Vung Ro is a small bay, located in Hoa Xuan Nam commune, Dong Hoa town, Phu Yen province, with a surface area of about 16.4 km². This is a valuable area in terms of national defence, security and marine economy.
The bay is surrounded by 03 high mountain ranges, namely: Ca Deo, Da Bia, Hon Ba located in the North, East and West, respectively. Hon Nua island, which is over 105m high, is in the south of the bay where a famous lighthouse can be seen. As being shielded by high mountains from all directions, Vung Ro is not prone to strong winds nor high tide. What’s more, deep water makes it easy for large tonnage ships in and out of the Bay without depending on tides. In the rainy and stormy season, this is an ideal and safe shelter place for hundreds of fishing boats of the South Central Coast. The bay is home to many small beaches, such as Lach beach, Mu U beach, Ngai beach, Chua beach, Chan Trau beach, ... with wild, peaceful and poetic beauty like a watercolour painting with white sandy beach and clear blue sea.
During the resistance war against the U.S. for national salvation, thanks to its special geographical position, Vung Ro was an important link of the Ho Chi Minh sea trail. From the bay, hundreds of tons of weapons were transported to the battlefields of Zone 5 and the Central Highlands, contributing to resounding victories. Currently, Vung Ro is recognised as a National Historical Relic. Vung Ro Pier Stele and Vung Ro Monument have been erected, becoming a "red address" for traditional education for generations, and a must-visit tourist attraction when coming to Phu Yen.
Promoting the position, role and special potential of Vung Ro, in recent years, the local Party Committee, government and people, with the all-round support of Phu Yen province and the central government, have made a lot of effort to make rapid changes to the bay. Thanks to favourable natural conditions with a clean and calm sea, the seafood industry has been strongly invested and developed, especially lobster farming (this is one of the places where fishermen acquire the secret of raising lobsters earliest in the South Central region), with high survival rate and quality. In addition, tourism is also one of the priorities for development in order to exploit its natural advantages of wild beauty and the idyllic life of a traditional fishing village. New roads have been built, gradually forming a synchronous infrastructure system, connecting Vung Ro with the South Phu Yen Economic Zone, the South Central provinces and the Central Highlands. In particular, Vung Ro Port is being upgraded to become a busy seaport, an international gateway to the East Sea, an important traffic hub, promoting socio-economic development of Phu Yen and the South Central region.
As part of the socio-economic development master plan of Phu Yen province, in the coming time, Vung Ro will focus on developing in the direction of opening up and integrating with appropriate steps, ensuring harmony between conservation of natural marine values and sustainable development, on the basis of maximising advantages in terms of natural conditions, geographical location, cultural identity, diversity of ecosystems and regional linkages. That has created an important premise for this place to continue to grow stronger in the sea, get rich from the sea, contributing to constantly consolidating and strengthening the all-people defence posture associated with the people's security posture in the region.
CAO VUONG