Huge candy

The Hanoitimes – Tet provides an excellent opportunity for visitors to sample some of Vietnam’s more exotic culinary creations.

A long, narrow country, stretching for more than 2000 kilometers from north to south and compassing a vast range of social and cultural groups, Vietnam is home to a stunning variety of cuisines.

One of most treasured Hanoian specialties- candied lotus seed or Mut sen. These Hanoian’s jams for Tet are prapared by Pham Mai Anh.

A recently published cookbook has listed some 555 Vietnamese dishes, although experts say this may represent just one-tenth of the recipes on the nation’s menu. Vietnamese gastronomy is highly localized, with its distinct styles centered in different regions and vast differences in tastes and style to be experienced as the visitor travels throughout the country.

Although each region’s particular cuisine has its own claim to fame, Hanoian cooking has long been considered one of the nation’s oldest and purist culinary styles.

Tet or Vietnamese Lunar New Year festival is a wonderful time to experience some of the most treasured Hanoian specialties and there is one particular taste-treat that many find beyond compare – the delicate flavour of the candied lotus seed or Mut sen, a special dessert considered to have both practical and spiritual benefits.

Mut sen is said to have both practical and spiritual benefits. Photo: Mai Anh.

Candied lotus is made only with carefully selected pink lotus seeds. Although the pink lotus is grown all over Vietnam, not all produce top-quality seeds. It is the round seeds of the flower grown in Hanoi and northern provinces of Ha Nam, Hai Duong, Hung Yen and Ninh Binh, which are preferred for the production of this specialty.

It can be difficult for the consumer to distinguish lotus candy made from selected northern seeds from lower quality products simply through packaging, and ultimately a taste test is the only way to differentiate between a specialty candy and a common sweet.

Northern Mut Sen should be delicately scented, with unmistakable crumbly texture that distinguishes it from lesser rivals.

There are two types of lotus seed candy- plain and sugar-coasted. The plain variety (with the sugar soaked into the seed itself) is more highly valued than the coated type and will cost the connoisseur two or three times as much.

One of the best Mut sen is on sale in Hang Dieu street of Hanoi’s Old Quarter area. Photo: Minh Tung.

Traditionally, the best place to buy candied lotus seed is in Hanoi’s Hang Dieu street. The candy is thought to bring a swag of benefits to those who eat it, including longer life expectancy, improved and controlled temper, as well as helping to build-up life-sustaining elements and calming the troubled mind.

It is no wonder then that the sweet is highly regarded among Vietnamese and is even used as a precious votive offering.

Although in the modern, obesity – conscious world, sugary treats may have lost some of their popularity, there’s no denying the satisfaction of trying this Tet specialty alongside a cup of traditional-style lotus tea around a table in the company of good friends.

Try it for the sake of tradition- although be warned, one may not be enough.

The candied ginger made in Kim Long ward, Hue city, in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, stands out for its authenticity and absence of additives.

My Chanh ginger jam makes Tet warm

Ginger jam, a speciality of My Chanh craft village in central Quang Tri Province, is a popular Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday treat and its popularity has helped improve the lives of local residents.

Man City survive huge FA Cup scare, Arsenal crash out (photo: youtube/ FPT Bong Da)

Six-time winners City were minutes away from exiting at the fourth-round stage before goals from Phil Foden, Gabriel Jesus and Ferran Torres broke the hearts of the brave League Two side.

City boss Pep Guardiola made 10 changes for the trip to the southwest of England but his side was still packed with internationals.

The home team — 72 places below City in the football pyramid — produced a stirring defensive display but also sporadically threatened at the other end of the pitch.

Jesus hit the post shortly after the restart as City upped the tempo following a goalless first half but it was the home team who broke the deadlock.

The visitors failed to deal with the outstanding Ben Tozer’s long throw and Alfie May fired in from close range just before the hour mark.

Guardiola threw on Ilkay Gundogan and Joao Cancelo in a desperate bid to find a way back into the game and was rewarded in the 81st minute when Foden volleyed in Cancelo’s cross.

Three minutes later Jesus made amends for his earlier miss and Torres made it 3-1 with the final kick of the game, turning in Gundogan’s low cross.

“We came here with humility and had the quality to make the difference,” said Guardiola.

“They used their quality in the box, they are taller and better than us there and we showed clips on how to solve it. It is difficult to control that.”

The Catalan had warm words for Foden, who is the club’s top-scorer in all competitions this season.

“Phil Foden is in a great moment and with great confidence,” he added. “He is clinical in front of goal.”

Cheltenham boss Michael Duff said he was “super proud” of his players, bemoaning the fact the match had to be played behind closed doors because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s a shame because (with fans) the place would’ve been bouncing,” he said. “Would that have seen us through in the last 10 minutes? I’m not so sure — but the key is to enjoy it.”

– Arsenal out –

Earlier, Arsenal, who have won the competition a record 14 times, went down 1-0 at Southampton courtesy of a Gabriel own goal.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta made seven changes from his team’s 3-0 league win against Newcastle on Monday, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and midfielder Emile Smith Rowe both absent.

Southampton, FA Cup winners in 1976, earned a well-deserved lead in the 24th minute when Kyle Walker-Peters’ ball across the six-yard area was inadvertently turned in by Gabriel.

The visitors went close to an equaliser through Eddie Nketiah’s deflected shot but were forced to leave empty-handed.

“We had a dream to do it again like last year (win the FA Cup) and the dream today is over,” said Arteta.

“I am as well disappointed with the way we conceded the goal in an area where we know we shouldn’t be doing that. At the same time I cannot fault the effort of the players.”

West Ham, who will face either Manchester or Liverpool in the next round, crushed third-tier Doncaster 4-0 despite multiple changes from manager David Moyes while fellow Premier League sides Brighton and Sheffield United also progressed.

Pablo Fornals gave impressive West Ham an early lead at home to Doncaster as they dominated the League One side from the kick-off.

Andriy Yarmolenko doubled the lead before a second-half own goal from Andy Butler and a late strike from debutant Oladapo Afolayan.

Goals from Yves Bissouma and Steven Alzate were enough to seal a 2-1 win for Brighton against League One Blackpool.

Chris Basham and Billy Sharp scored for Premier League strugglers Sheffield United against League One opponents Plymouth.

Elsewhere, Swansea thumped fellow Championship side Nottingham Forest 5-1, while Bristol City beat Millwall 3-0. Barnsley beat Championship leaders Norwich 1-0.

On Sunday, Premier League leaders Manchester United face Liverpool in the tie of the round, while Chelsea host Luton.

The Hanoitimes – Notes verbales, unsigned formal diplomatic communication, would largely ruin China’s legal position.

The importance of Malaysia’s notes verbales, and those filed by other states, to the United Nations to protest China’s maritime claims in the South China Sea is that they challenge the legal basis of China’s claims on the basis of an Arbitral Tribunal Award established under UNCLOS Annex VII.

If the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) ruled in favour of Malaysia, this would be a huge blow to China’s legal position not to say China’s prestige, Emeritus professor Carl Thayer, a veteran Southeast Asia regional expert, told Hanoitimes in an interview.

Claimants in South China Sea where more than US$5 trillion in cargo passes through per year. Source: Visiontimes

What does a note verbale mean?

Prof. Carl Thayer at the University of New South Wales, Canberra said a note verbale is an unsigned formal diplomatic communication. It is how states communicate with each other and with international institutions such as the CLCS. Each institution has its own rules of procedure on how states should communicate their views and how the institution, in this case the CLCS will handle these claims.

The professor went on to say that in the case of the CLCS, a note verbale sets out a state’s official legal position on claims for an extended continental shelf. If a state fails to respond to a claim, this could be taken as evidence that the state acquiesced. In other words, China must submit a counter claim to demonstrate that the issue in question is in dispute. Under the CLCS’ Rules of Procedure, the Commission cannot proceed if there is a dispute between two or more states.

Role of Malaysia in protesting chorus

Malaysian-contracted drillship West Capella in the South China Sea. Photo: Marinetraffic/Manuel Hernandez

Regarding Malaysia’s July 29, 2020 note verbale to the CLCS, the expert said it is a follow-up to its original partial submission to the CLCS and a Chinese counter-submission, both issued on December 12, 2019.

In December 2019, Malaysia made a submission for an extended continental shelf in the northern part of the South China Sea. This claim was “without prejudice to the question of delimitation of the continental shelf between States with opposite or adjacent coasts…” In other words, Malaysia left the door open to negotiations with its Southeast Asian neighbors in cases where their claims to an extended continental shelf overlapped.

Malaysia’s claim for an extended continental shelf was based on the 2016 Award of the Arbitral Tribunal in the case the Philippines versus China. The Tribunal found that China’s claim to “historic rights” had been superseded by the UNCLOS and that China’s nine-dash line has no basis in international law.

China filed a counter-protest to Malaysia December 2019 note verbale. According to the CLCS Rules of Procedure, Annex 5(a), “In cases where a land or maritime dispute exists, the Commission shall not consider and qualify a submission made by any of the States concerned in the dispute…”

The professor noted “The purpose of Malaysia’s most recent note verbale was to forestall the CLCS from invoking Annex 5(a) and declining to hear Malaysia’s case.” Malaysia’s argued that “China’s claims to the maritime features in the South China Sea has no basis under international law.”

Campaign of “lawfare” waging on

Prof. Thayer has specified the response of related parties and show how the chorus against China’s South China Sea claims means.

He said a general proposition in international law is that international courts and arbitral tribunals will look at state practice following a ruling by an arbitral tribunal to decide on disputes brought before them. The decision by President Duterte of the Philippines to set aside the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal Award and the silence by claimant states undermined international law and left the door open for China to argue its case on the basis of “historic rights”.

“ Malaysia ’s December 2019 submission to the CLCS broke this legal logjam because it was the first of several submissions by other countries rejecting the legal basis of China’s claims,” the professor said, noting that “it also set in motion a legal tit for tat as China responded to each and every submission.”

Philippines ruled favor of in 2016 in Scarborough Shoal in lawsuit with China. Photo: Rappler

The Philippines was the first country to follow Malaysia’s lead. It submitted two notes verbales on March 6, 2020. The first submission supported the 2016 Award of the Arbitral Tribunal and argued that “China’s positions are inconsistent with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea…” The second submission by the Philippines dealt with an overlap of continental shelves with Malaysia.

Vietnam submitted three notes verbales. The first note verbale (March 30, 2020) asserted that China’s claims “seriously violate Vietnam’s sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the East Sea (international known as the South China Sea). Vietnam argued that China’s claims in the East Sea exceeded “the limits provided in UNCLOS, including claiming historic rights; these claims are without lawful effect.”

Vietnam’s second notes verbale, dated April 10, 2020, was in response to Malaysia and raised matters relating to the delimitation of continental shelves. Once again Vietnam affirmed it claims to sovereignty and sovereign rights over the Paracel and Spratly islands. Vietnam repeated its claims to sovereignty and sovereign rights over the Paracel and Spratly islands in its third note verbale, also dated April 10, 2020, in response to the Philippines.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo at Selat Lampa Port, Natuna Islands, Indonesia on Jan 8, 2020. Photo: AP

Indonesia was the fourth country to file a note verbale with the CLCS on May 26, 2020. Indonesia made three assertions: (1) it was not a party to territorial disputes in the South China Sea, (2) Indonesia’s maritime entitlements were confirmed by the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal Award, and (3) China’s “Nine-Dash line, implying historic rights, claim clearly lacks international legal basis and is tantamount to upset UNCLOS 1982.”

The American aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan on exercises in the South China Sea. Photo: EPA

The United States was the fifth country to submit a note verbale to the CLCS on June 1, 2020. The US reiterated its previous objections to China’s maritime claims and endorsed the Arbitral Tribunal’s dismissal of China’s claims to “historic rights” as incompatible with UNCLOS. The US further objected to China’s grouping widely dispersed features as a unit in order to claim that the waters enclosed by straight baselines were internal and that the unit could claim maritime entitlements.

The crew of the Royal Australian Navy Anzac class frigate HMAS Perth. Photo: Australian Defense Force

Australia was the sixth country to submit a note verbale to the CLCS. Australia provided the most detailed rejection of China’s claims. For example, Australia rejected any Chinese “maritime claims that do not adhere to its [UNCLOS] rules on baselines, maritime zones and classification of features. Australia also rejected to “China’s claims to ‘historic rights’ or ‘maritime rights and interests’ as established in the ‘long course of historical practice’ in the South China Sea.”

Like the United States, Australia declared it was illegal to draw “straight baselines connecting the outermost points of maritime features or ‘island groups’ in the South China Sea…,” claim internal waters inside these straight baselines, or claim maritime zones from submerged features.

Australia was the first country to mention the Paracel Islands. Australia stated it did not accept China’s argument that its sovereignty claims were “widely accepted by the international community” and cited protests by the Philippines and Vietnam to document its objections. Australia also expressed its strong concern over China’s claims to have “continuously and effectively” exercised sovereignty over low-tide elevations.

Finally, Australia disputed China’s claim that it was not bound by the Arbitral Tribunal Award.