JavaScript is off. Please enable to view full site.

Dominating and getting rich from seas

Dominating and getting rich from seas

Sunday, June 21, 2015, 15:19 GMT+7

Editor’s note: In this entry submitted to the “Ky Vong Viet Nam 20 Nam Toi” (“My Expectations for Vietnam in 20 Years”) writing contest, Vo Minh Huy, a 30-year-old sea enthusiast, dreams that Vietnam will turn itself into a sea power by 2035.

>> An audio version of the story is available here

I’ve always held special affections for seas. I hope in the 20 years to come, Vietnamese seas will achieve a new stature and gain limelight and admiration from many other countries.

As for me, my country’s seas and islands are always an intangible thread which affectionately bonds me – a Vietnamese citizen – with, so that I keep pondering and envisioning a bright prospect which will hopefully ring true for my country’s seas and islands in the next 20 years. My country prides itself on its beloved Hoang Sa [Paracel] and [Truong Sa] archipelagos, where fishermen leave home for the seas every day to earn a living.

A new shape for Vietnam seas

I hold high expectations that in the coming 20 years, Vietnamese seas and islands will acquire a new shape and standing. Fishermen in 28 coastal provinces and cities along my country’s length would own modern steel-encased boats with fishing equipment that are among the most cutting-edge in the country. These would be perfect replacements for small boats and simple, inadequate kits. Over 1.3 million fishermen in my country would no longer suffer poverty, and all of them would build decent houses and live in surplus.

More people would settle down on islands, particularly the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos. Exchange of goods between the islands and between islands and the mainland would no longer be painstakingly difficult.

More transport means taking locals and tourists to Hoang Sa and Trung Sa would be available and operate on a regular basis so that sea lovers like me could set foot on our prideful Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos. My country’s seas and islands would then be clean and clear and boast a rich oceanic ecosystem, which would secure a spot among Southeast Asia’s top.   

Twenty years later, Vietnam’s coast guards would be rendered mighty and armed with cutting-edge weaponry which would crush any schemes to encroach on our country’s sovereignty over its seas and islands and bolster our standing on the East Vietnam Sea. Twenty years later, China would have to return to us every island and inch of land and sea on Hoang Sa and Truong Sa which they had illegally occupied.

Development of seas and islands

Perhaps some may dismiss my ideas as fantastic and implausible. But I do believe my country – a heroic one – would be capable of all these. Twenty years later, my country would certainly become mighty and rich based on its sea resources.

The time from now to 2035 would be enough for my country to realize my expectations, which the entire people may also have. However, it will be hard to actualize such expectations if steps are not taken right now.

First, approaches should be adopted to help local fishermen switch from wood-encased fishing boats to steel-clad ships to ensure their safety and boost efficiency in aquatic product exploitation. It’s an upbeat sign that the government has recently employed several policies to assist fishermen. The latest is Decree 67 incorporating a number of policies that offer fishermen loans to build new boats.

The assistance should be made a priority to help fishermen quickly get rich from their seafaring trips. Sound investment should also be earmarked for the fishing logistics and supplies, which would help minimize traders imposing low rates on aquatic products due to unstable consumption outlets.

Secondly, the government should adopt special incentive policies to encourage locals to voluntarily settle down on Vietnamese islands. Measures should also be promptly taken to improve means of transport that link islands and islands with the mainland to bridge the gaps.

There should be a seamless combination of industrialized, modernized development in seas, islands, and coastal areas with the mainland. Tours to Hoang Sa and Truong Sa should be taken into consideration now.

Thirdly, sea economic growth should go hand in hand with marine environmental protection, including conserving and reproducing aquatic product resources, and safeguarding coastal areas. If so, our economic growth would be truly sustainable and efficient.      

The fourth solution is mobilizing all resources available to reinforce and improve the coast guard forces, enhancing their professionalism, skills, weaponry and capacity to safeguard our sovereignty over our seas and islands in the East Vietnam Sea.

Another top-priority task is fighting in a political, peaceful manner with China to reclaim islands in the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos which Beijing has illegally occupied so far. Our country is always backed by justice, truth and righteousness.

There are many things that Vietnam needs to do to turn itself into a sea power which cam get rich from its sea resources. I’ll turn 50 in 20 years. I really hope my country’s seas and islands will shine and earn the limelight and admiration from many other countries. The prospect would not be far away.

“Ky Vong Viet Nam 20 Nam Toi” is a competition organized by the World Bank in Vietnam and Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that encourages local youths to write down their wildest, yet feasible, dreams about how Vietnam will change in 20 years’ time.

Tuoi Tre News

More

Read more

;

Photos

VIDEOS

‘Taste of Australia’ gala dinner held in Ho Chi Minh City after 2-year hiatus

Taste of Australia Gala Reception has returned to the Park Hyatt Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City's District 1 after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Vietnamese woman gives unconditional love to hundreds of adopted children

Despite her own immense hardship, she has taken in and cared for hundreds of orphans over the past three decades.

Vietnam’s Mekong Delta celebrates spring with ‘hat boi’ performances

The art form is so popular that it attracts people from all ages in the Mekong Delta

Latest news