VIETNAM: ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL'S CALL ON

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 000243 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS AND EB/TPP/BTA/ANA STATE PASS USTR FOR EBRYAN AND GHICKS USDOC FOR 4431/MAC/AP/OPB/VLC/HPPHO TREASURY FOR OASIA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD EINV WTRO PREL PGOV TBIO VM SUBJECT: VIETNAM: ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL'S CALL ON DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER VU KHOAN HANOI 00000243 001.2 OF 003 Sensitive but unclassified protect accordingly. ¶1. (SBU) Summary and Introduction: On January 13, Assistant Secretary Christopher R. Hill met with Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan. The Deputy Prime Minister laid out a roadmap of five steps to prepare for the visit of President Bush in November: work to close bilateral WTO market access negotiations in the first quarter, set up a political consultative mechanism to oversee preparations, review deliverables, expand humanitarian cooperation and settle outstanding issues such as the Country of Particular Concern (CPC) designation. Assistant Secretary Hill suggested that Vice Foreign Minister Le Van Bang direct the consultations, called for conclusion of the WTO talks, expressed the desire to discuss regional issues and noted that APEC issues would also need to be included. A/S Hill said he would return to Hanoi in the spring to continue preparations for the President's visit. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) EAP Assistant Secretary Christopher R. Hill, accompanied by Ambassador Marine, met with Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan on January 13. Vietnam's Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Ambassador Nguyen Duc Hung also attended. Expressing satisfaction with the development of bilateral relations, A/S Hill congratulated the DPM on Vietnam's economic achievements. The DPM concurred with A/S Hill's assessment that relations are going well, but pointed out that there is more to do. Remarking that Vietnam will host APEC in 2006, he said that he was pleased that President Bush would come to Vietnam. Prime Minister Phan Van Khai's visit to Washington last year had been a great success and a high mark in bilateral relations. It is therefore important to maintain this momentum in the run-up to the President's visit to ensure that relations will move to a higher level. ¶3. (SBU) Since the focus of the 2006 relationship would be preparations for President Bush's visit, Vu Khoan enumerated a roadmap of five concrete steps. Vietnam's top priority is concluding the bilateral WTO negotiations. Pleased that the U.S. team will come to Vietnam next week, DPM Khoan noted that these negotiations are not only important to Vietnam, but are in the best interest of promoting bilateral relations. For this reason Vietnam's team had been instructed to do its utmost to conclude the negotiations early. The two negotiating teams will hopefully bear in mind that Vietnam is ready to go further within the framework of current WTO rules, especially with respect to its level of development, but Vietnam hopes that the U.S. team will not seek to impose conditions from Free Trade Agreements or the unconcluded Doha Round. The DPM clarified that he does not intend to shirk any existing WTO rules, but to avoid future possible rules, he stressed. Completing the bilateral negotiations in the first quarter of this year would be very good. ¶4. (SBU) To prepare for the President's visit, the Deputy Prime Minister issued another call for the bilateral political consultations that the Prime Minister had proposed in June in Washington. Such consultations could take place in Hanoi or Washington at a level subject to agreement by both sides. The two countries would need to review which agreements could be concluded during the President's visit, such as the bilateral maritime agreement reached in principle in December 2005. On humanitarian issues, the DPM expressed satisfaction with bilateral cooperation on POW/MIA accounting and HIV-AIDS. Vietnam welcomes U.S. support on avian influenza and hopes for even more cooperation in this area. It is important to clear up any outstanding issues prior to the President's visit, such as Vietnam's designation as a Country of Particular Concern. Vietnam is prepared to discuss this matter in order to find a solution. While there are other issues, these are the ones needing attention HANOI 00000243 002.2 OF 003 before November, the DPM emphasized. Exchanges between legislators is another way to boost relations. People- to-people ties are also important. DPM Khoan expressed his desire to work closely with the Assistant Secretary and the Ambassador to prepare for President Bush's trip to Vietnam. Cooperation with the United States is necessary for the APEC Summit to be successful, he concluded. ¶5. (SBU) Observing that 2005 had been a very busy year, A/S Hill said that there is potential for a rich harvest in 2006, but there is much work to do. On WTO accession, the U.S. side would also be giving some clear instructions to the U.S. negotiating team. Success in the coming week is important and critical in the next few weeks because this is a Congressional election year. The bilateral WTO agreement will be of great importance to U.S. firms as well as to Vietnamese firms. Trade has risen dramatically since the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) took effect and investment is also rising. A/S Hill called on the DPM to help make the negotiations for the bilateral agreement move forward. He voiced support for the DPM's proposal for a systematic review of bilateral relations and suggested that MFA Vice Minister Le Van Bang head the GVN delegation. The review would need to cover bilateral issues, APEC issues and regional concerns. A/S Hill also praised Vietnam's rapid economic growth rate and its efforts on AI. Regional Issues -------------- ¶6. (SBU) DPM Khoan said that regional issues are of great importance. Some regional developments had not been seen in the previous century, such as the rise of China. Vietnam and its neighbors pay a lot of attention to their relations with China. New forums such as the East Asia Summit are emerging. Relations between China and Japan were also important. While both are Vietnam's friends, sometimes it is torn between them on issues such as UN Security Council enlargement. New developments in the region require new attitudes. Given such important changes, the U.S. role is key. More attention from the United States is important; otherwise, other players will fill the vacuum. ¶7. (SBU) A/S Hill pledged to pay greater attention to ASEAN and said that Secretary Rice will attend the next ASEAN Regional Forum in the Philippines. The United States wants to work with China and Japan, but not to compete with them. Relations with China are good, but the rising trade surplus is unsustainable. Laid-off U.S. workers tend to blame China for their job losses, even those resulting from exports from other countries. On the East Asia Summit, A/S Hill expressed the desire for the EAS to be open and transparent so that no one concludes it is meant to exclude other countries. He expressed concern about Burma, which he termed "in another world." On Cambodia, the United States is concerned about Hun Sen's recent decisions to arrest government critics. The many tough issues before us will require much hard work in 2006. Human Right and Religious Freedom, CPC -------------- ¶8. (SBU) A/S Hill pressed for the DPM to work to make the upcoming visit of DRL A/S Lowenkron successful following the model of the successful visit by Congressman Chris Smith. More progress on human rights and religious freedom is necessary. The United States wants to resolve these issues so as not to burden the bilateral relationship. ¶9. (SBU) The DPM noted that it had not been easy to allow (elderly dissident) Hoang Minh Chinh to go to the United States for medical treatment and expressed HANOI 00000243 003.2 OF 003 concern about Chinh's public criticism of Vietnam. This cannot be allowed, he said. He expressed willingness to have a dialogue about these issues, noting that Vietnam does not want them to become an obstacle to the larger relationship. A/S Hill responded that openness made Vietnam look stronger and more confident. ¶10. (SBU) A/S Hill said that he would be back in the spring to work on the preparations for the President's trip. The American people's impression of Vietnam is very positive, and this is good for investment as American firms take note of their customers' views. Vietnam's economy is a rising star, one in which U.S. firms want to participate. Concluding, the DPM said he is pleased that the United States will have a new embassy in Hanoi. ¶11. (U) Participants: United States -------------- Assistant Secretary Christopher R. Hill Ambassador Michael W. Marine EAP Special Assistant Kamala Lakhdhir Pol/C Marc Knapper Econ/C Sam Watson (notetaker) Vietnam -------------- Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan Assistant Foreign Minister Nguyen Duc Hung Americas Department Deputy Director Nguyen Anh Dzung U.S. Desk Officer Lai Thai Binh ¶12. (U) A/S Hill has cleared this message. BOARDMAN