Hot seat for Vietnam on UN Security Council
Hanoi will have to vote on thorny issues such as Iran and Myanmar
By Roger Mitton
 

HANOI - Vietnamese diplomats are working feverishly to prepare for what is likely to be a tough two-year term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, beginning next year.

Soon after it assumes the role on Jan 1, Hanoi will likely have to vote on sensitive and complex issues such as Myanmar, Iran and Kosovo - sorely testing its much- vaunted policy of being friends with everyone and enemies of no one.

Said Mr Ta Minh Tuan, the deputy director at the Foreign Ministry's Institute for International Relations:

'Vietnam has not made its stand clear on issues such as Iran's uranium enrichment programme, Myanmar's human rights and democracy, Darfur's genocide, Kosovo's status, North Korea's nuclear programme and the future of Iraq.

'All are thorny for Vietnam. At this moment, the road ahead looks bumpy.'

Diplomatic sources say that is putting it mildly. Said one Western diplomat last week: 'We met senior foreign office officials and asked what their position was on Kosovo and Sudan. They said they do not have one. We intimated that it might be good to start formulating one - pretty quickly.'

But Hanoi has been working hard, soliciting advice from nations with experience on the UN Security Council, and from the five permanent council members.

It has also set up a core group, including hotshot Vice-Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and human rights defender Le Hoai Trung, to liaise with its United Nations mission in New York and directly with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

Some conservative members of the Politburo, the Vietnamese Communist Party's topmost body, had counselled against the push to gain a seat on the Security Council.

But they were rebuffed by ascendant younger leaders under the Prime Minister, who want economically booming Vietnam to play a more assertive role on the world stage.

Said deputy director Bui Truong Giang of Hanoi's Centre for International Security and Strategic Studies: 'This is a good opportunity for Vietnam to make use of its post on the Security Council to promote its international image.'

Certainly, the opportunity is there, especially as Vietnam will assume the presidency of the Security Council next July and be able to set the agenda and initiate debates on global issues.

Of course, as a non-permanent member, Vietnam will not have veto powers and its influence as a fledgling council member will be limited.

But, as Foreign Ministry sources noted, Hanoi will have to take a stand and not fudge tough votes by abstaining.

Said Mr Tuan: 'During its term, Vietnam should avoid abstention as much as possible if it wants to play an active and responsible role at the council