DAS MARCIEL'S HANOI MEETINGS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 HANOI 000202

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/06/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM ECON ETRD UNSC MNUC BM VM
SUBJECT: DAS MARCIEL'S HANOI MEETINGS

REF: A. 08 HANOI 1243

B. HANOI 192

C. HANOI 23

D. HANOI 134

E. HANOI 142

HANOI 00000202 001.2 OF 004


Classified By: PolCouns Brian Aggeler. Reasons 1.4 (b.d)


1. (C) In a wide-ranging set of meetings in Hanoi February
25, EAP Deputy Assistant Secretary Scot Marciel emphasized
the continued progress in U.S.-Vietnam relations. His
counterparts, including VFM Pham Binh Minh, AFM Bui Thanh
Son, and Office of Government DG Buy Hui Hung, voiced
enthusiasm for Secretary Clinton's Asia trip, in particular
her visit to the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta. The
Vietnamese welcomed the Secretary's invitation for enhanced
consultations on Burma, but had little new to offer.
Vietnam remains optimistic about ASEAN, political
instability in Thailand notwithstanding, and looks forward
to chairing the Association in 2010. The two sides agreed
that cooperative efforts were needed to address climate
change and discussed ways to enhance economic engagement.
Vietnam expressed general support for the DOE's Megaports
initiative; DAS Marciel encouraged Vietnam to conclude an
agreement to remove the remaining spent fuel from its
research reactor in Dalat. VFM Minh responded
dyspeptically, however, on the issue of the HCMC consular
district, acknowledging that ongoing restrictions on
travel were a negotiating tactic. On a more inspiring
note, DAS Marciel met with one of Vietnam's most
prominent human rights attorneys, who urged the United
States to continue its efforts on behalf of political
dissidents. END SUMMARY.

The Secretary's Asia Trip: A "Good Signal"
--------------


2. (SBU) Vice Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh began the
conversation with an emphatic endorsement of the
Secretary's visit to Indonesia, in particular her call on
the ASEAN Secretariat, explaining that it sent a "good
signal" that the United States was committed to the
region. There had been a perception -- perhaps unfair,
perhaps not -- that the United States was less than fully
engaged in Asia, the VFM insisted, and the Secretary's trip
did much to alleviate these worries. In separate meetings,
Assistant Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son and Office of
Government (OOG) Director General Buy Hui Hung echoed
Minh's positive assessment, noting that the global economic
crisis and climate change were just two of the many issues
that require intensive cooperation. VFM Minh cited
favorably the Secretary's remark in Beijing that the United
States and Asia were in the same boat and should row in the
same direction.

Bilateral Relations: Continuing the Momentum
--------------


3. (C) Turning to bilateral relations, DAS Marciel and VFM
Minh agreed that it was important to continue the positive
momentum built up over the past several years. Minh
expressed concern that the Secretary's trip
notwithstanding, the new administration would be consumed
with domestic economic issues and renewed an earlier
invitation for the Secretary to visit Hanoi; he also
inquired about the possibility of a visit by House Speaker
Pelosi. AFM Son stated that in addition to the Ministers
of Public Security and Defense, other prominent members of
the politburo were considering visits to the United States,
including National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong and
the head of the CPV Secretariat Truong Tan Sang. On a
personal note, Son said that he was eager to resume policy
planning discussions in Washington, perhaps in the third
quarter of this year.

Burma, China, and ASEAN
--------------


4. (SBU) VFM Minh and AFM Son expressed appreciation for
the Secretary's comments on Burma -- but focused more on
the acknowledgment that sanctions had not worked than on
the comment, equally true, that ASEAN's policy of
engagement had also been less than satisfactory. Invited
to provide constructive suggestions, the Vietnamese
demurred but eagerly welcomed the opportunity to consult
further. DAS Marciel emphasized that failed governance had
not only been disastrous for human rights in Burma but had
driven the country's health and educational systems to the

HANOI 00000202 002.2 OF 004


brink of ruin. Moreover, as the plight of the Rohingyas
demonstrated, Burma's internal repression, paranoia, and
insularity had inevitable consequences for the region.
Through its own experience, Vietnam understood the
benefits of economic reform and diplomatic engagement;
anything that Vietnam could do to persuade Burma to open up
would be welcome, DAS Marciel stressed. DG Hung
acknowledged that Vietnam was one of the few countries that
can "talk to Burma," but cautioned that Vietnam's influence
remained limited.


5. (C) DAS Marciel's official counterparts voiced familiar
complaints about China, but these were comparatively
muted. VFM Minh praised the recently completed demarcation
of the land border with China (ref C) as a positive step.
AFM Son
engaged in a bit of numerology, joking that years ending in
"9" had been bad ones for China-Vietnam relations (ref D); he
hoped
this year would be better. Both he and VFM Minh cited
continuing territorial disputes in the South China Sea
(referred to in Vietnam as the "East Sea") and identified
it, along with economic recovery and Burma, as one of the
biggest challenges facing ASEAN.


6. (C) AFM Son was, nevertheless, generally optimistic
about ASEAN. It was an unfortunate coincidence, Son
conceded, that political instability in Thailand coincided
with its (extended) term as ASEAN Chair. The decision to
postpone the ASEAN summit was embarrassing; more damaging
was the fact that the summit occurred without ASEAN's usual
range of dialogue partners. (Comment: To this we might
add the decision by the "plus three" countries, Japan,
China, and South Korea, to meet without ASEAN. End
comment.) Still, Son maintained that the trend was
positive for ASEAN, citing the Association's new charter
and signs of renewed U.S. engagement. Son said that
Vietnam was eager to take on the role of ASEAN Chair in
2010 and would welcome U.S. advice on how ASEAN could
better promote its external relationships.

Economic Engagement
--------------


7. (SBU) DAS Marciel's meeting with the Office of
Government focused largely on economics and trade. DG Hung
noted that the will be leading a delegation to the United
States to discuss economic engagement under the Trade and
Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) and expects to
discuss Vietnam's push to be included under the Generalized
System of Preferences (GSP),as well as textile monitoring,
catfish, and beef. DG Hung acknowledged continuing U.S.
concerns over labor standards, but pleaded for patience,
arguing that the National Assembly would pass the necessary
legislation by 2011. Dismissing the possibility of making
the necessary labor changes in a more expedited fashion
through a Prime Ministerial decree, DG Hung insisted that a
legislative fix was necessary. He suggested that the scale
of Vietnam's reforms in this area merited "exceptional"
treatment.

Climate Change, Disaster Assistance
--------------


8. (SBU) Citing climate change as an area for further
cooperation, DAS Marciel noted the good work being done by
the U.S.-funded Dragon Institute in Can Tho and indicated
that the United States would be interested in participating
in regional initiatives, perhaps in coordination with the
Greater Mekong Sub-Region. VFM Minh concurred, noting that
climate change will be a major theme when Hanoi hosts the
May 25-26 Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). Minh emphasized that
as a country with an extremely long coastline and two
important rice-producing deltas, Vietnam would be severely
affected by climate change. Already, he said, Vietnam had
been hit by "strange weather." (Note: AFM Son also
remarked on Vietnam's odd weather during policy planning
talks in October, which took place during the worst
flooding to hit Hanoi in fifty years. See ref A. End
note.) In discussions with VFM Minh and with OOG Director
Hung, DAS Marciel encouraged Vietnam to consider
participating in disaster assistance exercises that the Phi
lippines plans to host in coordination with the ASEAN
Regional Forum in May.

Highly Enriched Uranium and Megaports
--------------


HANOI 00000202 003.2 OF 004



9. (C) DAS Marciel urged Vietnam to formally respond to
the U.S. dipnote on the second state of the transfer of
Russian-origin spent nuclear fuel from the research reactor
at the Nuclear Research Center at Dalat. VFM Minh and DG
Hung assured DAS Marciel that Vietnam supported the
initiative and promised to look into it. (Note: The CDA
repeated the message in a March 2 conversation with the
MFA's Director General for Internal Organizations Le Hoai
Trung, as reported in ref B. We have re-submitted the
diplomatic note and the MFA has acknowledged it needs to
respond quickly. End note.)


10. (C) DAS Marciel also raised the Department of Energy's
Megaports initiative to detect the illicit transfer of
radioactive material, noting that this was in instance
where both sides could benefit by cooperating on an issue
of shared global concern. DG Phuc confirmed that Vietnam
Customs had forwarded its report and positive
recommendations for interagency review and said that this
was a project that his office, in principle, supported.
OOG Chairman Nguyen Xuan Phuc also voiced general support
in a meeting with the Ambassador the following day. Over
dinner, the MFA's Director General for Mulitlateral
Economic Cooperation, Nguyen Nguyet Nga said that the MFA
supports signing the Megaports MOU, but cautioned that
"other agencies" are reviewing the memorandum. (Note:
Based on earlier conversations with Nga's deputy, DDG
Nguyen Danh Hung, we take this to mean the Ministries of
Defense and Public Security. End note.)

HCMC Consular District: So Close, and yet...
-------------- -


11. (C) DAS Marciel emphasized that the U.S. and Vietnam
were not very far apart, with general agreement on a
22-province consular district, the right to open consulates
in Houston and Danang, and future consideration for the
opening of a consulate in New York. Unfortunately,
increasing restrictions on ConGen HCMC travel -- seven
trips denied in the past few weeks alone -- were generating
an extremely negative reaction in Washington. If the GVN
intended this as a negotiating tactic, it was having the
opposite effect, DAS Marciel stressed. He suggested,
pointedly, that if these restrictions continued, the
Department might have to issue a travel warning; the
Ambassador added that official visas might also be delayed
if Embassy consular were forced to take over ConGen HCMC's
investigative and verification duties.


12. (C) VFM acknowledged that the travel restrictions were
a negotiating tactic, but then insisted -- incongruously --
that they were not all that significant and not designed to
apply pressure. Chalking it up to a "misunderstanding,"
Minh said that there were only a "few" restrictions and
that these would only remain in place while negotiations
continued. He agreed, however, that the two sides were
close and said that the only item that remained was fining
some way for Vietnam's UN mission in New York to issue
visas. He suggested that the matter could ultimately be
finessed by inserting "future" into the wording of the
diplomatic note acknowledging the agreement. DAS Marciel
and the Ambassador cautioned that the differences over New
York were substantive, not simply semantic, but said that
they would look forward to seeing Vietnam's response to our
latest diplomatic note on the subject.

Meeting with Human Rights Attorney Le Cong Dinh
-------------- --


13. (C) Apart from his official meetings, DAS Marciel
hosted a coffee with Le Cong Dinh, a well-established
corporate lawyer who has also represented some of Vietnam's
most prominent dissidents, including Bloc 8406 members Le
Thi Cong Nhan and Nguen Van Dai (themselves attorneys),as
well as blogger Dieu Cay. A former Fulbright Program
participant with an LLM from Tulane, Dinh was in December
forced to step down from his position as Vice President of
the Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association due to his involvement
in politically sensitive cases. He said that he is now
monitored by the security services and has been audited
several times, but is allowed to travel overseas and has
even represented the HCMC People's Committee in civil cases
before local courts. Although no longer Vice President,
Dinh remains active in the HCMC Bar and is currently
leading the Association's efforts to launch a new legal
research center focusing on human rights and the provision
of legal aid.


HANOI 00000202 004.2 OF 004



14. (C) Dinh highlighted a "tightening" of the human
rights situation in Vietnam, which he attributed to
blowback from the PCI corruption scandal. He termed plans
to abolish local People's Councils "quite dangerous" (ref
E). An expert in dispute resolution, Dinh said that the
Councils, though inefficient and often corrupt, are now
frequently the only avenue for settling land disputes.
Dinh urged the United States to continue to express concern
over specific human rights cases, arguing that the GVN pays
close attention to which cases the United States raises and
which it does not. On a more positive note, Dinh said that
religious freedoms have expanded overall and agreed with
the 2006 decision to remove Vietnam from the list of
Countries of Particular Concern.


15. (U) This cable was coordinated with ConGen HCMC.
MICHALAK