More efforts needed to clear bombs

Vietnam has put a lot of efforts into removing explosives remnants of war (ERW), but the issue is still a great challenge for the country, a high-ranking army officer has said.
More efforts needed to clear bombs ảnh 1The meeting in Hanoi on September 16 (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Vietnam has put a lot of efforts into removingexplosives remnants of war (ERW), but the issue is still a great challenge forthe country, a high-ranking army officer has said.

ColonelNguyen Hanh Phuc, Deputy Director of the Vietnam National Mine Action Centre(VNMAC), made the statement at a meeting in Hanoi on September 16.

Thenational consultative meeting 'Enhance awareness programmes on the dangers ofmine/explosive remnants of war' was organised by the VNMAC, the ASEANRegional Mine Action Centre (ARMAC) and the Japan-ASEAN Cooperation.

Phuc saidthat during the past 40 years, the country has seen improving consequences ofmine and explosive remnants of war as an urgent, important, regular andlong-term duty.

To createa legal corridor for the work, the then Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in 2010approved the national action programme to tackle the impact of post-war bombsand mines in 2010-2025, often called Programme 504. 

Programme504 helps guide and manage post-war mines and ERW, creating coordinationbetween State management agencies and localities in the work.

Animportant policy was strengthening support to help victims of mines and ERWintegrate into the community, he said.

Phuc saidmore education on preventing mine and ERW accidents should be given tocitizens.

HalJudge, ARMAC’s mine risk education expert, said Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnamand Thailand were affected by mines and ERW, and ARMAC, through a set ofconsultative meetings, aimed to bring these countries together to share theirknowledge and experiences to build a regional approach to mine risk education.

The goalof the project would be to establish a platform for ASEAN countriesto learn from one another so a collaborative community of mine riskeducation experts could be established.

Incomplete statisticsshow the number of bombs left after the war in Vietnam is about 800,000tonnes, with the total area suspected of bomb and mine pollution about 6.13million hectares, accounting for 18.71 per cent of the country, according tothe VNMAC. The largest amount is said to be in central provinces.

From 1975until now, bombs and mines have killed more than 40,000 people and injured60,000.

TheUnited Nations Sustainable Development Programme to 2030 considers tacklinglandmines and war consequences to be a major goal.

In recentyears, the Ministry of National Defence has sped up the process ofovercoming the consequences of mines and ERW in polluted areas, especially QuangTri, Quang Nam, Binh Dinh and Ha Giang.

Despitethe positive results, the country needs tens of billions of dollars, notincluding billions of dollars for resettlement in the contaminated areas, andmore than 100 years to finish the work, according to the ministry./.
VNA

See more

Some participants in the symposium held at the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City on April 3 (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam, Belgium advance traffic safety initiatives

Belgium has been a crucial partner for the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam in general in education, research, and innovation, creating meaningful collaboration opportunities with not only the university but other leading educational institutions in Vietnam

Vietnamese team locates quake victims (Photo: VNA)

Vietnamese, Myanmar, UAE teams recover three quake victims in Myanmar

Supported by the UAE rescue team’s sniffer dogs and specialised equipment, the Vietnamese team overcame intense heat and challenging conditions to locate and retrieve three Myanmar victims buried under rubble. Their joint efforts resulted in the successful recovery of all three bodies by midday.

King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium meet with children affected by Agent Orange/dioxin in Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: VNA)

Belgian King, Queen visit HCM City

King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium visited the War Remnants Museum and met with children affected by Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin in Ho Chi Minh City on April 3, as part of their ongoing state visit to Vietnam.

Truong My Lan (front, centre) and accomplices at the appeal trial that started on March 25, 2025. (Photo: VNA)

Prosecutors seek reduced life sentence for Truong My Lan in Van Thinh Phat case

At the ongoing appeal trial for the second phase of the high-profile case involving Van Thinh Phat Group and Saigon Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SCB, Truong My Lan is appealing the entire verdict, challenging her convictions for "fraudulent appropriation of assets" (embezzling nearly 30.08 trillion VND – from 35,824 secondary investors), "money laundering" (involving 445.75 trillion VND), and "illegal cross-border money transfers" (4.5 billion USD).

Officers of the Duong Dong Port Border Guard Station (Kien Giang province) carry out inspections of fishing vessels entering and exiting the Duong Dong River estuary in Phu Quoc city. (Photo: VNA)

Criminal cases initiated over IUU fishing violations

Authorities have pursued cases involving serious offenses such as illegal border crossings, fraud, document forgery, vessel monitoring system (VMS) tampering, and the unauthorised use of explosives for fishing.

At the meeting (Photo: VNA)

Binh Duong leads nation in online public services

Binh Duong is also developing a coordination framework between the provincial Public Administration Service Centre and such centres at the commune level to streamline administrative services.

Mineral resource discovery activities in the northwest region. (Photo: vietnamplus.vn)

40 gold mines discovered in northwest region

There are 40 gold mines with a total identified resource of 29.8 tonnes, and five copper mines with a total identified resource of over 13,000 tonnes in the northwest region.

Three staff members of the Department of Dyke Management and Disaster Prevention set off to join rescue efforts in Myanmar. (Photo: tienphong.vn)

Vietnam sends more personnel to rescue operations in Myanmar

This marks the first time that the staff members from the department have participated in the ASEAN-ERAT, demonstrating the spirit of “One ASEAN, One Response: ASEAN responding to disasters as one in the region” as affirmed in the ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration.

Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Van Phuc at the working session with representatives from 21 US higher education institutions in Hanoi on March 31. (Photo: Ministry of Education and Training)

Vietnam, US strengthen higher education cooperation

Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Van Phuc highlighted the growing educational partnership between the two nations, with 30,000 out of 200,000 Vietnamese citizens studying abroad being in the US. In the 2022-2023 academic year, Vietnamese students ranked fifth globally in terms of numbers of international students in the US, rising by 5.7%.

The Vietnamese rescue forces have worked tirelessly to locate survivors. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam delivers 3 tonnes of aid supplies to Myanmar earthquake victims

The aid package includes antibiotics, digestive medications, cold and flu remedies, and basic healthcare equipment like blood pressure monitors, blood glucose metres, bandages, and disinfectants. The supplies also feature mosquito spray pumps and insecticides to prevent disease outbreaks in affected areas.