VZCZCXRO6498
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHHI #2607/01 2850312
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 120312Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3669
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 1963
RUEHZS/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/CJCS WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 002607 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS AND EAP/RSP 
JCS FOR ISA/STERN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PTER MARR VM
SUBJECT: CODEL HAGEL CALLS ON MINISTER OF DEFENSE, COLONEL GENERAL 
PHUNG QUANG THANH 
 
 
HANOI 00002607  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) On October 6, Senator Hagel called on Vietnam's new 
Minister of Defense, Colonel General Phung Quang Thanh.  During this 
meeting, Colonel General Thanh reviewed the positive trend in 
bilateral military relations, and noted several key areas where the 
U.S.-Vietnam defense relationship could grow.  Senator Hagel 
inquired about Vietnam's ongoing efforts to modernize its military 
forces, to combat terrorism, and also about how the different 
elements of the People's Armed Forces work together to carry out 
their various missions.  Thanh provided straightforward answers, 
underscoring that the military in Vietnam serves defend Vietnam, the 
Communist Party and the current political structure.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) On October 6, Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) engaged Vietnam's 
new Minister of Defense, Colonel General Phung Quang Thanh in a 
cordial, but substantive, discussion of the challenges facing 
Vietnam's military.  The Senator was accompanied by the CDA, 
professional staff member Rexon Ryu, and military escort Lieutenant 
Colonel Gregg Olson, as well as by a control officer and an Embassy 
notetaker. 
 
Thanh Reviews Relations; Gives a Positive Spin 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶3. (SBU) Colonel General Thanh thanked Senator Hagel for his visit 
and expressed appreciation for his longtime contributions to the 
bilateral relationship, as well as his ongoing efforts to support 
the granting of PNTR and Vietnam's accession to the WTO.  Senator 
Hagel thanked the Minister for his welcome and provided an overview 
of his trip to Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam - countries of key 
geopolitical importance for the United States. Of these, he noted 
that the U.S.-Vietnam relationship was considered to be important to 
the United States.  He suggested that efforts by both countries to 
promote trade would continue to promote security in the region, and 
that the continuing growth of bilateral defense cooperation in areas 
of common interest could contribute positively to both countries 
security interests.  The Senator asked Colonel General Thanh to 
share his thoughts and opinions on the current state of mil-mil 
relations and also about areas where cooperation could potentially 
be expanded. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Colonel General Thanh characterized the current mil-mil 
relationship as very positive and opined that he believed that the 
bilateral defense relationship provides a good contribution to the 
overall bilateral relationship.  He further noted that the bilateral 
defense relationship should continue to be built within the context 
of the overall bilateral relationship and thus be oriented towards 
promoting stability and the fostering of a long-term relationship. 
He stated that the mil-mil relationship should serve the cause of 
peace, stability, cooperation and development in both the region and 
the world.  He stated that both sides have taken constructive and 
active steps toward that end.  He recalled that Defense Ministers of 
both countries have recently exchanged visits, and that the 
Commander of U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM) had recently paid a 
visit.  He also noted that Vietnam's military research institutes 
have held exchanges with U.S. military personnel, and that there has 
been much other cooperation in the field of education and training. 
Colonel General Thanh also noted the at least one U.S. naval warship 
has visited Vietnam's ports each year, and he expressed appreciation 
for U.S. assistance in addressing the problems of unexploded 
ordnance, landmines and toxic chemical contamination.  He also 
expressed his appreciation for the productive cooperation between 
USPACOM military medical personnel and the People's Army Military 
Medical Department in fighting HIV/AIDS.  He asked Senator Hagel to 
pass on his personal thanks to USPACOM for its assistance in caring 
for one of the PAVN officers who fell on during a recent trip to 
Honolulu, HI and who required significant medical attention. 
Finally, he thanked Senator Hagel for U.S. assistance in funding the 
two military officers currently studying at the Defense Language 
Institute's English Language Training Center in Texas, and asked for 
additional assistance to provide more language and technical 
training to Vietnam's military officers in the years to come. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Colonel General Thanh noted past successful cooperation by 
both countries to resolve MIA cases, and called attention to efforts 
by Vietnam to assist U.S. activities in this area, especially in the 
central highlands and other sensitive mountainous areas.  He thanked 
the United States for the provision of archival records that have 
helped in the recovery of Vietnam's own MIAs, and he suggested that 
the GVN is seriously considering permitting U.S. naval vessels to 
conduct MIA recovery efforts in Vietnam's territorial waters; 
however, he noted that certain areas in the eastern sea continue to 
 
HANOI 00002607  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
be in dispute and the presence of U.S. naval vessels could be 
perceived wrongly. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Colonel General Thanh also suggested that Vietnam would 
welcome further U.S. assistance in addressing wartime legacy issues, 
especially in the area of cleaning-up "toxic hotspots."  He added 
that another area of possible cooperation is in counter-terrorism. 
He noted that Vietnam currently enjoys social and political 
stability, but the GVN recognizes the value of sharing experiences 
and information with the United States in this area so that both 
countries can continue to enjoy peace and stability. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Colonel General Thanh pointed out that Lieutenant General 
Nguyen Duc Soat, he standing Vice-Chairman of Vietnam's National 
Search and Rescue Committee (and also a Deputy Chief of the General 
Staff), is currently leading a delegation of search and rescue 
specialists to the United States on a fact finding tour.  He added 
that he hoped that the United States and Vietnam could work together 
more closely in fighting against the effects of natural disasters. 
He pointed out that Vietnamese fishing vessels often get caught-up 
in storms and he indicated that the GVN would welcome U.S. help in 
coming to their assistance.  He also suggested that the GVN would 
welcome USPACOM assistance in meteorological and oceanographic 
(METOC) prediction in order to mitigate the effects of typhoons. 
 
Hagel: Condolences; Your Biggest Challenge? 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Senator Hagel thanked Colonel General Thanh for his 
comments and expressed his condolences on behalf of the U.S. 
Congress and the American people for the loss of life in recent 
typhoon.  He also noted that the U.S. Embassy would soon announce 
the availability of funds to assist survivors.  He expressed his 
appreciation for the Minister's ideas about ways to grow the 
bilateral defense relationship, and inquired about the biggest 
challenges currently being faced by Vietnam's army in its attempts 
to modernize its forces. 
 
People, Advanced Weaponry 
------------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Colonel General Thanh replied that like many other 
countries in the world, Vietnam is trying to reduce its number of 
active-duty forces while simultaneously raising the quality of its 
weapons systems.  He lamented that despite many remarkable economic 
achievements, Vietnam remains a relatively poor country and cannot 
contribute as much as it would like to the army's program of weapons 
modernization.  Despite the fact that Vietnam's defense doctrine 
relies both on weapons systems and human resources, Vietnam's 
poverty compels it to emphasize the latter.  He added that Vietnam 
depends on levee en masse, but that the active army constitutes the 
vanguard and leading force of the armed forces.  He stated that 
great attention is paid to synergizing the training and operation of 
both forces to ensure that Vietnam's human resource contribution to 
defense is adequate for its mission, which is primarily to preserve 
Vietnam's territorial integrity against foreign invaders. 
 
Terrorism 
--------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) Senator Hagel then asked about how Vietnam's army feels 
about the threat of terrorism and if Vietnam felt it was vulnerable 
to that threat.  Colonel General Thanh replied that many countries 
in the region have recently had problems with terrorism, and that 
even Vietnam has had problems in the central highlands and other 
remote mountainous areas, especially where there are many ethnic 
minorities.  He added that the GVN has not yet eliminated the 
problem with remaining elements of United Front for the Liberation 
of Oppressed Races (FULRO) and that there is always the threat that 
outside forces will try to negatively influence the relatively 
uneducated rural inhabitants of these areas.  He suggested that it 
would be unlikely that well-educated urban dwellers would be 
susceptible to this influence and that therefore the threat of 
terrorism there is minimal. 
 
Military and Police Roles; Intelligence 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) Senator Hagel followed up with a question about the 
relationship between Vietnam's army and its security forces. 
Colonel General Thanh explained that the People's Army and the 
People's Security Forces are both constituent elements of the 
People's Armed Forces, and that both operate under the leadership 
and guidance of the Communist Party, as well as that of the 
 
HANOI 00002607  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
government.  While both forces work together very closely to protect 
the Communist Party, the state and the government, the army is 
primarily responsible for ensuring Vietnam's territorial integrity, 
which includes fighting against the threat of terrorism and in 
mitigating the consequences of natural disasters. He stated that the 
primary mission of the security forces is to ensure social order and 
political stability, as well as to fight crime, including 
transnational crime.  Police forces play the leading role in 
fighting terrorism, but the army has an obligation to cooperate and 
assist where it can.  Colonel General Thanh added that for over 
sixty years, both forces have worked in close cooperation in support 
of the party, which is why the leaders of both forces are not only 
cabinet ministers, but are also members of the Politburo. 
 
¶12. (SBU) Senator Hagel also asked if the Minister of Defense had 
oversight of intelligence activities.  Colonel General Thanh 
affirmed that intelligence units do report to him on a daily basis 
because he is also the army's senior military officer.  Senator 
Hagel then asked if the Minister of Foreign Affairs also received 
the same intelligence reports, and Colonel General Thanh indicated 
that although other ministers receive intelligence reports, they did 
not receive the same reports as he receives, nor do they receive 
them as frequently. 
 
¶13. (SBU) Senator Hagel wrapped up visit by again thanking Colonel 
General Thanh for Vietnam's contributions to the bilateral defense 
relationship and offered his hopes that the relationship would 
continue to grow.  Responding in kind, Minister of Defense Thanh 
wished the Senator and his staff good health and asked his continued 
support for upcoming efforts to promote bilateral trade and defense 
cooperation. 
 
Embassy Comment 
--------------- 
 
¶14. (SBU) Minister of Defense Thanh was poised, relaxed, positive 
and frank throughout the entire meeting.  He responded clearly and 
unambiguously to every inquiry posed by Senator Hagel and offered a 
number of constructive ideas to expand the bilateral defense 
relationship.  The Minister signaled a clear desire to continue the 
positive, if cautious, trend in bilateral relations, and expressed a 
willingness to consider expanding the mil-mil envelope a bit more 
than past visits have indicated.  In particular, his indication that 
the MOD is considering requests to use U.S. ships to perform 
underwater MIA recovery missions is new. 
 
¶15.  (U) This cable was cleared by JPAC Detachment Two and Senator 
Hagel's staff. 
 
ALOISI