Monday, August 7, 2017

Kidnapping makes Vietnam persona non grata in Germany

Vietnam's abduction of one of its nationals in Berlin could upend a pending EU-Vietnam free trade pact and underlines pro-China versus pro-West factionalism in the ruling Communist Party

German Chancellor Angela Merkel greets Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc ahead of the G20 Summit in the Hotel Atlantic in Hamburg, Germany, 06 July 2017. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa via AFP-Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) delivers a speech at the Vietnam-Japan Business meeting on January 17, 2017. Photo: Reuters/Hoang Dinh Nam/Pool
German Chancellor Angela Merkel greets Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc ahead of the G20 Summit in the Hotel Atlantic in Hamburg, Germany, 06 July 2017. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa via AFPVietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) delivers a speech at the Vietnam-Japan Business meeting on January 17, 2017. Photo: Reuters/Hoang Dinh Nam/Pool
Nguyen Tan Dung, Prime Minister of Vietnam listens to U.S. President Barack Obama speak during a 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Rancho Mirage, California February 15, 2016. Obama will press leaders from Southeast Asia to boost trade and back a common stance on the South China Sea. REUTERS/Mike Blake - RTX273AKUS President Donald Trump holds up an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership in January 2017. Photo: AFP/Saul Loeb
Former Vietnamese Nguyen Tan Dung was viewed as a strong advocate for stronger ties to the West. Photo: Reuters/Mike Blake-US President Donald Trump holds up an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership in January 2017. Photo: AFP/Saul Loeb