Vietnam House elects Communist Party chief as Prez

Hanoi, Oct. 23: Vietnam's rubber stamp National Assembly elected Communist Party general secretary Nguyen Phu Trong as the country's president on Tuesday, consolidating his influence as the most powerful man in the Southeast Asian nation.

The 74- year- old Trong is the first Vietnamese leader to hold the two positions since founding President Ho Chi Minh in the 1960s.

He succeeds President Tran Dai Quang, who died last month after battling a viral illness for more than a year.

Raising one hand and placing the other on the constitution, Trong vowed during the swearingin ceremony to be “absolutely loyal to the nation, people and the constitution.”

He acknowledged in his acceptance speech that despite impressive achievements in recent years, Vietnam faces many challenges. “Many heavy tasks and duties are waiting ahead of us,” he said. Earlier this month, the party's Central Committee endorsed Trong as the sole candidate for the presidency. Nguyen Khac Giang, a researcher at the Vietnam Institute for Economic and Policy Research in Hanoi, said Trong's serving as general secretary and president could weaken the collective leadership, which was seen as being more democratic than China's single- party rule.

“When power is concentrated in an individual, there's a tendency which could be negative in a way that could lessen the collective leadership inside the party,” Giang said.

Vietnam does not have a single paramount leader, with the country run through the collective leadership of the general secretary, president, prime minister and National Assembly chair.

Giang said it's unclear whether the merger of general secretary and President will continue after Trong likely steps down at the next five- year party congress, scheduled for 2021. He was elected to the Politburo in 1997, serving as the Communist Party chief of Hanoi and chairman of the National Assembly before being promoted to general secretary in 2011. Taipei/ Washington, Oct. 23: The United States sent two warships through the Taiwan Strait on Monday in the second such operation this year, as the U. S. military increases the frequency of transits through the strategic waterway despite opposition from China.

The voyage risks further heightening tensions with China but will likely be viewed in self- ruled Taiwan as a sign of support from President Donald Trump's government amid growing friction between Taipei and Beijing.

Reuters was first to report U. S. consideration of the sensitive operation on Saturday.

“The ships' transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the U. S. commitment to a free and open IndoPacific,” Commander Nate Christensen, deputy spokesman for US Pacific Fleet, said in a statement. “The US Navy will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows,” he added.

Taiwan's defense ministry said it closely monitored the operation and was able to “maintain the security of the seas and the airspace” as it occurred.

Beijing, which considers Taiwan a breakaway province of “one China”, had already expressed “serious concern” to the United States, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular briefing on Tuesday.

The 74- year- old Trong is the first Vietnamese leader to hold the two positions since founding President Ho Chi Minh in the 1960s He succeeds President Tran Dai Quang, who died last month after battling a viral illness for more than a year