Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05HANOI268
2005-02-01 09:32:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Hanoi
Cable title:  

The Ambassador's January 31 Call on Deputy Prime

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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 HANOI 000268 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV and EB/TPP/BTA/ANA
PACOM FOR FPA
STATE PASS USTR ELBRAYN AND GHICKS
USDOC FOR 4431/MAC/AP/OPB/VLC/HPPHO

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KIRF PREF PINR ECON ETRD EINV VM ETMIN HUMANR WTO RELFREE HIV AIDS
SUBJECT: The Ambassador's January 31 Call on Deputy Prime
Minister Nguyen Tan Dzung

Ref: A) Hanoi 156; B) Hanoi 254 and previous

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 HANOI 000268

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV and EB/TPP/BTA/ANA
PACOM FOR FPA
STATE PASS USTR ELBRAYN AND GHICKS
USDOC FOR 4431/MAC/AP/OPB/VLC/HPPHO

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KIRF PREF PINR ECON ETRD EINV VM ETMIN HUMANR WTO RELFREE HIV AIDS
SUBJECT: The Ambassador's January 31 Call on Deputy Prime
Minister Nguyen Tan Dzung

Ref: A) Hanoi 156; B) Hanoi 254 and previous


1. (SBU) Summary and Comment: The Ambassador met for 75
minutes January 31 with Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan
Dzung. Describing his satisfaction with the bilateral
relationship's progress over the past ten years, DPM Dzung
said his Government is willing to have a dialogue with the
United States on any issue of mutual interest, called on the
United States to reverse its Country of Particular Concern
(CPC) designation for religious freedom violations and
expressed the GVN's hope to reach a bilateral WTO deal by
the time Vietnam's Prime Minister visits the United States
(in June 2005, according to the GVN request in Ref A.)


2. (SBU) Summary and Comment, cont'd: Responding to the
Ambassador's calls for progress in a number of commercial
projects, DPM Dzung said that Vietnam would like to close
deals on the Boeing 7E7s and Vinasat (Lockheed-Martin),but
that the commercial agreements have to be "mutually
beneficial." On Tricore, Dzung said that the GVN's position
is that Tricore had agreed to pay for the project design in
the event that it was rejected, and, because the GVN decided
that the design was not feasible, Tricore was responsible
for the costs. On U.S. MIA recovery teams' access to the
Central Highlands, DPM Dzung stated in familiar terms the
GVN's commitment to cooperating with the United States. On
facilitating passport issuance to Visas-93 (Montagnard
follow-to-join) families, DPM Dzung asked the Ambassador to
work with MFA on this issue. DPM Dzung had no response to

the Ambassador's request for his assistance in advancing
counternarcotics operational cooperation. During his
meeting with the Ambassador, DPM Dzung was in command of his
brief and comfortable discussing a wide-range of issues.
Currently the senior of three Deputy Prime Ministers, Dzung
is regarded as a possible successor to Prime Minister Phan
Van Khai. End Summary.


3. (SBU) The Ambassador, accompanied by Pol/C, made his
introductory call January 31 on Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen
Tan Dzung. Assistant Foreign Minister Nguyen Duc Hung,
Americas Department Deputy Director General Pham Van Que and
Americas Department officer Le Chi Dzung were also present.
The Ambassador opened the 75-minute meeting by remarking on
the considerable strides the U.S.-Vietnam relationship has
made over the past ten years, which has led to new
cooperation on HIV/AIDS prevention and care, expanded
educational exchanges through the Fulbright Program and the
Vietnam Education Foundation, and cooperative work on avian
influenza. There has also been some progress in building
the bilateral military-to-military relationship. However,
much work remains to be done in this and other areas.


4. (SBU) The U.S.-Vietnam trade and economic relationship is
the foundation of the overall bilateral relationship, but we
need to continue to strengthen this foundation, the
Ambassador continued. Both sides are working hard to reach
a bilateral WTO accession agreement, but we are concerned
that the necessary WTO legislation will not make it through
Vietnam's National Assembly by the end of the year. In
addition, the United States and Vietnam can further
strengthen their economic ties through cooperation in the
areas of transparency and anti-corruption. As the
Ambassador told Minister of Home Affairs Trung on January 28
(septel),anti-corruption and good governance are fields in
which the United States can help Vietnam. Furthermore, the
United States hopes that, in the wake of the initiation of
United Airlines' service to Vietnam, Vietnam Airlines will
also begin service to the United States, but, to do this,
Vietnam's civil aviation authority needs to make changes to
raise Vietnam up to ICAO standards. The United States can
also help with this, the Ambassador said.


5. (SBU) Outside trade and economics, human rights and
religious freedom are issues of great importance to the
American people, and the United States and Vietnam will have
to face our differences squarely. We were very pleased with
the recent Tet Amnesty, which included a number of persons
of concern (Ref B),the Ambassador said.


6. (SBU) DPM Dzung responded that the Party, State and
people of Vietnam want to see further growth in the
relationship with the United States in all areas, such as
trade and economics, science and technology, health,
education and defense. Well-rounded U.S.-Vietnam ties will
serve the interests of peace and development both regionally
and globally. In short, Vietnam "always wants" to build
stable, long-term and mutually beneficial relations with the
United States, DPM Dzung averred.


7. (SBU) For these reasons, Vietnam is "very glad" that the
bilateral relationship has grown as well as it has in so
many different fields. On the occasion of this year's
commemoration of ten years of normalization, DPM Dzung
expressed his hope that both countries will take stock of
how far they have come over the past decade, commit to
building further on existing building blocks and endeavor to
remove obstacles to advancing relations. Both sides must
work hard to make this year's "celebrations" a success. "As
scheduled," Prime Minister Phan Van Khai will visit the
United States in June, and this visit will send a message to
the peoples of both countries about how much we value the
relationship and how successfully we have "overcome the sad
interlude that perhaps did not have to happen," DPM Dzung
opined. To make the visit a success, both sides will have
to work closely together, and DPM Dzung expressed his hope
that both sides can prepare carefully and well. To that
end, the February 3-5 visit to Vietnam of NSC Senior
Director for Asia Michael Green is a good thing.


8. (SBU) With regard to the issues of human rights and
religious freedom, Vietnam has experienced "so much pain and
many losses" during wartime, and Vietnam's leadership
"always wants to bring happiness, freedom and democracy to
our people," DPM Dzung said. Vietnam and other countries
have different views about human rights and religious
freedom, which is understandable considering cultural and
historic differences. DPM Dzung agreed with the
Ambassador's earlier remark that the United States and
Vietnam have to address these issues (and all others) on the
basis of mutual respect and dialogue. To foster mutual
understanding, Vietnam is "willing to conduct a dialogue"
with the United States and others on "issues of mutual
interest," such as human rights and religious freedom.
However, Vietnam hopes that the United States and others
will "remain calm in responding to any possibly distorted
information" that could be harmful to our interests, DPM
Dzung said.


9. (SBU) In spite of progress in bilateral relations,
Vietnam is "unsatisfied" with its designation as a Country
of Particular Concern (CPC) for religious freedom
violations. Vietnam also is not pleased with the recent
passage in the U.S. House of Representatives of the Vietnam
Human Rights Act. These actions are not in the interests of
the bilateral relationship. For the sake of long-term
stability, Vietnam hopes that the United States will take
action to "reverse these moves," Dzung said.


10. (SBU) To make this year's anniversary "useful," the
United States and Vietnam will have to achieve significant
results in their WTO negotiations. Vietnam is well aware of
the support of U.S. leaders in this regard and hopes the
same is true for those at the working level. To accede to
the WTO by the end of 2005, Vietnam hopes to complete its
WTO negotiations with the United States "before the Prime
Minister's visit to Washington," the Deputy Prime Minister
concluded.


11. (SBU) In response, the Ambassador expressed optimism
that both sides will continue to work very hard to advance
relations. On the issue of a dialogue on human rights and
religious freedom, the key is not just dialogue for
dialogue's sake, but a dialogue that leads to concrete
progress. This is what the United States has been seeking.
We fully recognize that Vietnam must operate within its
legal system and in the context of its socio-economic
position, but we also believe that Vietnam can do more to
advance human rights. The Vietnam Human Rights Act passed
by the House reflects the concern of Members and their
constituents, the American people. On the question of
reversing the CPC designation, this is an issue that the
Ambassador will raise in broad terms with VFM Le Van Bang on
February 1 (septel),leaving a more detailed presentation to
NSC Senior Director Green during his February 4 talks in
Hanoi, the Ambassador said.

12. (SBU) Reaching a bilateral WTO agreement in time for the
Prime Minister's visit will require hard work, the
Ambassador continued. To set the stage for a successful PM
visit and positive outcomes for both the WTO talks and the
Congressional permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) vote,
it would be useful to see progress in a number of major
commercial deals, such as the Boeing 7E7, Vinasat and the
Ministry of Finance's TABMIS project. Additionally, there
are concerns about the GVN's failure to deal with the
Tricore issue, which we have raised before. The two sides
need to work together to resolve this, and the Ambassador
will raise this matter with the Minister of Transportation
February 1 (septel). Progress on issues related to tariffs
and the special consumption tax on automobiles, in addition
to licenses for American insurance companies, will also help
to set the stage for the PM's visit and the other tasks
ahead of us, the Ambassador stressed.


13. (SBU) Turning to the issue of fullest possible
accounting for U.S. missing personnel, the Ambassador asked
for the Deputy Prime Minister's assistance in facilitating
U.S. investigation and recovery teams' access to the Central
Highlands provinces of Kon Tum, Dak Lak, Gia Lai and Dak
Nong. It appears that the reluctance of local officials in
these areas is the obstacle to U.S. MIA teams' access.
(Note: At this point, in an aside to DPM Dzung, AFM Hung
said in Vietnamese that when DASD Jennings visited the
Central Highlands, he also raised this request to provincial
officials. AFM Hung told DPM Dzung that there is perhaps no
problem in agreeing with this request, adding that the GVN
agrees in principle. However, the GVN needs to collect more
information before proceeding. End Note.) Additionally,
the United States hopes for progress in signing a contract
to allow a medevac helicopter to be available for injured
personnel involved in the MIA field operations, both U.S.
and Vietnamese, the Ambassador said.


14. (SBU) Another issue requiring our attention is U.S.-
Vietnam counternarcotics cooperation, the Ambassador
continued. Although the bilateral counternarcotics
agreement has yielded progress in a number of areas
involving training and capacity building, we have yet to see
any operational cooperation. It seems that Vietnamese
security personnel are not willing to work with the United
States on this important issue. However, the United States
and Vietnam need to work together to put a halt to drug
money flowing between the two countries and to stop drugs
that transit Vietnam on their way to the United States,
Canada and elsewhere. The Ambassador expressed his hope
that the Deputy Prime Minister could encourage Vietnam's
security services to cooperate with the United States.


15. (SBU) Finally, the Ambassador sought DPM Dzung's
assistance in facilitating the issuance of passports to
Montagnard families who are attempting to travel to the
United States on the Visas-93 program to join their family
members already there. Some families, particularly in Dak
Lak Province, have not been able to apply for passports, and
this could become a problem bilaterally if it generates
publicity in the United States, the Ambassador noted.


16. (SBU) Responding to the Ambassador's points on pending
commercial projects, DPM Dzung said that any and all
commercial deals have be concluded on the basis of
Vietnamese law and "mutual benefit" to both sides. On the
Boeing 7E7, Vietnam "wants to conclude a deal," but the
terms of the contract are still "not beneficial" to Vietnam
and require further negotiation. Furthermore, Vietnam wants
to be able to acquire a Lockheed-Martin satellite for
Vinasat, but, again, the conditions must be beneficial to
both sides both in terms of price and technical conditions.
This is something that DPM Dzung had told the president of
Lockheed-Martin. Vietnam knows that Lockheed-Martin's
technology is state of the art, but if the price is too high
and the "orbit is not reasonable," then it will not be
beneficial to Vietnam.


17. (SBU) On Tricore, DPM Dzung said that Tricore agreed
with the Ministry of Transportation that Tricore would bear
the expenses for the project design if the project were not
approved. After the project was designed and submitted, the
GVN decided it was not feasible because it required too much
land allocation and called for toll collection that would
"last too long." Vietnam wants U.S. investment because of
American technology and commercial experience, but the terms
must be mutually beneficial.


18. (SBU) Turning to the question of access to the Central
Highlands for MIA recovery activities, DPM Dzung said that
Vietnam's policy regarding this humanitarian issue has been
consistent and that the GVN will continue to do everything
it can to "bring the remains of U.S. soldiers back to their
homeland." AFM Hung said that DASD Jennings had secured an
agreement with provincial officials to more forward with
activities in the Central Highlands. The Ambassador
rejoined that, during recent discussions on this year's work
plan, we heard that work in the Central Highlands would not
be possible. DPM Dzung said that the main issue is that the
GVN will do whatever it can to facilitate this humanitarian
endeavor and that the two sides' respective MIA offices
should remain in close contact.


19. (SBU) On the issue of passports for Visas-93 cases, DPM
Dzung asked that the Ambassador work with the MFA on this.
On the broader Montagnard issue, the GVN has ongoing
concerns about separatist elements within the Montagnard
community, and this separatist movement has dated back to
the days of the Vietnam War when the United States supported
the southern regime's efforts to quell FULRO's attempts to
establish Montagnard self-rule. After reunification,
Vietnam's consistent policy has been not to allow self-rule.
FULRO has since disbanded and fled to Cambodia and the
United States, where, under the guise of the Montagnard
Foundation, it continues its efforts to form a Montagnard
state. DPM Dzung urged the USG not to support the
activities or goals of groups such as the Montagnard
Foundation.


20. (SBU) The United States fully supports the territorial
integrity of Vietnam and does not support the efforts of
separatist movements, the Ambassador responded. The Visas-
93 issue is simply a humanitarian effort to reunite
families. DPM Dzung concluded that the GVN would work with
the USG on this matter.


21. (SBU) Comment and Bio Note: The senior of three Deputy
Prime Ministers, Dzung is responsible for anti-corruption
efforts and crime prevention, construction and industry,
posts and telecommunications, agriculture, transportation,
state-owned enterprise reform and other areas. In the
economic sphere he has been associated with several
difficult issues including Vietnam's auto development policy
and Tricore. During his meeting with the Ambassador, Dzung
was fully in command of his brief and comfortable discussing
a wide-range of topics. A native of southern Vietnam, Dzung
is ambitious and regarded to be a possible successor to
Prime Minister Phan Van Khai. During a recent discussion
with the Ambassador, Vice Foreign Minister Le Van Bang
indicated that DPM Dzung is an influential contender and
someone to watch. End Comment and Bio Note.

MARINE