EXBS VIETNAM: MEETINGS WITH BORDER SECURITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BANGKOK 006236 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR ISN/ECC KCROUCH, EAP/MLS BBLACKSHAW CBP/INA FOR RWATT DEPT OF ENERGY FOR NNSA TPERRY AMEMBASSY HANOI FOR PECKSTROM CONGEN HCMC FOR ADICKEY E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETTC KNNP KSTC MNUC PARM PREL VN SUBJECT: EXBS VIETNAM: MEETINGS WITH BORDER SECURITY OFFICIALS BANGKOK 00006236 001.2 OF 003 SUMMARY ¶1. (U) EXBS Advisor and local USG officials met with Vietnamese border security officials in Ho Chi Minh City and port, at Moc Bai border crossing with Cambodia, and at Border Guards headquarters in Hanoi, December 3-6, 2007. Vietnamese officials were uniformly anxious for cooperation and assistance. Vietnam faces a wide array of transnational threats, exacerbated by the country's burgeoning economic development and location along key trade routes. U.S. assistance can play a valuable role in complementing Australian, Japanese and European efforts. HO CHI MINH CITY AND PORT ¶2. (U) EXBS Advisor and CONGEN officers met with Customs and Border Guards officials in Ho Chi Minh City. The meeting was very cordial, with the Customs spokesperson expressing their pleasure with having the U.S. play a leading role in counterproliferation assistance. He explained that Customs and the Border Guards have the lead for border security at land borders and seaports. Immigration, under the Ministry for Public Security, has the lead at airports. Most of their experience is in conventional smuggling and commercial fraud; countering WMD is a relatively new area for them. They have little or no equipment with which to detect harmful nuclear, chemical or biological materials. They fully support U.S. training and information exchanges, and have good anti-smuggling cooperation with Australia, including language training. ¶3. (U) The Border Guards explained that whereas any cargo shipments of interest used to have to be inspected physically, now they can be done virtually via targeting techniques. Passenger and cruise ships, on the other hand, are still done manually. They expressed a need for equipment to help deal with the increased monitoring requirements associated with Vietnam's rapid economic growth. The Border Guards' uncovering of cases of weapons and explosives smuggling have come from intelligence rather than detection devices. ¶4. (SBU) Port officials stated that there are twelve different ports divided into four sections in their district. Section three handled three billion USD in exports and one billion USD in imports. There is a wide variety of cargo and volume is increasing, but staff and equipment are not keeping pace. The Japanese government wanted to fund an x-ray scanner at the container port, but there isn't currently enough space to properly site it. Closed-circuit television is being added to improve security. ¶5. (U) A Taiwanese firm has been operating the container terminal since 1998. Company executives stated that this was the only private port operation in Vietnam, with 290 staff and an additional six hundred contractors. Last year the port handled 450 thousand containers, and they expect a thirty percent increase next year. Present capacity is 900 thousand TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units). They service on average 22 vessels per week, and use U.S. software. The port has three berths with a total length of 486 meters. An additional berth is being added. Unfortunately, wharfside draft is only ten meters, which limits ship size to 1400 TEUs. Consequently, only regional feeder ships call at the port. A new deep water port is being built on the coast, due to open in 2009. Hutchison Whampoa and Singapore Ports are the main contractors. Draft will be 40 meters, which will handle ships up to 6000 TEU and allow direct shipments to the U.S. and Europe. They expect to be able to handle 4300 ships annually, and up to 100,000 passengers and 20,000 crewmembers. A limiting factor is inadequate transportation infrastructure connecting the port to Ho Chi Minh City and the industrial areas in Dong Nai province. Currently only a BANGKOK 00006236 002.2 OF 003 single 110-km road provides this function. MOC BAI BORDER CROSSING ¶6. (U) EXBS Advisor and CONGEN officers traveled to Moc Bai to meet with security officials at the border crossing into Cambodia. Both Customs and Border Guards officers welcomed the visit, and welcomed any assistance that would improve security without impeding the flow of trade. Officials stated that to date in 2007, twenty-two thousand vehicles (approximately eleven thousand in each direction) and 1.2 million people have passed through the checkpoint (11,500 U.S. citizens). Up to 5000 persons transit in a day. Value of trade is 82.7 million USD. Out of six thousand customs declarations, there were 204 cases of smuggling and commercial fraud. From 2002 to 2007, twelve weapons and ammunition were confiscated, three individuals with 3500 amphetamine tablets were arrested, and several trafficking cases of Vietnamese and North Korean women were uncovered. Communication with other crossing points and Cambodian counterparts is by telephone. Language training in Cambodian, Laotian and Thai is provided to border officers. The Australian government has provided equipment for detecting fraudulent documents, but other requirements exist. Suggestions were made to share watchlist information, provide border inspection training and equipment (radiation, drug and explosives detectors),and provide communications equipment. HANOI - MEETING WITH BORDER GUARDS ¶8. (U) In Hanoi, EXBS Advisor and EMBOFF met with senior Border Guards officials, who provided a comprehensive overview of the Border Guards' mission. The Border Guards was founded in 1959. Initially under the Ministry for Public Security, they were subsequently transferred to the Ministry of Defense. Their mission is to manage the border line and guard against intrusions. They monitor both people and vehicles crossing the border, and coordinate with local authorities. The challenge is considerable, given Vietnam's 4570-km land border and 3260-km sea border. Twenty-five provinces border other countries; twenty-eight provinces have a seacoast. There are 179 international and national (bilateral) border crossings, and 145 seaports. The most common challenges are "non-traditional security threats," including smuggling of weapons and drugs, illegal immigration and trafficking-in-persons. The Border Guards has three organizational levels: the national headquarters, which provides management and support functions and reports to the Ministry of Defense; Provincial Commands; and checkpoints. The Border Guards also operates patrol ships, which provide security out to 24 nautical miles and also perform Search and Rescue. ¶9. (U) In 2007, the Border Guards processed three million international visitors, eight million national (bilateral) visitors, and 700,000 vehicle crossings. At the seaports, they processed 67,000 ship calls, 386,000 foreign tourists and one million crewmembers. There were ten cases of false passports and 586 other violations, including overstaying visas and other document irregularities. There were 26 cases of illegal currency transfers, amounting to ninety thousand renminbi and 400 million VND. There were six cases of weapons smuggling and hundreds of drug cases. The Border Guards are appreciative of previous EXBS training and equipment, and work closely with Customs to facilitate requests to visit border facilities. Requests for additional assistance include training on immigration management, transborder crimes and "non-traditional security threats"; equipment to help secure land and sea borders, including binoculars, contraband detectors (nuclear, explosives, etc.), communications systems, and patrol boats; and study visits to the U.S. BANGKOK 00006236 003.2 OF 003 ¶10. (SBU) In summing up their remarks, the Border Guards' Deputy Commander emphasized the importance of working together against common threats, including sharing information and coordinating with border officials from other countries. Improved English language capability is a key facilitator. Vietnam's proximity to the Golden Triangle and major transportation routes means it will always face a wide array of transnational threats. With the Cold War in the past, the task now is to foster cooperation and trust, to address common challenges in a collaborative manner. COMMENTS ¶11. (U) Border security officials are uniformly cooperative and anxious for assistance which improves security while facilitating to increasing trade flows. Australian, Japanese and European agencies are currently providing different types of assistance, but Vietnam's rapidly expanding economy and need to modernize allows for additional targeted efforts. The EXBS program can provide strategic trade control related training, such as seaport land border interdiction training, and basic inspection equipment. The EXBS program advisor will work with relevant agencies to coordinate additional USG assistance to meet border guards' needs. BOYCE