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South China Sea. In addition to holding joint naval exercises and launching <br />other bilateral programs, the United States negotiated a controversial <br />agreement on nuclear energy that would allow it to provide Vietnam with <br />nuclear fuel and technology without the normal nonproliferation constraints. <br />Political Rights and Civil Liberties: <br />Vietnam is not an electoral democracy.The CPV, the sole legal political party, <br />controls politics and the government, and its Central Committee is the top <br />decision - making body. The National Assembly, whose 500 members are <br />elected to five -year terms, generally follows CPV dictates. The Vietnam <br />Fatherland Front, an arm of the CPV, vets all candidates. The president, <br />elected by the National Assembly for a five -year term, appoints the prime <br />minister, who is confirmed by the legislature. <br />Corruption and abuse of office are serious problems. Although senior CPV <br />and government officials have acknowledged growing public discontent, they <br />have mainly responded with a few high - profile prosecutions of corrupt <br />officials and private individuals rather than comprehensive reforms. Major <br />government decisions are made with little transparency, and revelations of <br />contracts with Chinese state -owned companies have generated considerable <br />controversy. In 2009 and 2010, 98- year -old Vo Nguyen Giap, the famed <br />commander of Vietnamese forces during the wars of independence and <br />unification, led public criticism of a government deal to allow a Chinese <br />company to open a huge bauxite - mining operation in the Central Highlands, <br />which opponents said would displace indigenous residents, cause <br />environmental damage, and threaten national security. <br />The government tightly controls the media, silencing critics through the <br />courts and other means of harassment. A 1999 law requires journalists to <br />pay damages to groups or individuals found to have been harmed by press <br />articles, even if the reports are accurate. A 2006 decree imposes fines on <br />3 <br />