EXBS: THAILAND/VIETNAM/CAMBODIA ADVISOR MONTHLY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 002595 SIPDIS DEPT FOR ISN/ECC JFRIEDMAN, ACHURCH, ROWEN, LSPRINGER, EAP/MLS DSMITH, MFORINO, AWEST CBP/INA FOR BMCCRAY DEPT OF ENERGY FOR NNSA TPERRY AMEMBASSY HANOI FOR JBOCKLAGE AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR FOR MMCNAMARA AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH FOR MSWEENEY E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETTC KNNP KSTC MNUC PARM PREL TH VN CB CH SUBJECT: EXBS: THAILAND/VIETNAM/CAMBODIA ADVISOR MONTHLY REPORTING CABLE - SEPTEMBER 2009 BANGKOK 00002595 001.2 OF 002 SUMMARY ¶1. (U) Commonwealth Trading Partners (CTP) conducted an Anti-Corruption and Integrity Awareness Workshop in Thailand, Sep. 14-15. Advisor conducted meetings with post and Vietnamese officials in Hanoi and a visit to Lao Cai border crossing, Sep. 21-25. Advisor met with officials from Thailand's senior civil service training institute to discuss organizational codes of conduct on Sep. 29. EXBS continues to assist DEA in transferring chemical analysis equipment to Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security. Advisor conducted consultations in Washington, D.C., Aug. 31-Sept. 1. SITE ASSESSMENTS AND MEETINGS ¶2. (U) Advisor and Program Assistant visited Lao Cai border crossing, Sep. 22-23. Lao Cai is Vietnam's main border crossing into Yunnan, China. Customs officials told us that in 2008, 644 thousand tons of imported goods and 499 thousand tons of exported goods passed through the crossing station. Commodities are mostly consumer goods. Volume is expected to increase significantly over the next few years as the Kunming-Haiphong highway is completed. As China will more feasibly be able to export for the global market from this region, it's likely that dual-use commodities will also begin to flow through this point. This would also increase the utility of a Megaports facility at Haiphong. Border Army officials said they were using a set of EXBS-provided night vision binoculars in the district, and had a significant list of additional desired equipment. This list can be refined during upcoming training seminars. ¶3. (U) Advisor met with the Vice Director and other officials from Vietnam's Forensic Science Institute on Sep. 25. The Forensic Institute is part of the Ministry of Public Security. Although the Institute has worked with DEA for some time, this was their first exposure to the EXBS program. Advisor briefed officials on EXBS objectives and activities, and then updated them on efforts to transfer surplus chemical analysis equipment (gas chromatography - mass spectrometry) from DEA to the Institute, including installation and technical training. One of the officials had previously trained on this equipment in the U.S. Institute officials agreed that this equipment would be useful in analyzing suspected WMD compounds, and agreed to work closely with Customs and other agencies in doing so. ¶4. (U) Advisor briefed officials from the Vietnamese General Department of Customs on proposed FY10 EXBS activities. Officials expressed their appreciation for the excellent training received at RADACAD in July, and agreed that the proposed FY10 program seemed logical and useful. They will examine the proposals in more detail and provide any additional comments as soon as possible. They also commented that they have found the material presented in past workshops very useful, and suggested that it be stored on a website to facilitate wider distribution. This would be particularly useful for briefing superiors and other high-level policy officials, as well as enforcement officers at remote border locations. ¶5. (U) Advisor participated in embassy Hanoi's Maritime Security Working Group on Sep. 25. Advisor discussed the upcoming USCG Boarding Officer Course for the Marine Police, and described other maritime law enforcement training with Thailand and Cambodia. Advisor solicited suggestions for future multilateral training events to facilitate greater regional maritime cooperation. ¶6. (U) Advisor and the Asia Regional Anti-Corruption Advisor from the American Bar Association (ABA) met with officials from King Prajadhipok's Institute (KPI),Thailand's senior civil service training facility, on Sep. 29. The meeting had been requested by KPI following the EXBS Anti-Corruption BANGKOK 00002595 002.2 OF 002 Workshop (see below) to provide more detailed information regarding organizational codes of conduct. Officials agreed that it might be useful for KPI to revise its code in accordance with international best practices, which could then be used as a model for other organizations in the Thai bureaucracy. Officials agreed to brief KPI senior management on this proposal, and to follow-up with a request for additional assistance as necessary. TRAINING CONDUCTED ¶7. (U) Commonwealth Trading Partners (CTP) conducted an Anti-Corruption and Integrity Awareness Workshop in Thailand, Sep. 14-15. The workshop was hosted by King Prajadhipok's Institute, with additional presentations by the Thai National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC),the Regional Anti-Corruption Advisor of the American Bar Association and post's Resident Legal Advisor from the Department of Justice. Fifty-two officials from several government and private organizations attended, including the NACC, KPI, Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC),Office of the Auditor General, and the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO). KPI, AMLO and Customs officials expressed interest in additional assistance; Advisor will follow-up. EQUIPMENT DELIVERED ¶8. (U) Advisor delivered 19 personal radiation detectors to Thai Customs on Oct. 8 (documents forwarded separately). IMMINENT TRAINING/EQUIPMENT UPDATE ¶9. (U) U.S. Coast Guard will conduct WMD Boarding Officer Courses for the Vietnamese Marine Police in Haiphong and Phu Quoc, Oct. 12-23. Distribution of radiation pagers will occur during the course so that user training can be conducted concurrently. CTP will conduct a UNSCR 1540 Implementation Workshop in Phnom Penh, Oct. 14-16. DOE/INECP will conduct an Industry Outreach Seminar with the Thai Ministry of Commerce on Oct. 21. They will also conduct follow-up meetings concerning establishment of national Commodity Identification Training with Thai Customs and the Police on Oct. 22. ¶10. (U) Other pending actions include the final phase of Vietnam's Tracker Demonstration Project and a visit by Vietnamese officials to Korea for briefings on the YesTrade export control system. SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS ¶11. (U) None. ¶12. (U) Points of contact for the EXBS Program are: William Comley, Regional Advisor, comleywa@state.gov, (66-2) 205-4621; Kamolrat Chotesungnoen (Dao),Thai Program Assistant, Kamolrat@state.gov, (66-2) 205-4403; Nguyen Thi Huong Giang, Vietnam Program Assistant, NguyenGH@state.gov, (84-4) 3850-6241. 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