VIRGINIA FLAG: UPPING THE ANTE

UNCLAS HANOI 000288 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL VM SUBJECT: VIRGINIA FLAG: UPPING THE ANTE REF: SWANSON/JESS FAX 1/30 ¶1. (U) Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Dinh Bin has called the Ambassador to a meeting as soon as possible after the latter's return to Hanoi February 8 to deliver a "strong protest" about the proposed Bill No. 2829 in the Virginia House of Delegates regarding the Vietnamese flag. (The bill calls for the flying of the old South Vietnamese flag in public instead of the current Socialist Republic of Vietnam flag.) Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien has already written to the Secretary about this issue (ref),and National Assembly Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Vu Mao separately wrote the Speaker of the Virginia House and the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. The MFA noted that FM Nien still awaits a response from the Secretary. Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan is apparently also seized with this issue, according to one MFA source. ¶2. (U) In a meeting with Charge on February 6, Assistant Foreign Minister Nguyen Duc Hung made an emotional plea against the possible passage of this legislation, noting the serious consequences for the bilateral relationship and the top level attention this issue has already received within the MFA. He was not comforted by Charge's explanation about State's proactive efforts to weigh in with the House of Delegates nor by a discussion of the Federal and constitutional issues involved. ¶3. (SBU) Comment: This controversy is another example of the GVN's ability to go overboard on what should be seen here as an exercise in local democracy in the U.S. Unfortunately, the GVN is apparently ill-served by its Embassy in Washington and by its Americas experts at the MFA. They seem unable to explain the U.S. system to their superiors or to convince them when and how to weigh in -- or not -- with the U.S. Federal Government. At a time when we increasingly thought that both sides had moved beyond judging the relationship on a single-issue basis, this is an unhappy development. Clearly, passage of this bill would be unfortunate, and we remain hopeful that the Virginia legislators will listen to State's counsel. Clearly also, should this bill become legislation, our work here will be complicated by senior-level GVN resentment and suspicion. DPM Khoan's involvement in this issue may also indicate that the real opposition comes from within the Communist Party hierarchy, given his concurrent role as secretary of the CPV Secretariat. SIPDIS PORTER