The U.S. State Department’s recent award to a prominent imprisoned Vietnamese blogger was “inappropriate,” a Vietnamese government spokesman said on Thursday.
Blogger and environmental activist, Nguyen Quynh, also known by her pen name, Mother Mushroom, was one of 13 women honoured with the International Women of Courage Award on Wednesday by first lady Melania Trump.
Quynh, who was unable to attend the ceremony, has been imprisoned in Vietnam since Oct. 10, 2016, on charges of “conducting propaganda against the state”.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh defended her arrest at a press conference in Hanoi, adding that the award was “not beneficial” to bilateral relations.
“Vietnam thinks that the U.S. State Department awarding a person who is now in detention for legal violations in Vietnam is impartial, inappropriate and not beneficial for the development of the two countries,’’ Binh said.
Vietnam, which is ruled by a single party communist state, has been courting ties with the U.S. in recent years.
Reports say that Chinese maritime claims to most of the South China Sea, including areas claimed by Vietnam, and has worried Hanoi and Washington alike.
During a state visit to Vietnam in May 2016, then U.S. President Barack Obama opened the door to arms sales to Vietnam when he announced the end to the last remaining sanctions on weapons.
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