country where the representative office is located in Russia. The Russian government also has the task of making a list of “hostile foreign countries” and overseeing the implementation of restrictions or bans, as well as ensuring the rights of Russian citizens who are represented by agencies or offices. Foreign labor contract termination due to this ordinance. The Ordinance will take effect from the date it was officially announced, that is, April 23, and will be enforced until these responses are canceled. The Kremlin noted that the decree was consistent with current provisions of Russian law, including a federal law on “responses to unfriendly acts of the US and other countries”. Russia’s decree was issued in the midst of Moscow facing waves of expulsion of Russian diplomats. Germany, Poland and Sweden expelled three Russian diplomats in response to Moscow’s expulsion of three European diplomats for involvement in protests demanding the release of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny. The US expelled 10 Russian diplomats for alleged election interference and cyber attacks. Ukraine expelled “a senior diplomat” from Russia after Russia detained and expelled a Ukrainian consulate-general on allegations of espionage. Most recently, the Czech Republic expelled 18 Russian diplomats over allegations that the Russian secret was involved in two explosions of ammunition depots in the Central European country. Because of “solidarity with the Czech Republic”, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia expelled many Russian diplomats. These moves led to a series of “reciprocal” retaliation measures between Russia and these countries, making relations between Moscow and the West even more tense.

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Accordingly, the Kremlin on April 23 said that Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the application of measures to influence the bad actions of foreign countries. The statement from the Kremlin stated: “Mr. Vladimir Putin signed the decree on the application of response measures to foreign acts of bad will”. Specifically, Russia will limit the number of employees that can be recruited at diplomatic missions of countries that act inadvertent to Russia, the number of which exceeds the Russian government determined will be suspended . For this decree, diplomatic missions, consulates and offices of foreign government organizations acting unfriendly to Russia, Russian citizens or legal entities, will be faced with restricts, or even outright ban on, the use of Russian citizens. The Russian government is expected to identify a list of unfavorable foreign states and then adopt the countermeasures set up under the decree. Reportedly, the move above comes in the context of Russia and Western countries recently repeatedly expelled diplomats in the mutual diplomatic retaliation measures.

Former Czech President Vaclav Klaus. Photo: TASS “We are punishing one of the great powers in the world … I see this as proof that our country does not have a proper foreign policy,” former Czech President Vaclav Klaus on April 23 told Blesk newspaper. is based in Prague, mentioning Czech-Russian diplomatic tensions, TASS reported. Mr. Vaclav Klaus also said that the fact that Czech diplomats tried to blame Russian intelligence for the Vrbetice explosion in 2014 and used it as an excuse to expel Russian diplomats, is an act of trying to score points with The United States and the NATO military in the hope of receiving support. According to Mr. Klaus, the Czechs were hasty in this case. He argued that Prague “should have waited for true and serious evidence” before making any conclusions regarding the Vrbetice explosion. “It was a mistake to issue an ultimatum to Russia before having the facts,” Klaus warned. The former Czech president also revealed that he had discussions with his successor, current Czech President Milos Zeman, about tensions with Russia and the explosion seven years ago in Vrbetice. Russia-Czech relations became strained after Prague last week expelled 18 Russian diplomats accused of being officers of intelligence services. Prague also questioned Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency was involved in the ammunition explosion in Vrbetice in October 2014 that caused two deaths. Russia denied all related allegations and asked 20 staff of the Czech Embassy in Moscow to leave Russian territory in response. Moscow’s strong retaliation surprised Czechs. On April 22, the Czech Republic again expelled 63 more Russian diplomats and staff, followed by corresponding action from Russia.

President Putin on April 23 signed a decree on measures to respond to “unfriendly actions” against Russia. Photo: Tass It is the task of the Russian government to determine the number of Russian individuals that can be recruited by foreign missions. Accordingly, labor contracts with individuals in excess of the number set by the Russian government, signed before the start of the decree, will be terminated, Tass reported. In addition, President Putin ordered the Government to make a list of countries taking action against Russia that are subject to a restriction order, requiring these countries to ensure control over the observance of the labor rights of Russian citizens in the school. their contract is terminated by ordinance. The Ordinance was introduced to protect the interests and security of Russia under federal law No. 281-FZ on “Special Economic and Enforcement Measures” dated December 30, 2006 and No127-FZ on ” Dealing with unfriendly actions of the US and some countries ”June 4, 2018 The Ordinance takes effect from the date it was officially announced.

Three Baltic states, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, have expelled a total of four Russian diplomats to show solidarity with the Czech Republic (Czech) in diplomatic retaliation for alleged Russian secret involvement. ammunition warehouse explosions in Czech, news agency AFP said. On April 17, the Czech Republic accused the Russian Secret Service of being behind a fatal explosion at an arsenal in eastern Czechs in 2014 and thus expelled 18 Russian diplomats. This decision led to a series of “reciprocal” responses between Prague and Moscow. The Czech Republic has called on allies in the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Bloc (NATO) to unite and support the decision of the Prague government. On April 23, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis announced his decision to expel two staff of the Russian Embassy in Vilnius for “behavior inconsistent with diplomatic status” and ordered them to leave Lithuania within seven days. Russian Embassy in Riga (Latvia). Photo: TASS The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry stressed that “this decision shows our solidarity (ie the Vilnius government) with our ally after an unprecedented and dangerous incident in the Czech Republic”. Lithuania also offered to support the Czech Embassy in Moscow in carrying out its functions after Czech diplomats were expelled by Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that by May 31st, the Russian Embassy in Prague and the Czech Embassy in Moscow will only maintain 7 diplomatic staff, 25 technical and administrative staff, as well as right to hire up to 19 employees who are nationals of the host country. Thus, the number of Czech diplomats in Moscow must be reduced by 16, while the number of Russian diplomats in Prague is only one-sixth of the current number. On the same day 23-4, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics announced the expulsion of a staff member of the Russian Embassy in Riga. The Latvian Foreign Ministry explained that this was a move to show “solidarity with the Czech”, based on “information provided by Latvian authorities” and was made after consulting with allies. EU and NATO. And the Estonian Foreign Ministry announced the expulsion of a Russian diplomat who the Tallinn government said was behaving inconsistent with diplomatic principles. Estonia emphasized that it was “an expression of solidarity with the Czechs” and criticized the actions of the Russian secret service as the Czech accused it of being “unacceptable”. In response to the decision of the Latvian Foreign Ministry, the Russian Embassy in Riga said that this “unfriendly action” would “have the most negative impact on the development of Russian-Latvian relations”. The Russian diplomatic delegation also announced that Moscow would soon take measures to respond, according to the news agency TASS . The Russian embassy in Tallinn was also dissatisfied by Estonia’s decision, saying that the decision to expel Russian diplomats could undermine efforts to improve Russia-Estonian relations. The Russian diplomatic delegation to Lithuania does not appear to have commented on the decision of the Vilnius government yet. Before the three Baltic countries, Slovakia expelled three members of the Russian Embassy in Bratislava to show solidarity with its neighbor Czech.

To show solidarity with neighboring Czech Republic (Czech), Slovakia expelled three Russian diplomats, the news agency. TASS reporting. Citing sources from Slovak media on April 22, TASS said Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger had notified Slovakia of the deportation order and asked three Russian diplomats to leave Slovakia “in the next seven days”. Slovakia’s decision came after neighboring Czech country called on European allies to support Prague’s stance in expelling 18 Russian diplomats for accusing Moscow of being involved in a number of ammunition explosions. in the Czech Republic in 2014. Russian Embassy in Bratislava (Slovakia). Photo: AFP Slovakia is an ally in the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Bloc (NATO). The Czech Republic and Slovakia had a period of forming a unified state, known as Czechoslovakia, before a peaceful split in 1993. Prime Minister Heger explained that Slovakia’s decision to target diplomatic missions “did not respect the” principles of international law “, and stressed that the Bratislava government” desperately needed to do everything possible. to ensure security and for diplomatic missions working in Slovakia to comply with the laws (of Slovakia) and international agreements “. Accordingly, the decision to expel Russian diplomats was made by Slovakia “based on information from intelligence agencies (of Slovakia) who cooperated closely with the partner’s intelligence agencies. “and” based on the situation in the geopolitical space and current events in the Czech Republic – a country where Slovakia shows its solidarity and support “. Slovakia Jaroslav Nad noted that Bratislava’s decision was not a “cliché act” but was based on the fact that the activities of three Russian diplomats “went beyond established rules. in the international environment “. Responding to reporters’ questions about Slovakia’s move, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow was “deeply disappointed by Bratislava’s unfriendly actions”. Ms. Zakharova accused Slovakia of “showing false solidarity” with an act Moscow called a “fabrication incident” presented by Prague. Russia has repeatedly denied its involvement in military incidents in the Czech Republic and has taken diplomatic retaliation measures. The representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry also said that Moscow will soon take measures to retaliate against the deportation order of Bratislava.

Czech Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek announced that Russia would not be allowed to have more diplomats in Prague than the number of Czech diplomats currently available at their embassy in Moscow. Except for the number of diplomats allowed to be maintained, all remaining staff at the Russian embassy in Prague had to leave by the end of May. Notice comes after Russia expulsion 20 Czech diplomats on April 18 in retaliation for the Czech government’s expulsion of 18 Russian diplomats, identified as spies by Russian intelligence services. Russian Embassy in Prague. Photo: PM. The Czech government objected to what it called Russia’s “inappropriate response”, saying that Russia crippled the Czech Embassy in Moscow. Foreign Minister Kulhanek warned that if Russia does not regulate the expulsion of Czech diplomats at the last minute, he will cut the staffing of the Russian Embassy in Prague to be equal to their remaining staff at the embassy. Checks in Moscow. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the ministry had summoned the Czech ambassador on April 22. “It is unacceptable to speak to Russia,” said Ms. Zakharova.

With the federal government canceling an agreement related to the Victoria State’s “Belt and Road” initiative, Australia-China relations are worse than ever (Photo: Multidimensional). According to the news site Multi-Dimensional (Dwnews) April 23, citing AFP on the same day, said US State Department spokesman Ned Price on April 22 announced his solidarity, claiming that Australia is facing China’s “forced diplomacy”. , said the Australian government had made its own decision, but because it suffered greatly from Beijing’s actions. “We will continue to stand side by side with the Australian people as they are the leaders facing the coercive actions of the People’s Republic of China,” Ned Price told reporters. Mr. Ned Price, spokesperson for the US State Department (Photo: Dong Phuong). Australia has shown that these “Belt and Road” agreements are inconsistent with Australian foreign policy. China warned that Australia’s withdrawal from the agreement would seriously damage the relations between the two countries. According to previous reports, the Australian government announced on April 21 that it would cancel Victoria’s four foreign agreements, including two related to China’s “Belt and Road” initiative. These two agreements were signed between the Victorian government and China’s National Development and Reform Commission. One of them is a memorandum of understanding signed in October 2018 and the other is a framework agreement signed in October 2019. The Chinese Embassy in Canberra criticized the move as an “unreasonable provocation”. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Uong Van Ban also responded saying that China expressed strong resentment and firmly opposed it, had “strict relations” with Australia and China reserved the right to respond. more in-depth on this. Australian Foreign Minister Marise Penn announced the cancellation of two agreements related to “Belt and road” Victoria signed with China (Image: Reuters). In this case, Australian female Foreign Minister Marise Payne replied: “This plan is very relevant to the national interests of Australia. This action (canceling the two agreements) to ensure consistency in foreign relations. We are all over Australia and it certainly is not aimed at any country. ” She expressed Australia’s efforts to contact China and “requires all governments around the world to respect our government’s decision-making authority”. On April 22, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison also stated that the cancellation of the related agreement was because the federal government did not want the agreements signed by other authorities to go against Australia’s foreign policy. He said the government has always acted in the national interests of Australia to protect Australia, but must also ensure that in promoting national interests, the government can be in an Indo-Pacific region itself. be free and open and be in a world that seeks a balance in favor of freedom. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison: the cancellation of the related agreement is due to the federal government’s unwillingness to have the agreements signed by other authorities go against Australia’s foreign policy (Photo: AP). On the Chinese side’s response, the news site Multidimensional give details: At a regular press conference of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs taking place on the afternoon of April 22 in Beijing, a reporter asked: “Recently, the Australian government announced the rejection of the cooperation agreement” The Belt and Road “was signed by the Victorian government with the National Development and Reform Commission of China. Please ask what China has to comment on this? “. Mr. Uong Van Ban, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China replied: “Australia’s Victoria has decided to cooperate with China within the framework of the“ Belt and Road ”initiative to improve the welfare of the people. people from both sides. This is inherently a mutually beneficial affair. The Australian Government has unreasonably vetoed the “Belt and Road” cooperation agreement signed between the Victorian Government and China; arbitrary interference undermines normal exchanges of cooperation, seriously harms China-Australia relations and mutual trust. Mr. Uong Van Ban said, “China expressed strong resentment and strongly opposed it and had strict relations with Australia, China reserved the right to make a deeper response to this.” China urged Australia to give up Cold War thinking and ideological stereotypes, treat Sino-Australian cooperation objectively and soberly, and immediately correct mistakes. make mistakes, change directions, do not go further on the wrong path, do not make the China-Australia relationship that is in serious difficulty worse. ” Mr. Uong Van Ban: China expressed strong resentment and strongly opposed it and has strictly interacted with Australia, China reserves the right to give deeper reactions (Photo: Orient). At the same time, the spokesman of the Chinese Embassy in Australia also stated that China expressed strong dissatisfaction and firmly opposed the Australian Foreign Minister’s announcement on April 21 announcing the cancellation of the memorandum and agreement. Framework for the “Belt and Road” initiative was signed between China and the Victorian government. “Australia’s move is yet another irrational provocation against China,” said the Chinese embassy spokesman. It once again shows that Australia is not sincere in improving China – Australia relations, which will definitely cause more damage to the bilateral relationship, the country will definitely carry stones for its feet “. In Australia’s mainstream media, Secretary of State Marise Payne’s actions began to receive a positive response. Sheet Canberra Times published an article saying that Australia’s actions “made China ache” and that Victoria’s was seen as “against the interests of the country” in the eyes of Canberra officials. Sheet Sydney Morning Herald also criticized the fact that before signing with China, Victoria did not report to the federal government. The Century points out that Australia has become the first country to “tear” agreements related to the “Belt and Road” initiative. Last year China imposed a 212% punitive tax on Australian wines (Image: Getty). According to the Seventh News Network Australia’s move to “cancel” the deal was made after weighing more than 1,000 deals. The four deals that Secretary Payne tore off resemble Australia’s ruling Liberal strategy against the opposition Labor Party. The article called the move a “blow” against Victoria’s Labor governor Daniel Andrews. Nineth News Network Marise Penn, based in South Australia, revealed that Marise Penn went to Sydney to speak after announcing the cancellation of the deal, saying that the Australian side is still in contact with China. This represents a significant contrast to her statement on April 13 that “it is necessary to deal with China’s underground war”. For now, some analysts in Australia are pessimistic about the prospects. For example, Eryk Bagshaw, economic correspondent of the The Century , said that when Australia leads the “fight against China” trend, at least six major industries, including iron ore, worth at least 20 billion USD, will be hit hard, traders Australian imports and exports will have to pay the price. In October 2020, Australia allowed naval ships to participate in joint exercises with the US and Japan in the South China Sea, making China dissatisfied. There are also some Australian scholars and businessmen who remain optimistic about the status quo. For example, Roland Rajah, the lead economist at Lowy Institute, an Australian consulting organization, published an article on April 22 in the newspaper. The Century and Sydney Morning Herald “Why does our economy accept the veto of the agreement related to the Belt and Road initiative”, saying that Beijing’s sanctions against Australia are still limited to a relatively small scope, for example such as barley, beef, copper ore and coal. China will not cut off purchases of major Australian commodities such as iron ore and natural gas. After large commodity trade between China and Australia continued and small items shipped to other exporters, Australia was able to recover under Chinese “sanctions”.

The statement states that the decision made by the Polish Foreign Ministry was due to the fact that three Russian diplomats have engaged in activities that are inconsistent with diplomatic regulations and endanger Poland’s security.

Russian and Polish flags. Photo: Dreamstime

The statement also expressed Poland’s absolute support for the US measures taken against Russia on April 15.

It is known that earlier in a related development, the US government announced to impose large-scale sanctions on Russia. At the same time expelled 10 Russian diplomats, on the grounds of conducting cyber attacks and interfering in the US presidential election.

The British Foreign Ministry has summoned the Russian Ambassador regarding London’s deep concern about Russia’s hostile policy.

According to Russian media, the British Foreign Ministry has summoned Russian Ambassador to London Andrei Kelin, regarding Russia’s “hostile line of conduct”, the London Foreign Service said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Russian Ambassador to Warsaw, Sergei Andreev, was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland. According to diplomatic sources, the reason for the summons was related to “the introduction of new sanctions by the United States against Russia”. Another reason may be the situation on Ukraine’s eastern border.

Specifically, over the past several months, representatives of the US administration led by President Joe Biden have repeatedly threatened Russia that it will pay a “very high price” for the situation in the Donbass.

Moscow responded to Washington on warning of ‘it will cost money for the Donbass’. Illustrative image / Reporter

Before the above developments, Moscow gave an official response. Specifically, according to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, Washington’s aforementioned statements are unacceptable. Russia will continue to defend the self-proclaimed republics of the Donbass, as well as the interests of its Russian-speaking residents, and threats from the other hemisphere of the planet will only convince Moscow of the correctness of the planet. my movement.

“They talked about a high price, but they never specified. What they have done so far, first we have done enough research, second we have adapted to this” …

Ryabkov noted with regret that the current Ukrainian authorities and their Western patrons have concluded that the field situation is not helping to become more positive.

In addition, Deputy Minister Ryabkov mentioned the fact that the military alliance of NATO, the United States and a number of other countries are deliberately promoting Kiev to confront the Russian Federation, assisting Ukraine in increasing military pressure. declaration in the East.

In related developments, the NATO Air Force has deployed more fighter jets to countries close to Ukraine as a readiness move for the worst case scenario.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said he viewed his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi as the eldest brother during his visit to China. (Source: THX)

During a recent joint press conference in Fujian province (China) with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said he considered Wang Yi to be taiko (roughly translated: eldest brother) after He describes Malaysia and China as a family.

Mentioning this phrase, Mr. Hishammuddin spoke in Mandarin before translating himself into English. In response, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also emphasized: “We are brothers”.

Malaysian public opinion responded

Immediately, this “big brother” diplomacy “stormed” Chinese social networks because that claim was seen as Malaysia’s strong respect for China, the second largest economy. gender.

However, it has caused a lot of controversy in Malaysia because many people believe that Mr. Hishammuddin seems to be “marrying” Beijing and downplaying Kuala Lumpur’s status.

In response to criticism from domestic public opinion, the Malaysian Foreign Minister explained that it was a way of showing respect to his Chinese counterpart, as Wang Yi was older (67 years old) Mr. Hishamuddin (59 years old). and a more veteran diplomat.

During his first visit as foreign minister, Mr. Hishammuddin chose China as a way to express his appreciation to Beijing for its help in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.

Before that, when the Covid-19 epidemic was seriously spreading in Malaysia, China sent masks and other medical protective equipment to assist this country, and at the same time shared its epidemic prevention experience.

Although Malaysia’s Foreign Minister has voiced his opinion that this is a way of showing respect and thanks, his explanation still cannot calm domestic public opinion.

Led by the attackers were former Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman and opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. They commented that Mr. Hishammuddin had made an elementary mistake in diplomacy, leaving his personal feelings overwhelmed and possibly unintentionally “putting Malaysia in a position as a puppet” of a major country and asking for an apology.

Meanwhile, the Chinese side highly appreciated the desire for cooperation and the sincerity in the words of Mr. Hishammuddin, who has always had goodwill in relations with China and hopes a positive future for the two countries’ relations.

The Chinese daily newspaper in Malaysia Sin Chew Jit Poh commented that the word “taiko” did not show inferiority and turned the issue over: “Does Mr. Hishammuddin sign any treaty that could destroy Malaysian interests? Did Mr. Hishammuddin give up national sovereignty to China? What is diplomacy? It is the clever use of language to smooth the process of achieving its goals in international negotiations ”.

Two angles of politics and economics

For the political observer, Professor Dr. Chin Yew Sin, Mr. Hishammuddin’s statement can be explained from two perspectives on politics and economics.

From a political perspective, with the Malaysian general election (GE15) approaching, Mr. Hishammuddin wants to express his goodwill to China to attract Chinese-American votes in Malaysia. According to the survey, about 30% of Chinese voters have not decided which party to support in GE15.

From an economic perspective, Malaysia’s economy is facing many difficulties due to the Covid-19 pandemic, so it is very necessary for big partners like China in the context that Beijing is facing many “obstacles” in relations with the West. In addition, after the Covid-19 epidemic, Malaysia also needs to attract Chinese tourists to revive the tourism industry.

“Did Hishammuddin suddenly call China ‘taiko’?”, Professor Chin Yew Sin emphasized.

Some have suggested that Foreign Minister Hishammuddin is looking to use his personal capacity to achieve the national goals for Malaysia. As the Chinese economy is thriving when it recovers rapidly from the pandemic, Kuala Lumpur needs to strengthen economic cooperation with Beijing.

China is Malaysia’s largest trading partner for the past 12 years. Despite the pandemic, China’s imports of goods hit a record high in 2020. This brings many economic and commercial benefits to Malaysia.

From this trip, Malaysia has achieved a number of breakthroughs in trade. In particular, Beijing agreed to allow imports of red palm oil from Kuala Lumpur, which previously did not meet China’s color specification standards.

This is an important turning point for the Malaysian economy because palm oil is a major export item and foreign currency earnings for Malaysia. The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) recently forecast that China would import about 6.8 million tons of palm oil this year. Of which, about 42% of palm oil will come from Malaysia.

In addition, during the visit, Mr. Wang Yi also said that China was ready to work with Malaysia to continue promoting cooperation in the post-Covid-19 high quality Belt and Road initiative.

At the same time, the Chinese side also expressed its readiness to strengthen cooperation in Covid-19 vaccine and treatment research with Malaysia. In addition, the two sides also agreed to strengthen cooperation in digital technology areas such as 5G, the digital economy and modern agriculture.

Malaysia’s foreign minister’s visit to China is part of a series of foreign ministers’ visits to Beijing from March 31 to April 2, at the invitation of the Chinese Foreign Minister. The foreign ministers of the remaining three Southeast Asian countries are Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines.

(According to The Star)

From nearly 400 registration documents, through 2 rounds of competition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Recruitment Council selected 81 best individuals and on April 14, the Ministry happily opened the door, welcoming you to become member under the common roof named Diplomacy. On the afternoon of April 14, at the Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Organization and Personnel in coordination with the Diplomatic Academy held a ceremony to award the decision to recruit and open a pre-civil service class for 2021 new civil servants. Attending the ceremony were Deputy Foreign Minister Dang Minh Khoi, Assistant Minister, Director of Personnel and Organization Department Pham Quang Hieu, Acting Director of Diplomatic Academy Pham Lan Dung, representatives of related units and 81 employees. has just passed the entrance exam in 2020.

At the decision award ceremony, Deputy Minister Dang Minh Khoi congratulated the young colleagues who passed the tough and challenging exam to attend the Recruitment Decision Ceremony and the Opening of the Pre-Service Class. . Standing in the team of 81 newly recruited civil servants is a very honor and pride for each individual receiving this decision. Deputy Minister said that over the past 75 years, the country is increasingly developing and innovating and achieving great achievements. In the overall success of the country, there is a great contribution from the Foreign Affairs sector. As at the XIII Congress of the Party recently, General Secretary, President Nguyen Phu Trong said, affirming: “Our country has never had the structure, potentiality, position and prestige of the country. Reality like today. ” This is thanks to the non-stop efforts and efforts of generations of Diplomats during the past 75 years.

However, the Deputy Minister said that the world and regional situation continued to evolve quickly, complicatedly and unpredictably. “The important thing is that when you become an officer of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, do you grasp the changes in the world of complex, volatile and unpredictable situations, adapt and overcome those changes? . All are based on the intellectual capacity and bravery of each individual “, said Deputy Minister. Deputy Minister Dang Minh Khoi reiterated 5 tasks that Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son had sent a message to all officials and employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at home and abroad, namely: Solidarity, Wisdom, Ban Conscience, Dedication, Building a regular, elite, modern and comprehensive Vietnamese Diplomacy. Thereby, Deputy Minister Dang Minh Khoi believes that the work and the immediate road will still be challenging, but the young potential faces present here will be the next generation of talented and enthusiastic diplomats. blood and make the diplomats in the lead feel proud.

Vietnam’s Foreign Affairs has always played an important role in the nation’s revolutionary cause. Right from the very first days of the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the Diplomatic Service was honored and proud to be born and directly led and instructed by President Ho Chi Minh. During his life, President Ho Chi Minh always attaches special importance to the work of cadres and always puts the work of cadres at the forefront in building the Party and State administration. The person pointed out: “Officer is the root of all work”; “Every job succeeds or fails, is due to good or poor officials”; “Any work policy, if there is a good staff, will be successful, which is profitable. Without good staff, the job will fail, which means loss of capital ”.

The process of Vietnam’s international integration is getting deeper and deeper, not only having opportunities and advantages, but also facing many challenges and difficulties that require more and more diplomats to be “both pink and professional. “. Therefore, to help you adapt as quickly as possible when embarking on practical work in the unit, right after receiving the recruitment decision, new civil servants will be able to join the Pre-Civil Service class for a period of time. period of two months. This is the program of fostering knowledge “specialties” of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, developed by the Department of Organization and Personnel and related units, drawn from the experience of many years ago, including a lot of content. extremely necessary, substantive and comprehensive, from updated knowledge in the fields of work of the Ministry to essential skills such as research methods, writing memoirs, great signatures, submission papers, reports, telegram, contact reports, meeting minutes … or operations required by a comprehensive diplomat such as consular, press information, state reception, events, conferences In particular, the Ministry is very interested and will invite veteran diplomats such as former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan, Ambassador Nguyen Nguyet Nga, Ambassador Tran Trong Toan and other leaders and managers, experts leading the field in the fields to exchange, guide and help you to improve yourself with modern and comprehensive knowledge, skills and methods.

Assistant Minister, Director of Personnel and Organization Department Pham Quang Hieu assessed that the new diplomats have equal professional capacity, are well trained at home and abroad, have specialized and foreign knowledge. good language and convergence of the necessary qualities of thinking and criticism for a foreign affairs officer. Mr. Pham Quang Hieu reminded that, in the face of increasingly unpredictable developments in the context of the world and the region, the rapid changes in the mode of implementation of diplomatic activities due to the impact of the industrial revolution. 4.0, officers working in foreign affairs today must have more and more strong political bravery, always believe in the foreign policy of the Party and State. Not only that, diplomats must have a modern mindset in research, analysis and assessment of the situation to advise, propose policies and strategies; have a comprehensive knowledge base, synthesized in many fields and most importantly, must have pride in the traditional history of the nation, the diplomatic service and have a desire to contribute to a country of Vietnam. increasingly powerful, developing stronger. Therefore, participating in the Pre-Service course is a very good opportunity to hone and practice. The course result will be one of the factors to consider in deciding the assignment of new civil servants to the units as well as the end of your probationary period in the near future.

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Representatives of the new civil servants who have just received the decision, Ms. Nguyen Phuong Hong Ngoc said: “This is a great day in our life and career, marking the beginning of an important journey ahead. and a memory we will never forget “. Ms. Nguyen Phuong Hong Ngoc also expressed her pride when she officially became an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with 75 years of proud history in the defense and construction of the country. However, young diplomats also understand that, becoming an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, great honor goes hand-in-hand with great responsibility, the more opportunities you have, the more difficult the challenges will become. The new external environment poses great requirements, which is how to truly become a good officer, how to inherit and promote glorious traditions of fathers, generations ahead. dedicated to building; and how to contribute to building Diplomacy to become a pioneer soldier in peacetime, to serve the highest interests of the nation – the nation.

With her love and passion for the Industry, along with the enthusiasm of the youth, Ms. Nguyen Phuong Hong Ngoc promises to “constantly train to build strong political character and stance, cultivate ethical qualities and professional qualifications; promote a sense of responsibility at work, and always be diligent, humble, learn from previous generations ”. The representative of the new recruits of the Industry affirmed that they would do their best to strive to perform the 5 tasks in the letter of Minister Bui Thanh Son to all cadres, civil servants and employees of the Ministry; strive to become public servants “both rosy and professional” as taught by Uncle Ho, to successfully complete the assigned tasks, worthy of the attention, trust and expectation of the Ministry’s leaders.

Ms. Nguyen Phuong Hong Ngoc hopes that the job will bring new civil servants opportunities, and even challenges, so that each rookie of the Industry becomes more mature and mature. civil servants who have both the courage and expertise to contribute to the Foreign Affairs sector in particular and to Vietnam’s foreign affairs in general. President Nguyen Xuan Phuc shared his wish that Vietnam 2045 be a beautiful picture that we all have the opportunity to paint. As the representative of the new staff received the recruitment decision shared: “We hope to be able to dedicate, serve and contribute a small part of our efforts to the Foreign Affairs sector and to the aspirations of common development. of the nation ”.

According to the Department of Organization and Personnel, out of 81 newly recruited civil servants, 20/81 individuals have a Master’s degree; 34 people trained abroad, 39 graduated from the Diplomatic Academy. The age gap from the 7x, 8x generation has many years of working in other agencies and companies and most of them are 9x, 10x friends.

Article: Nguyen Hong, Pham Trang Photo: Minh Nhat Graphics: Hong Nguyen

Japan and Germany hold their first Diplomatic and Defense Strategic Dialogue (Dialogue 2+2) online, April 13. (Source: AP)

According to the sheet Nikkei (Japan), on April 13, Japan held its first Diplomatic and Defense Strategic Dialogue (Dialogue 2+2) with Germany online, a framework similar to that of other important European partners, Britain and France.

Clearly, Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide’s administration is increasingly urging key European partners to increase their intervention in the Indo-Pacific region, especially amid certain rifts in China’s relations with Europe recently regarding human rights democracy.

Attending the dialogue on the Japanese side were Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, while on the German side were Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.

At the dialogue, Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi criticized China for saying that “unilateral actions to change the status quo by force have lost the premises of peace and prosperity for the international community.”

Meanwhile, Secretary Maas stated that “security cooperation is extremely important in the context of various threats in the Indo-Pacific region.”

The German side said it would send a destroyer to the Indo-Pacific region next summer and planned joint training between Japan’s Maritime Defense Force and the German Navy.

It is unusual for a country without territory in the Asia-Pacific to send warships to the region, but it is also the first time germany has shown strong colours on security issues.

This Japan-Germany 2+2 Strategic Dialogue is an example that Germany is ready to participate in the race for sovereignty in the Indo-Pacific region.

Basically the strategy of the Biden administration and its allies is to bring together a siege that restrains China, including European countries. It’s also a sign that the U.S. feels the difficulty of unilateral confrontation and arms race with China.

Other European countries are already aware of the threat from China.

Britain identified China as the biggest national threat to economic security, identified in a new security and diplomatic strategy announced in March.

Britain has left the European Union (EU) and does not want China to lead Asia, which is seen as its promising market. London has also expressed its intention to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), an agreement that plays a role in creating a siege on China.

In the current context, the similarities between the UK and Japan are to promote the free trade system in the Indo-Pacific region, while curbing China’s expansion at sea.

Among European countries, Britain has pledged to send the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth and France will send a nuclear-powered attack submarine to the Indo-Pacific region.

According to Professor Yuichi Morii of the University of Tokyo, recent moves by Britain, France and Germany have sent a message of cooperation to Japan as countries that share a common view of values.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel once said China was a “systemal competitor” with political differences. However, China is also a huge market with a size of 1.4 billion people and is an important trading partner of Germany.

On April 7, during a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Ms Merkel also stressed the importance of dialogue.

As European relations with China tend to cool and the region faces serious economic impact from the Covid-19 epidemic, the U.S. and Japan should work to promote diplomatic activities with European countries, in order to support maintaining a tough stance on security.