Details have been acquired of an internal Vietnamese government training manual, which outlines a plan "to resolutely subdue the abnormally rapid and spontaneous development of the Protestant religion" among ethnic minorities in the northwest highlands, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has reported.

The manual, entitled 'Training Document: Concerning the Task of the Protestant Religion in the Northern Mountainous Region', appears to have been issued by a government department, the Central Bureau of Religious Affairs, in revelations that are sure to shock religious organisations operating in the region.

The news has been even more shocking as the document emerges at a time when Vietnam was widely expected to be taken off the US blacklist of 'Countries of Particular Concern' for religious freedom violations.

Vietnam is also preparing to host the 2006 Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) summit, which US President George W Bush will be attending, and is expecting the establishment of Permanent Normal Trade Relations with the US by a forthcoming vote in Congress, in a move which will expedite her long-coveted entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO).