SENATOR WEBB'S AUGUST 19-20 MEETINGS IN HANOI

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 000803 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/08/27 TAGS: PREL PHUM PGOV KIRF ECON ETRD BM VM SUBJECT: SENATOR WEBB'S AUGUST 19-20 MEETINGS IN HANOI CLASSIFIED BY: Michael Michalak, Ambassador, Department of State, U.S. Embassy, Hanoi; REASON: 1.4(B),(D) ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: In a short, but substantively very productive set of meetings in Hanoi, August 19-20, Senator Jim Webb emphasized the need to continue building on the remarkable progress that the two countries had made since the Senator first re-engaged with Vietnam as a civilian in 1991. The Senator's Vietnamese interlocutors -- a high-level group that included the Prime Minister, Deputy PM/Foreign Minister, Vice Chair of the National Assembly, and Chair of the influential Office of Government -- were well briefed and delivered what appeared to be coordinated points: a) urging greater investment in the oil/gas sector, b) reiterating Vietnam's desire to be designated as a beneficiary under the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences, c) voicing concerns over potential trade restrictions on certain types of fish, and d) requesting increased assistance to "victims" of Agent Orange. All four Vietnamese officials noted that Vietnam would chair ASEAN in 2010 and extended invitations to President Obama and Secretary Clinton. PM Dung and DPM/FM Khiem expressed appreciation for the Senator's recent trip to Burma and his June hearings on sovereignty disputes in the South and East China Seas; neither Dung nor Khiem, however, offered perspectives beyond Vietnam's standard line. The only discordant note in what were otherwise exceptionally cordial conversations occurred when the Vietnamese side insisted that criticisms of Vietnam's record on human rights and religious freedom were the product of a misinformation campaign orchestrated by the Vietnamese diaspora communities. END SUMMARY. Welcoming an Old Friend, Looking to the Future -------------- - ¶2. (SBU) Senator Jim Webb's August 19 meetings in Hanoi was the need to continue strengthening the U.S.-Vietnam relationship. In separate discussions with PM Nguyen Tan Dung, DPM/FM Pham Gia Khiem, National Assembly (NA) Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong, and Office of Government (OOG) Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the Senator emphasized the impressive growth in U.S.-Vietnam ties in the years since the Senator first became re-engaged with the country as a business consultant, journalist, and war veteran in the early 1990s, a message he reiterated during his August 19 press conference and in a breakfast with American Chamber of Commerce the following morning. Senator Webb's words were well received by the Vietnamese, who took great care to stress the Senator's personal contributions to the development of U.S.- Vietnam relations. Burma -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Senator Webb's recent trip to Burma was a topic of keen interest. In response to questions at the press conference and AmCham breakfast, Senator Webb refused to characterize Aung San Suu Kyi's position, but was forthright in his own assessment that sanctions had not been effective and that, ultimately, a more flexible approach had to be found. The Senator offered the same observation to DPM/FM Khiem and PM Dung, and urged Vietnam to use its influence with Burma -- both bilaterally and through ASEAN -- to see ASSK's release. Senator Webb said that he had told his Burmese counterparts that, while he had no intention to comment on that country's internal judicial proceedings, it was a simple fact that the international community would judge Burma's leaders by how they treated ASSK. ¶4. (C) In his discussion with DPM/FM Khiem, Senator Webb encouraged Vietnam to sign on an initiative described to him by the Thai Prime Minister to submit a joint ASEAN letter on ASSK to the Burmese authorities. Webb said that he had not seen the text of the letter, but emphasized that ASSK's continued detention was a problem not just for Burma but for ASEAN. Khiem declined to comment specifically on the Thai proposal but voiced support for the Senator's general position. Later that afternoon, PM Dung urged the Senator to continue in his efforts to reach out to the Burmese regime. HANOI 00000803 002 OF 003 South China (East) Sea -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Senator Webb was equally candid on the issue of maritime disputes in the South China Sea, referred to in Vietnam as the East Sea. In both his private and public remarks, the Senator noted that U.S. policy was to not take a position on the various legal claims in the South China Sea; he argued, however, that this approach was "not sufficient." Referring to the hearings that he held on the subject in June, Senator Webb said that the current U.S. view was overly tactical -- treating each run-in with the Chinese as an isolated incident -- whereas the problem was more strategic and involved incremental assertions of China's territorial claims. The Senator's message was well received by his official hosts, who praised Webb's Senate hearings. PM Dung was the most assertive, insisting that China's claims, the "nine dotted lines," were absurd and opposed by Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, and the Philippines. He urged the Senator to convince Washington to "help resolve the situation to the benefit of all." Investment, Particularly in Oil/Gas -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Not coincidentally, one of the main items on the Vietnamese briefing checklist was a pitch for greater U.S. investment, particularly in the oil and gas sector. The point was mentioned in each of the Senator's meetings, though his hosts mostly left implicit the connection to the South China Sea. Again, PM Dung was the most assertive, specifying that he hoped for increased U.S. investment in projects "on Vietnam's continental shelf." Vietnamese Americans: Investment Welcome, but not Criticism -------------- -------------- ¶7. (SBU) On the subject of investment, another common talking point was to encourage Vietnamese Americans to "return" to Vietnam to invest. NA Vice Chair Phong described recent Vietnamese legislation designed to create more favorable conditions for "overseas" Vietnamese, while DPM/FM Khiem said that his government wanted to facilitate their "reintegration" into Vietnam. This last comment was telling, and suggested lingering complexities in the GVN's approach to the diaspora communities. ¶8. (C) Also telling was the comment, expressed in each of the meetings, that the U.S. Vietnamese community was in large part to blame for Vietnam's poor image on human rights. PM Dung, for example, said that the United States and Vietnam should "work together" to ensure that "some people" in the United States, including in the Vietnamese American community in particular, do not "defame" Vietnam. DPM/FM Khiem devoted a majority of a ten-minute private pull-aside at the conclusion of his meeting to the same topic. The Senator acknowledged that some areas of significant progress -- in religious freedom for example -- had not been appropriately recognized. But he rejected the accusation that the Vietnamese-American community was to blame. Returning to central theme of this and previous trips, the Senator emphasized that true reconciliation would remain elusive as long as the experiences of the Vietnamese communities abroad continued to be stigmatized. GSP, Market Economy Status, Catfish, Agent Orange -------------- -------------- HANOI 00000803 003 OF 003 ¶9. (SBU) As they did in December 2008, the Senator's official counterparts again presented a closely coordinated message urging Senator Webb to support Vietnam's efforts to be designated as a beneficiary under the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences and to be granted Market Economy Status, arguing that both moves would be of significant benefit to Vietnam's poor, as well as to bilateral trade. The Vietnamese also again hit on an issue of direct concern to the Senator's constituents, urging the Senator to oppose efforts to reclassify certain types of Vietnamese fish, such as the basa, as catfish. Unlike 2008, however, these messages, though repeated, were presented in a more perfunctory way, with little elaboration or comment. Agent Orange was also mentioned, though again only briefly and without further discussion; interestingly, PM Dung did not raise the issue. ¶10. (U) Senator Webb declined an opportunity to clear this cable. MICHALAK