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Anglo-Vietnamese Relations

I apologise for being late. I was at an event elsewhere in Parliament, meeting children with type 1 diabetes and listening to their experiences, when I suddenly noticed the time and made a mad dash to Westminster Hall. I congratulate the right hon. Member for Knowsley (Mr Howarth) on securing the debate, because the relationship between the UK and Vietnam is important. He is the chair of the all-party parliamentary group for Vietnam and was part of a delegation that visited Vietnam at the end of last year. It is always welcome for the House to hear the first-hand thoughts, considerations and experiences of right hon. and hon. Members who have visited other countries, and listening to the right hon. Member's words about meeting people with disabilities as a result of Agent Orange re-enforced that feeling. I commend the Foreign Secretary's visit to Vietnam this week—I understand that he is the first to do so in 17 years—and I hope this signals the UK's commitment to a strong relationship with Vietnam. I will focus my remarks on trade, human rights, gender equality and climate change. Strengthening trade and business links with east Asian countries such as Vietnam is important. The Prime Minister visited various countries in the region a few weeks ago, and that is now being followed up by the Foreign Secretary, who is visiting Vietnam and other places this week. Strengthening such links is particularly important in the context of our current domestic economic problems. Looking beyond our borders to promote economic growth and ensure the health of our economy will be increasingly important. Vietnam's economy is expanding quickly, and so is excellent ground for increased bilateral trade. In 2010, its gross domestic product grew by 6.7%—an enviable statistic compared with other countries around the world post-2008. Leading up to 2010, the average was 6.9%. Its GDP has doubled every 10 years since 1986, and its economic growth has been second only to China. UK exports to Vietnam reached £276 million in 2010—a 32% increase on the previous year—but clearly there is more to be done. I welcome UK Trade & Investment's goal to increase the two-way trade between the countries to $4 billion next year. More UK companies could see Vietnam as a potential market. There are numerous business opportunities in oil and gas, agriculture, construction, financial services and information technology in that country, but also significant barriers to investment, according to the British business community, such as widespread corruption, red tape, high inflation and a lack of infrastructure in many cases. As well as highlighting the importance of our trading relationship with Vietnam, it is really important that we do not avert our eyes from the human rights difficulties and abuses there. A Human Rights Watch report this year said that the Government in Vietnam has severely cracked down on political dissent: freedom of expression and public assembly are tightly controlled; religious activists are harassed, intimidated and imprisoned; and there are even reports that state-run drug rehabilitation centres use detainees as forced labourers to make goods for local markets and for export. On freedom of speech, three bloggers—Nguyen Van Hai, Phan Thanh Hai and Ta Phong Tan—were jailed recently for allegedly conducting propaganda against the state under article 88 of the penal code, but effectively they were just expressing their views online. Those bloggers are founding members of the Club for Free Journalists, which exists to promote freedom of expression and independent journalism, which we in this country all hold dear and think is an important principle in a free society. However, in Vietnam, the police have harassed, intimidated and detained the members of that organisation for the past four years. I hope that, in our renewed relationship with the Vietnamese Government, we are also raising our concerns about these issues from a UK point of view. I hope that we are also pressing firmly on the use of the death penalty, which, as a member of Amnesty, I do not believe is acceptable under any circumstance. The statistics on how many people are put to death by the state in Vietnam were deemed a state secret in 2011, so we have to rely on other sources for statistics, including human rights organisations. Amnesty recorded at least five executions and at least 23 new death sentences imposed in 2011, mostly for drug-related offences. Senior officials quoted by a newspaper have suggested that as many as 100 death sentences may be imposed every year. I hope that the strong record of the UK Government will continue in this regard, that they will ensure that our view that the death penalty is wrong is strongly represented and that this matter will be raised in our meetings with Ministers. There is a slightly more positive story to be told about women in Vietnam. In fact, many reports say that there has been remarkable progress on gender equality in recent years, addressing disparities in education, employment and health. The World Bank gender assessment report says that women's outcomes have improved significantly. For example, child mortality and maternal mortality have fallen sharply, which is welcome news. Between 1990 and 2004, maternal mortality fell from 233 to 85 deaths per 100,000 live births, and in 2009, it fell further, to 69 per 100,000. In the labour market, women's participation rates are high—among the highest in the region—and are only behind China, Laos and Cambodia. In fact, bearing in mind the statistics that I quoted earlier about the growth of the Vietnamese economy, it is worth remarking that, of course, when a country properly engages the talents of 100% of its population, rather than just 50%, that has economic benefits as well. I am sure that the two statistics are not entirely unconnected. However, even on gender, there are still issues regarding older women and women living in the rural parts of Vietnam, where poverty is still significant and has a gendered aspect, with women more likely to live in poverty. Vietnam has made a commitment to sustainable development and has said that it will respond to the challenges posed by climate change. The country faces severe threats, so adaptation measures must be a priority. If, as is predicted, the temperature increases by just over 2° C towards the end of this century, the dry season in Vietnam will become drier, with decreased rainfall, and the rainfall in the rainy season will increase, leading to greater risk of extreme weather events, including flooding and problems in the dry season. Sea levels could rise by up to 1 metre. If adaptation is not seriously addressed in Vietnam and sea levels rise, 40% of Mekong delta, 9% of the Red river delta and 3% of the other provinces in coastal areas could be flooded. More worryingly, more than 20% of Ho Chi Minh City could be flooded. This is a serious issue affecting Vietnam, and it is a priority for the Vietnamese Government to address. However, there is always a challenge, as with many developing economies, because it is difficult to have the pace of economic growth that is needed—with the additional energy needs and their impact on climate change—while addressing adaptation and mitigation measures. I hope that, in common with other countries around the world, we ensure that we encourage the Vietnamese Government to take this matter seriously and share the expertise that we have learned, because part of the bilateral relationship, and an important part of our diplomacy, is sharing green technology and measures that could help them adapt and mitigate the difficulties that they will otherwise face. I thank the right hon. Member for Knowsley again for initiating the debate. I look forward to hearing the contribution from the Opposition Front Bencher and the Minister's responses.