Explorers find world's largest cave in Vietnam.

Explorers have discovered a cave that is much larger than the world’s biggest known cave.

Son Dong cave is in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang grotto system in central Quang Binh Province.

The main vault of Son Dong is five kilometers in length, 200 meters high and 150 meters wide, said a member of the British Cave Research Association team that searched the area from April 10 to 14.

Meanwhile, the size of Deer Cave, the world’s current largest cave in Malaysia, is just two kilometers long, 100 meters high and 90 meters wide.

The exploration team said they traveled through the main vault and only a little way further, about 6.5 kilometers in total, as there was a large amount of fast-flowing water inside Son Dong.

The team is expected to officially report their discovery to the local government on April 23. They will then carry out a further exploration of the cave.

The Son Dong is below another cave in Phong Nha-Ke Bang and the entry of the cave is difficult to traverse.

It took the explorers six hours to walk the 10 kilometer forest path from Truong Son Highway to the mouth of Son Dong cave.

The cave was discovered by a local man named Khanh in 2008 but only since the British team’s exploration of the cave in April has it called the world’s largest.

Phong Nha-Ke Bang grotto system belongs to the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. It is a limestone region of 2,000 square kilometers in Vietnam which borders another limestone area in Hin Nammo in Laos.

Phong Nha-Ke Bang area has 300 caves and grottos, with a combined length of about 70 kilometers.

Only 20 have been surveyed by Vietnamese and British scientists.

Legislators favor lifting of housing limits for Viet Kieu

Many National Assembly deputies feel every Viet Kieu, or overseas Vietnamese citizen, has the right to own more than one home in Vietnam and deserve rights to their houses that equal that of local residents.

The debate continued Tuesday over draft amendments to the Housing Law and Land Law that could expand house ownership rights in Vietnam for overseas Vietnamese.

Several deputies said the right of overseas Vietnamese to buy houses should not be limited, so that an open environment for property trading is created and that there is equality between them and local residents.

“We suggest that the National Assembly (NA) considers allowing overseas Vietnamese to have the same rights as locals when it comes to buying houses,” said deputy Pham Xuan Thuong.

Thuong said the nation’s constitution and Citizenship Law states that every Vietnamese citizen living abroad but holding Vietnamese citizenship deserves the same rights and shares the same responsibilities as local residents.

Tran Thi Dung, meanwhile, said the expansion will contribute to improving the investment environment, and encourage Vietnamese expatriates to return home and serve the cause of nation building.

The current Housing Law, which took effect in 2006, allows only certain categories of Viet Kieu to own houses.

These include: individuals with permanent resident status in Vietnam; those doing long-term business in Vietnam; those recognized as contributing to national development; scientists and cultural experts wanting to conduct research in Vietnam for national development; or individuals who have resided in Vietnam for 6 months or more.

The draft amendment broadens the categories to allow any Viet Kieu with Vietnamese citizenship to buy houses here. It would also grant home ownership privileges to overseas Vietnamese currently working in Vietnam with special skills deemed necessary to meet domestic demand; those that currently have a Vietnamese visa exemption and permission to reside in Vietnam for 3 months or more; or those having a Vietnamese spouse currently living and owning a house here.

Ngo Duc Manh, vice chairman of the NA’s Committee for External Affairs, said many Vietnamese expatriates want to maintain strong links with their homeland and that allowing more Viet Kieu to buy houses in the country will facilitate their doing business in the homeland.

“If we recognize three million Vietnamese expatriates, especially those holding Vietnamese citizenship, as an integral part of our demography, we cannot discriminate against them,” said delegate Nguyen Ngoc Dao from Hanoi. “We have no right to limit anything, including the scope and number of beneficiaries, and house ownership rights.”

Some deputies also said the right of overseas Vietnamese to buy homes could create an open environment for property trading.

According to the draft amendments, overseas Vietnamese have the right to lease or authorize others to manage the house, and the land it stands on. However, they are not allowed to use the house as financial contribution or as a valued property in other deals.

Tran Du Lich proposed that Viet Kieu be granted the right to get compensation if the state revokes their land, while Tran Van Tan said Viet Kieu who own houses in Vietnam should be allowed to use the houses as collateral in deals under local laws.