NON-PAPER FOR ESTABLISHING POLITICAL-MILITARY

C O N F I D E N T I A L STATE 078313 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/21/2008 TAGS: PREL PGOV KNNP VM SUBJECT: NON-PAPER FOR ESTABLISHING POLITICAL-MILITARY TALKS WITH VIETNAM Classified By: Acting A/S Stephen D. Mull for reasons 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (U) This is an action cable. Please see paragraph 2. ¶2. (C//REL VM) The June 23-25 vist of Vietnam's Prime Minister Dung represented another step forward in U.S.-Vietnam relations, with both sides agreeing to establish regular high-level political-military talks. At Deputy Prime Minister Khiem's meeting with Deputy Secretary Negroponte, the U.S. side agreed to present the Government of Vietnam (GVN) with a non-paper laying out a proposed agenda for the first political-military dialogue. Please present to the Government of Vietnam at the highest appropriate level the following non-paper. The Vietnam Ambassador will be presented a copy Monday, July 21. Begin Non-Paper Text: NON-PAPER ON ESTABLISHING POLITICAL-MILITARY CONSULTATIONS BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM INTRODUCTION The U.S. and Vietnam continue to build an increasingly robust bilateral relationship, which is based on a growing friendship, mutual respect, and a common vision of cooperation both bilaterally and within the region. Both countries share a commitment to ensuring a stable, secure, democratic, and peaceful Asia-Pacific region, which will continue to allow our countries -- and the region -- to prosper. Within this context, and building on the positive discussions between President Bush and Prime Minister Dung and Deputy Secretary Negroponte and Deputy Prime Minister Minh on establishing regular senior-level political-military discussions, we offer our initial suggestions on format and participation level, possible topics for discussion, and meeting venue for these talks. Establishing a regular dialogue on political-military issues will represent another important step in deepening our bilateral relationship and offer a forum for discussing security issues of mutual and regional interest. FORMAT OF POLITICAL-MILITARY TALKS The proposed political-military discussions offer the opportunity to bring together -- in a plenary session -- the various government agencies involved in national security policy making. The envisioned political-military discussion would be led by the Department of State and Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the Assistant Secretary level and, on the U.S. side, include senior participants from Department of Defense and the Pacific Command (USPACOM),who would lead on military-to-military issues. We envision, based on your national security policy making structure, a similar composition of representatives. INITIAL AGENDA TOPICS Regional Security -------------- Southeast Asia is an area of great strategic importance, requiring a cooperative effort to address regional security challenges. It sits astride the sea routes from the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean to the Pacific, through which much of the world's trade and energy flow. The general stability in the region has allowed economies to grow and countries in the region to prosper. That said, there are challenges, including the continued presence of terrorist elements (al-Qaida-affiliated terrorist organizations such as Jemaah Islamiya and the Abu Sayyaf Group),proliferation, the spread of infectious disease, weak governance and corruption, threats to maritime security, and frequent natural disasters. We would welcome a discussion on what the U.S. and Vietnam see as the primary security challenges in the region, what we each see as our strategic priorities, and how we might effectively cooperate to address them. Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief (HA/DR) -------------- -- Over the past decade, Southeast Asia has experienced several significant natural disasters. In many cases, such as the 2004 tsunami, regional cooperation - along with U.S. assistance -helped mitigate humanitarian crisis and provide much needed disaster relief. In this context, Vietnam's assistance was invaluable, providing blanket overflight clearance during the tsunami and again during the effort to offer regional assistance to Burma. No country can respond effectively to disasters or humanitarian crises alone, and a successful response nearly always relies on a country's ability to coordinate well with international partners. We are pleased Vietnam has expressed a continued interest in developing the capabilities and cooperation necessary to prepare for and cope with natural disasters. We would like to build from this commitment and discuss your government's plans for addressing HA/DR contingencies, and how we could work together - through increased bilateral and multilateral cooperation, equipment sales, and training -- to enhance Vietnam's disaster preparedness and response capacity. Maritime Security -------------- Achieving maritime security remains a common interest, as it is increasingly linked to economic prosperity and is necessary to ensure freedom of the seas, facilitate freedom of navigation and commerce, and protect the resources of the ocean. Since the normalization of defense relations in 1997, the U.S. and Vietnam have sought to explore ways of exchanging information on maritime security issues, including regional coastal patrol projects, freedom of navigation, and the development of a coast guard service. Admiral Crowder, during his recent visit to Vietnam, raised the prospect of increasing cooperation in this important security area. We therefore would encourage a discussion on ways we can increase joint or multi-country efforts against terrorism, proliferation, narcotics, and maritime piracy. Coordination of Security Assistance -------------- Reflecting our improving security relationship, we have requested U.S. Foreign Military Financing (FMF) funds in U.S. fiscal year 2009. If received from the U.S. Congress, these funds can help build Vietnamese military capacities by training military personnel as well as providing needed non-lethal equipment. Given the limited funds available, we would look forward to discussing your strategic focus in terms of building capabilities, and how security assistance could best be utilized to meet your future military needs. Defense Trade -------------- The Amendment to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) has opened up new possibilities for increasing defense trade between the U.S. and Vietnam. This policy change can improve your capabilities in areas such as Search and Rescue (SAR),maritime security and Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief (HA/DR). A U.S.-provided briefing on the defense export regulations and a discussion on what these changes mean for Vietnam's ability to import U.S. defense articles could help clarify any questions your government might have about U.S. arms transfer laws and regulations. Global Peace Operations Initiative -------------- PM Dung expressed Vietnam's intent to participate in peacekeeper training under GPOI during his recent U.S. visit. We would like to identify GPOI training opportunities that align with your priorities, and the units we understand you are interested to train - in particular, demining and medical units. We understand this exploration will commence at the September mil-to-mil talks with USPACOM. Legacy Issues: Humanitarian Mine Action, MIA Accountability -------------- -------------- Cooperation in addressing U.S. war-time presence in Vietnam, i.e. unexploded ordinance (UXO) and humanitarian mine action, has been excellent. The bilateral efforts in areas such as humanitarian mine action (clearance of landmines and UXO, UXO/mine risk education, UXO/mine survivors assistance),and MIA accountability and recovery have served as the foundation of our renewed relationship over the past decade. As the bilateral relationship between our two countries continues to grow and deepen, a discussion about progress on legacy issues and possibilities for using knowledge gained from these activities in an international capacity, i.e. UXO clearance/demining, could help shape how we address these issues in the future. Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) -------------- PSI is a voluntary effort by over 90 nations that plays a vital role in preventing proliferation through cooperative capacity-building and action to disrupt trafficking in WMD, delivery systems, and related materials. It is a practical counterproliferation tool that supports implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions and reinforces existing multilateral nonproliferation arrangements. Vietnam's strategic location along the South China Sea makes it an important country in fighting WMD proliferation-related trafficking. We would value a discussion on the PSI, and we will continue to seek your support for the initiative. Search and Rescue (SAR) -------------- The U.S. would like to work with Vietnam to enhance your search-and-rescue (SAR) capability. Having a strong SAR capability would particularly benefit Vietnam, given your frequent tropical storms and flooding, long coastline, and growing number of off-shore oil and gas platforms. It is also vital that your capability can work together with other countries' SAR assets. The devastation wreaked by the 2004 tsunami and Cyclone Nargis make this clear. The U.S. and Vietnam have begun to address this capability need, and through PACOM, we have discussed a bilateral exercise. We would like to see planning accelerate, so we can stage the exercise in the near future. Ship Visits and Related Activities -------------- As the recent humanitarian visit of the USNS Mercy demonstrated, these types of visits offer an excellent opportunity for deepening relations on numerous levels between our two countries. The Mercy helped build public health capacity, as well as strengthen multinational cooperation for responding to disasters such as pandemic influenza or typhoons. We, therefore, would be interested in discussing how we can build on such successful activities and hear your thoughts on scheduling a Vietnamese naval ship visit to a U.S. port. Defense Academy Exchanges -------------- In late 2003 the Vietnamese conducted an extremely successful visit to Washington by the National Defense College, which included wide ranging visits, field trips, exchanges with the services, and a healthy dialogue with the NDU. The Vietnamese and U.S. military academies do not currently have an official exchange. As the security assistance programs become more developed, we would like to commence discussions on establishing such an exchange. This type of educational program could increase understanding of each country's military education system and the training of its officers. Acquisition Cross Servicing Agreement -------------- ACSA is a bilateral agreement that facilitates the exchange of logistics support, supplies, and services during exercises, training, or emergency situations. These stops are not intended to require official ceremony or fanfare, but could be used for short notice contingencies conducted for the express purpose of maritime safety for ship and crew. Given the increasing military-to-military relationship between our two countries, we would be interested in establishing a dialogue for negotiating an ACSA between the U.S. and Vietnamese militaries, opening another avenue of cooperation. TIME AND LOCATION OF POLITICAL-MILITARY TALKS Bilateral political-military talks would be held on an annual basis, with the option of more frequent meetings if necessary. To take advantage of the recent endorsement of President Bush and Prime Minister Dung to create a bilateral political-military dialogue, we suggest holding the first of these discussions in October in either Hawaii or Washington. The above topics represent our initial suggestions for agenda items and we look forward to receiving your thoughts on these proposed topics, as well as those issues that your government believes important for discussion. RICE