Cablegate: Ambassador and Vfm Le Van Bang Discuss Ai, Wto,
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 003053
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM AMGT PREF VM ASEAN VN WTO HUMANR RELFREE AFLU APEC
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR AND VFM LE VAN BANG DISCUSS AI, WTO,
HUMAN RIGHTS DIALOGUE, OTHER SUBJECTS
Ref: A. Hanoi 3031 B. Ho Chi Minh City 1202
1. (SBU) Summary: Over lunch with Vice Foreign Minister Le
Van Bang, the Ambassador covered a comprehensive array of
bilateral issues, focusing heavily on the recent GVN ban on
imported poultry products and Vietnam's bid to enter the
WTO. VFM Bang accepted the proposal to hold the Human
Rights Dialogue during the week of January 9, but asked that
we confirm the date solidly so he can make the rest of his
travel plans. The Ambassador strongly urged VFM Bang to
have Vietnam play a leadership role in encouraging other
ASEAN members to accept a meeting with President Bush in
Busan, and to taking positive action on the Enhanced
Partnership as soon as possible. On the subject of human
rights, VFM Bang noted that 2005 was Vietnam's 60th
anniversary and therefore many prisoners received amnesties.
The coming year, 2006, will not have such extensive
amnesties, or possibly any at all, he said. The Ambassador
and the Vice Minister also discussed humanitarian
resettlement, law enforcement cooperation, nonproliferation,
the new Embassy compound and an American Humanitarian
Efforts Memorial. End Summary.
2. (SBU) The Ambassador met with Vice Foreign Minister Le
Van Bang at the EMR November 16 at the Ambassador's request.
Bang was not his usual talkative self due to a recent
infection that had caused him to miss a day of work, and he
was not as well prepared for the meeting as he has been in
previous encounters.
HUMANITARIAN RESETTLEMENT/REPATRIATION
--------------------------------------
3. (SBU) The Ambassador noted that he had recently signed
the Humanitarian Resettlement Public Information Outreach
Agreement with Director General Bui Dinh Dzinh that would
ensure consideration for resettlement in the United States
for those who had missed the opportunity to do so in the
past. VFM Bang wondered aloud how many of those people
might still be in Vietnam. The Ambassador said another
significant and related issue is Vietnam's willingness to
accept its citizens who are expelled from the United States.
U.S. law contains provisions that could require the
Department of State to suspend granting visas for Vietnamese
citizens if the GVN does not accept its citizens back, the
Ambassador noted. Implementation of this provision could
seriously harm relations, he warned.
HUMAN RIGHTS DIALOGUE
---------------------
4. (SBU) VFM Bang asked the Ambassador to confirm the
proposed dates for the Human Rights Dialogue. Holding the
dialogue the week of January 9, 2006, is acceptable, he
said, but he asked the Ambassador to guarantee that this
will be the date for the dialogue. VFM Bang explained that
he has a busy travel schedule in December and January, and
wants to be sure to be in Hanoi to represent Vietnam in the
dialogue. The Ambassador noted that the United States hopes
to use the dialogue to lay the groundwork for a visit by
Ambassador at Large for Religious Freedom John Hanford.
Over the next six months, the Ambassador suggested, Vietnam
can identify the areas of progress in religious freedom,
ideally providing a province-by-province report. That would
make the Human Rights Dialogue an opportunity to educate the
United States about Vietnam's steps forward in protecting
religious freedom, a key element of the U.S. decision on
whether or not to keep Vietnam on the Country of Particular
Concern (CPC) list.
5. (SBU) VFM Bang volunteered the Vice Foreign Minister
Nguyen Phu Binh was very happy with the positive outcome of
the Ambassador's California meetings with the Vietnamese-
American community. Other nations with sizeable overseas
Vietnamese communities should follow the United States' lead
and have the same sorts of meetings, Bang said. The
Ambassador ascribed his successful meetings to changing
attitudes in the Vietnamese communities of the United States
and increased efforts by the GVN to reach out to Vietnamese
Americans.
AVIAN INFLUENZA, THE POULTRY BAN AND WTO
----------------------------------------
6. (SBU) On the subject of Avian Influenza, the Ambassador
raised his strong concerns regarding the GVN's decision to
ban all poultry imports into Vietnam, including uncooked
chicken from the United States. The decision, he said, has
no scientific basis and could run afoul of international
trade rules. VFM Bang said that the poultry ban is having a
negative impact on food prices, as households who usually
eat chicken are forced to substitute more expensive meats.
The Ambassador noted that substituting frozen U.S. chicken
would be an even better solution. VFM Bang said that
educating both the government and consumers would be
important in this issue. He promised to take the issue to
the Deputy Prime Minister level.
7. (SBU) The Ambassador noted that the poultry ban is the
kind of decision that could negatively affect Vietnam's
effort to join the WTO, because domestic poultry is not
subject to the same restrictions. The Ambassador added that
the U.S. WTO negotiating team is waiting for the Vietnamese
side's latest submission. VFM Bang said that the
realization that Vietnam would not make its self-imposed
deadline for WTO entry by the December ministerial in Hong
Kong had sapped motivation for interagency cooperation on
the Vietnamese side. The Prime Minister recently made a
decision to go forward to try to finish negotiations, and so
Vietnam hopes to have another meeting in November or
December. The Ambassador said that the U.S. side needs at
least three weeks to review any updated proposal from
Vietnam and consult within the USG and with Congress and
American business. If Vietnam hopes to hold a meeting in
November or December, it needs to table its revised offers
and other submissions immediately. It might be possible to
hold another round of discussions this quickly, but only if
Vietnam is prepared to submit significantly improved offers
right away.
8. (SBU) VFM Bang said he understands this, and that Vietnam
is also ready to dispatch another high-level official, a
"special envoy," shortly after the meeting in November or
December who will have "something in his pocket" to get the
two sides to the conclusion stage. It would be great if
this can happen by late December or early January, VFM Bang
said, to make sure that the WTO discussions don't drag on
into the Party Congress scheduled for the second quarter of
2006. The Ambassador said the possibility of a special
envoy being able to wrap up bilateral negotiations soon
depends entirely on how close the two sides are when Vietnam
submits its latest revised offer. VFM Bang mentioned that
Vietnam and Australia have "almost finished" their bilateral
negotiations. He also added that the public comments of the
Vietnamese Ambassador to the UN in Geneva regarding the lack
of U.S. goodwill in negotiating with Vietnam on WTO entry
had been "unapproved and out of order."
APEC IN BUSAN AND THE ENHANCED PARTNERSHIP
------------------------------------------
9. (SBU) VFM Bang asked the Ambassador if President Bush
will meet with Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong at the
APEC summit in Busan, South Korea. The Ambassador noted
that they would probably sit next to each other at several
APEC events due to alphabetization, and that President Bush
hopes to meet all of the ASEAN-7 heads of state in one
meeting. He asked VFM Bang for Vietnam's support in making
that meeting happen. VFM Bang said Vietnam will "join the
ASEAN consensus" on the decisions to meet with President
Bush and whether to release the ASEAN Enhanced Partnership
Initiative document. The Ambassador suggested that Vietnam
is in a position to take a leadership role and drive the
consensus, rather than simply joining it. He explained that
Busan is an opportunity for the United States and ASEAN to
deepen their relations and generate a public commitment to
the Enhanced Partnership. Losing this opportunity will
forfeit some of the momentum we have generated in recent
months, which would be unfortunate. VFM Bang mentioned that
Vietnam wants to host a U.S.-ASEAN summit in Hanoi during
APEC next year. The Ambassador replied that this is an
issue separate from the plans for Busan and for the Enhanced
Partnership, but that Vietnam would benefit from continued
forward progress in U.S.-ASEAN relations.
LAW ENFORCEMENT COOPERATION AND NONPROLIFERATION
--------------------------------------------- ---
10. (SBU) The Ambassador raised two U.S. priorities: law
enforcement cooperation and the Proliferation Security
Initiative. VFM Bang said that Vietnam has been busy on the
nonproliferation front, signing on to the APEC MANPADS
initiative, attending and co-hosting the APEC Export Control
Conference, working on ratification of the CTBT and signing
Article Seven of the CWC. PSI, however, is still under
consideration. On law enforcement cooperation, VFM Bang
welcomed the progress the visiting FBI team (Ref A) made
with its counterparts from the Ministry of Public Security,
but said that "it is too soon to say that we have improved
law enforcement cooperation to the same level as the rest of
the relationship."
AMERICAN HUMANITARIAN EFFORTS MEMORIAL
--------------------------------------
11. (SBU) The Ambassador raised the issue of establishing an
"American Humanitarian Efforts Memorial" that would
memorialize the humanitarian efforts of American doctors,
nurses and civilian volunteers, as well as soldiers, during
the Vietnam War. VFM Bang said that this idea has been
under consideration from both sides for at least ten years,
but that it faces significant obstacles. The various
stakeholders, including U.S. veterans, Vietnamese veterans
and veterans of the former South Vietnamese Army all have to
be taken into consideration. He said he does not think that
a traditional memorial would be acceptable to Vietnam, but
that a school or hospital named in honor of those
humanitarian efforts might win consensus.
NEW EMBASSY COMPOUND
--------------------
12. (SBU) The Ambassador advised VFM Bang that even though
four months have passed since the United States and the
Hanoi People's Committee came to agreement on the general
issues surrounding the development of a new site for a U.S.
Embassy compound, the record of that conversation remains in
doubt. Although the Vietnamese side agreed then, now it
will not sign the minutes, and is asking for significant
changes to the agreed text, including raising the agreed
price ceiling. The Ambassador informed VFM Bang that the
USG cannot approve the move of the Vietnamese Consulate in
San Francisco until the matter of the U.S. Embassy Compound
site is addressed in a mutually acceptable fashion. VFM
Bang promised to raise this issue with the Prime Minister.
HUMAN RIGHTS DISSIDENTS AND AMNESTIES
-------------------------------------
13. (SBU) The Ambassador noted that Vietnamese dissident
Hoang Minh Chinh recently returned to Vietnam after visiting
the United States for medical treatment (Ref B). Other than
a three-hour interrogation on arrival at the airport in Ho
Chi Minh City, authorities in Vietnam have not molested him,
the Ambassador acknowledged. Vietnam generated a great deal
of goodwill by allowing the 87-year old Chinh to travel to
the United States and by addressing his statements against
Vietnam through rebuttal in the newspaper rather than
coercive action. VFM Bang claimed to have no knowledge of
recent developments related to Chinh. Regarding dissidents,
however, he warned the Ambassador that 2006 will not have
any of the "grand amnesties" that characterized 2005. The
year 2005 is special because it is the 60th anniversary of
the founding of Vietnam, and so many more prisoners received
amnesties. There will be no similar large-scale amnesties
in 2006, VFM Bang said, but individual prisoners may still
see sentence reductions or even releases.
THE YEAR AHEAD
--------------
14. (SBU) VFM Bang noted that 2006 will be another big year
for the United States and Vietnam. In addition to the APEC
summit in Hanoi in 2006, there will be a visit by President
Bush to Vietnam and the United States and Vietnam will both
experience elections (a reference to the tenth Vietnamese
Party Congress). Other high-level visits will also occur
that will require planning and work. In fact, 2006 can be
considered "America Year" in Vietnam, VFM Bang said. Among
other visitors, Vietnam hopes to welcome EAP A/S Christopher
Hill. If A/S Hill cannot come to Vietnam, VFM Bang said, it
is possible that VFM Bang could go to Washington to meet
him. The Ambassador and VFM Bang agreed that the Embassy
should work closely with the MFA to anticipate and plan for
the schedule of visitors and bilateral events in 2006.
MARINE