Vietnamese see special economic zones as assault from China [SCMP]

[ndlr] La tension monte au Viêt-Nam au sujet du projet de trois zones économiques spéciales que l’opinion publique estime dédiées à la Chine. A lire sur le South China Morning Post. Article de Bennett Murray.

The South China Sea dispute, along with memories of the 1979 border war, run deep in the Vietnamese national psyche, making SEZs viscerally unpopular.

The Vietnamese government is confronting a rising tide of public anger as its parliament debates a controversial bill to create three new special economic zones (SEZs), raising fears of Chinese encroachment on Vietnamese soil.

Although Vietnam already has 18 SEZs, the new concerns largely stem from a provision that would allow 99-year leases in some cases within the three new zones in Quang Ninh and Khanh Hoa provinces, as well as on Phu Quoc Island. The bill does not explicitly mention any particular country but it is widely presumed China, Vietnam’s largest trading partner, would dominate investments in the SEZs.

Attempting to allay concerns, Prime Minister Nguyen Xhan Phuc announced on Thursday the government would adjust the 99-year time frame but did not elaborate.

Lire la suite : SCMP, 07/06/2018.

Voir aussi : Projet de “3 zones économiques spéciales chinoises” au Viêt-Nam – Réactions

Image “à la une” : Manifestation anti-chinoise à Hanoi en 2014. La pancarte dit “La patrie avant tout” © DR