Vietnam has expressed its opposition to the US House of Representatives’ resolution on freedom of internet in Vietnam, saying that information in the resolution was biased and untrue.

“Adoption of a resolution on an issue of Vietnam’s internal affairs by the US House of Representatives is neither in line with the practice on relationship between countries nor with the developing relations between Vietnam and the US,” Vietnamese spokesperson Nguyen Phuong Nga told reporters in Hanoi on Oct. 22 in response to queries about Vietnam’s reaction to the US House of Representatives’ passing of Resolution H.RES.672 on Oct. 21.

The State of Vietnam always respects and ensures citizens’ fundamental freedoms, including the rights to freedom of the press and speech. In Vietnam , no one is arrested, detained or tried for expressing their views, she stressed.

The internet is given favourable conditions and has seen exponential growth in Vietnam in recent time. There are nearly 22 million internet users, which account for more than 25 percent of the country’s population, which is higher than the average level of 18.17 percent in Asia , she said.

The International Telecommunications Union acknowledged that Vietnam is among the top 10 nations with the world’s fastest internet development in the 2002-2007 period.

“ Vietnam ’s state management of electronic information ensures that the field operates in line with the law and develops in a healthy manner, contributing to the exchange of information, the enhancement of understanding, and to the stability and development of the society and the country,” Nga said.

Addressing another issue at the regular briefing, spokesperson Nga expressed Vietnam ’s deep concern over the news that the Indonesian House of Representatives on Sept. 30 revised the 2004 Law on Fisheries, which allows patrol ships to fire upon and sink illegal foreign fishing vessels in Indonesian waters.

She said that Indonesia should handle foreign fishermen who violate Indonesian territorial waters in a spirit of humanity, in accordance with international law, the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea, bilateral agreements, ASEAN solidarity and friendship between Indonesia and other countries, especially at a time when Indonesia and several other nations have not yet clearly demarcated their maritime borders./.