VIETNAM: 2005 ANNUAL TERRORISM REPORT

UNCLAS HANOI 003127 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR S/CT AND EAP/MLS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER VM CTERR SUBJECT: VIETNAM: 2005 ANNUAL TERRORISM REPORT REF: A. SECSTATE 193439 B. Hanoi 3099 ¶1. (SBU) Vietnam's low-threat terrorist situation did not change in 2005. Vietnam has a small Muslim population with no known affiliations with international terrorist organizations. There is no evidence that terrorists operate in or transit Vietnam, or that they use Vietnam for other support services such as financing. The Government of Vietnam (GVN) is concerned about what it calls a terrorist threat from ethnic Vietnamese exiles in France and the United States, but it has not provided evidence of this. Neither the United States nor the French Government defines these dissident political activities by these overseas groups opposed to the GVN as terrorism. During 2005, there were no known acts of domestic terrorism or prosecutions for acts of terrorism in Vietnam. There were no known judicial actions in Vietnam during 2005 related to acts of international terrorism. ¶2. (SBU) Vietnam is a party to eight out of twelve of the UN conventions on counterterrorism. The Japanese Government and the UN Office of Drugs and Crime are working with Vietnam to develop the conditions for Vietnam to accede to the remaining four conventions, according to UNODC and Japanese representatives in Hanoi. Vietnam cooperates on counterterrorism initiatives in international forums, in particular in ASEAN-related events. Senior GVN officials invariably express formal GVN opposition to international terrorist incidents, and the GVN has not publicly supported a terrorist-supporting country on a terrorist-specific issue. The GVN does not support international terrorism, terrorists or terrorist groups. ¶3. (SBU) Vietnam has never been included in the Patterns of Global Terrorism report. No major developments have occurred in 2005 to recommend inclusion this year. ¶4. (U) Ref B describes the results of Post's recent Counterterrorism Action Group meeting. The meeting focused on ways that international donor assistance to Vietnamese law enforcement can have a secondary impact by improving Vietnam's ability to secure its borders against entry by terrorists. This year's CTAG meeting was notable in that the GVN sent a Senior Colonel from the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security to brief the CTAG Ambassadors on Vietnam's CT efforts and infrastructure, an indication that Vietnam appreciates and is reacting to international concern on terrorism. MARINE