CHARGE AND MFA DISCUSS BURMA, NORTH KOREA, DARFUR;

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 000192

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

FOR EAP/MLS, DRL, DRL/IRF

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/03/2019
TAGS: PREL PHUM PGOV ECON MNUC PARM UNSC NPT BM CH
SU, XA, XW, VM
SUBJECT: CHARGE AND MFA DISCUSS BURMA, NORTH KOREA, DARFUR;
NONPROLIFERATION; HUMAN RIGHTS

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Classified By: CDA Virginia Palmer. Reasons 1.4 (b/d).


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: In a wide-ranging lunch discussion
March 2, the CDA and the MFA's Director General for
International Organizations, Le Hoai Trung, exchanged views
on Burma, North Korea, and Darfur; Vietnam's territorial
claims under the Law of the Sea; and nonproliferation. The
CDA urged DG Trung, who is also responsible for human
rights matters, to facilitate long awaited permission for
the publication of a Hmong-language Bible and to permit
political activist Father Nguyen Van Ly to keep a Bible
donated by the Archbishop of Hue; she also raised the case
of Bloc 8406 dissident Vu Hung. DG Trung confirmed that
the Committee for Religious Affairs would be responsible
for a rescheduled USCIRF visit and proposed a June date for
the next bilateral human rights dialogue. The CDA and DG
Trung offered sharply divergent views of the recently
released Human Rights Report. END SUMMARY.

Burma: An Unstable Country in an Unstable Region
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2. (C) Meeting with the CDA over lunch March 2, the MFA's
Director General for International Organizations Le Hoai
Trung explained that prior to taking up its seat on the
Security Council, the MFA's Diplomatic Academy (DAV)
undertook an exhaustive evaluation of the issues that would
likely generate the most controversy -- Iran, North Korea,
Darfur, Kosovo, and Burma. As part of its Burma review,
the study argued that Southeast Asia as a region remained
fundamentally unstable. Trung, citing "near rebellion" in
Southern Thailand and attempted coups in the Philippines,
said that this was even more the case today. The DAV
concluded that because Burma was the least stable country
in an already insecure part of the world, the international
community should be careful in how it approaches the issue,
lest Burma's multi-ethnic population slide into further
unrest. Adding his own analysis, DG Trung insisted that
Burma needs a "strong government" to keep the country's
multi-ethnic population from descending into chaos.


3. (C) DG Trung provided a familiar critique of U.S.-led
sanctions, noting that China's support made the Burmese
regime even more resistant to outside pressure. He was
decidedly less voluble, however, when invited to offer
suggestions on how the United States, Vietnam, and ASEAN
could productively engage Burma, urging only "engagement,
strategically." He acknowledged that Vietnam was eager to
share its own experiences in implementing economic reform
and emerging from international isolation. Pushed to
elaborate, Trung could provide little detail, but suggested
that an "economic forum" in Burma with regional or
international participation, might provide a useful venue
for such an exchange.


4. (SBU) The CDA emphasized that in conducting its policy
review, the United States was committed to seeking input
from interested parties -- key ASEAN members in particular
-- and urged Vietnam to use its influence to encourage
Burma to take positive steps along the lines that the
Security Council outlined in its 2007 statement.

North Korea: It Takes Two
--------------


5. (C) DG Trung offered a similar diagnosis for North
Korea, though he was less optimistic that engagement would
produce results. Trung cited a conversation he had
two-three years ago in which a Cuban group expressed doubts
that Pyongyang's leadership was willing to do what it takes
to normalize its relations with the outside world. Based
on his own experience, Trung shared these doubts.
Nevertheless, he said that it was worth the effort,
suggesting that the United States should work to "lighten"
what he termed a legacy of mistrust left over from the
previous U.S. administration. The CDA noted that while the
Obama administration was more flexible in its diplomatic
approach, this did not change the fundamental goal of a
denuclearized Korean Peninsula or the administration's
commitment to the Six-Party process.

Darfur: Vietnam firmly opposed to Bashir Indictment
-------------- --------------


6. (SBU) DG Trung reiterated his government's opposition
to the International Criminal Court's indictment of Sudan

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President Omar al-Bashir, arguing that the move would
likely push Vietnam's own accession to the ICC "further
down the road." The CDA emphasized that whatever Vietnam's
general position, the indictment was a near certainty. She
urged Vietnam to be muted in its response, noting that
there were not enough votes for an Article 16 deferral.
For its part, the United States does not believe that a
UNSC statement is necessary unless there is significant
violence or Khartoum reacts in an extreme fashion. DG
Trung took note of the message and said that Hanoi had not
yet crafted instructions to its UN Mission.

Vietnamese Claims and the Law of the Sea
--------------


7. (C) DG Trung confirmed that Vietnam would try to meet
the May 15 deadline to submit an extended continental shelf
claim to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental
Shelf. Referring to the recent action by the Philippines
legislature asserting its claim, Trung said that formal
protests by the Chinese and Vietnamese governments
notwithstanding, Vietnam was not particularly exorcised by
the action. What really matters, Trung continued, are
territorial assertions (read: China's) that carry the
threat of force. Trung said that ASEAN has an important
role to play in countering China's claims, or at least in
moderating its behavior. Telegraphing frustration at
ASEAN's very low key engagement on the issue, Trung
cautioned that ASEAN should not "overplay" its hand lest it
provoke an aggressive response.

Nonproliferation and HEU
--------------


8. (SBU) DG Trung praised Secretary Clinton's statement
that the United States would seek to revive negotiations
toward a Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty (FMCT),including
provisions for international verification, saying that this
could very well break the deadlock that had prevented
adoption of a FMCT. Turning to the Nuclear
Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT),he emphasized Vietnam's
position that all three pillars of the NPT must be given
equal weight and expressed hope that the Obama
Administration would pursue disarmament more aggressively.


9. (SBU) The CDA assured DG Trung that nonproliferation
was a priority for the new administration and said that in
this area. Following on EAP DAS Scot Marciel's February 25
discussions (septel),the CDA urged Vietnam to formally
respond to the U.S. dipnote on the second stage of the
transfer of Russian-origin spent nuclear fuel from the
research reactor at the Nuclear Research Center at Dalat.

USCIRF and the Human Rights Dialogue
--------------


10. (SBU) The CDA and DG Trung exchanged preliminary
information about the visit of the U.S. Commission on
International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and the Human
Rights Dialogue. Trung confirmed that the Prime Minister's
office had formally assigned responsibility for the USCIRF
visit to the Committee for Religious Affairs (CRA),though
the MFA would do what it can to assist. He emphasized,
though that the sooner the GVN were informed of the
USCIRF's dates, the easier it would be to coordinate the
visit. On the HR Dialogue, Trung noted that most of the
relevant MFA leadership would be in Geneva in early May for
its Universal Periodic Review. He suggested June as a
preliminary time frame.

Bibles for the Hmong and for Father Ly; Vu Hung
-------------- --


11. (SBU) The CDA urged Vietnam to accelerate the process
for approving a Hmong-language Bible translation,
expressing frustration that bureaucratic inertia between
the CRA and the Ministry of Education and Training was
delaying what should be a fairly non-controversial step.
She also urged the MFA to look into reports that Nguyen Van
Ly was not able to keep a Bible given to him by the
Archbishop of Hue during a recent prison visit. The CDA
also raised the MFA's denial of her request to see Vu Hung,
who remains in pretrial detention and has reportedly been
denied access to legal counsel and his family. DG Trung
took note of U.S. concerns but then launched into a
somewhat elliptical discourse on Vietnam's religious

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geography, arguing that registration of Protestant churches
in Vietnam's Northwest needed to take into account the
disruption that the churches' teachings on equality would
have on the patrilineal social structure of the minority
peoples there. Charge responded forcefully urging the GVN
to ensure implementation of Vietnamese law in these areas.

A Sharp, Short Exchange on the Human Rights Report
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12. (SBU) DG Trung was much more direct in his criticisms
of the recently released Human Rights report, calling the
report "crazy" and "counterproductive." The CDA responded
that the Department endeavors to make the Report as
objective as possible and invited the MFA to provide
specific evidence of any inaccuracies. While not intended
to be provocative or unfriendly, the Report could not help
but take note of developments such as the continuing
arrests of political dissidents, particularly those tied to
Bloc 8406; the conviction of the journalists who reported
on the PMU-18 corruption scandal; and the sacking of
editors and publishers. The GVN should be confident enough
to tolerate -- and benefit from -- dissent, she stressed.
PALMER