VZCZCXRO0140
PP RUEHDT RUEHPB
DE RUEHHM #0817/01 2150658
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 030658Z AUG 07
FM AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2952
INFO RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI PRIORITY 2081
RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 3154

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HO CHI MINH CITY 000817 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SOCI PREL PGOV KIRF VM
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR AND USS PELELIU BID FAREWELL TO CENTRAL VIETNAM 
 
HO CHI MIN 00000817  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
Summary 
------- 
¶1. (U) Summary:  Ambassador Marine traveled to Danang on July 
24-25 to attend closing activities related to the USS Peleliu's 
ten-day Pacific Partnership humanitarian mission to Vietnam.  On 
the same visit, the Ambassador paid farewell calls on Tran Van 
Minh, Chairman of the Danang City People's Committee, and 
Catholic Bishop Joseph Chau Ngoc Tri.  He also visited a 
dioxin/Agent Orange remediation site near Danang airport, held a 
press roundtable for Danang media, and presided over a JPAC 
Repatriation Ceremony during which three sets of remains 
believed to be Americans killed during the Vietnam conflict were 
transferred to U.S. custody. End summary. 
 
USS Peleliu - Pacific Partnership A Success 
--------------------------------------------- - 
¶2. (U) The USS Peleliu, a naval vessel on a four month Pacific 
Partnership mission to Southeast Asia and Oceania, arrived in 
Danang on July 15, 2007, for a ten-day humanitarian operation. 
Peleliu's crew of military personnel, NGO staffers and nationals 
of seven partner nations (Japan, Australia, Singapore, India, 
Malaysia, Canada and the Republic of Korea) conducted a variety 
of medical, dental and engineering operations in cooperation 
with the Vietnamese Ministries of Health (MOH) and Defense 
(MOD).  Three civilian Vietnamese doctors also joined the 
Peleliu's crew at Danang and will participate in the remainder 
of the Pacific Partnership mission.  The humanitarian mission 
was an overwhelming success and an important milestone for 
U.S.-Vietnam military cooperation. 
 
¶3. (U) Ambassador Marine visited one of many mission sites, a 
medical and dental clinic run out of a local school.  After 
meeting its target of one thousand medical and dental exams over 
four days, the clinic ran out of dental patients on the last day 
and had to request permission from local authorities to examine 
additional patients from a nearby primary school. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The closing reception onboard the Peleliu was well 
attended by officials from the MOH, MOD and the Danang People's 
Committee.  People's Committee Vice Chairman Van Huu Chien and 
his delegation were impressed with the tour given by ship's 
commanding officer, and eagerly asked questions about the ship's 
medical facilities and capabilities. 
 
Danang - City on the Move 
------------------------ 
¶5. (U) During his farewell call on the Danang People's 
Committee, the Ambassador noted Danang's impressive economic 
growth over the last few years, as demonstrated by its current 
ranking as the second most competitive province nationwide in 
the 2006 Vietnam Provincial Competitiveness Index.  The 
Ambassador cited the uptick in visits to Danang by himself and 
the Consul General as evidence of the importance Mission Vietnam 
places on maintaining a visible presence in Danang and affirmed 
Mission Vietnam's desire to increase the level of USG activity 
in Central Vietnam in general. 
 
¶6. (U) People's Committee Chairman Tran Van Minh thanked the 
Ambassador for his efforts to improve ties between the U.S. and 
Central Vietnam and expressed his desire to expand exchanges 
between U.S. and Danang youth, especially through U.S. 
educational exchange opportunities. 
 
¶7. (U) Chairman Minh also commented positively on the 
Ambassador's visit to a dioxin cleanup site at Danang airport 
earlier the same day (see paras 13 and 14), and pressed for 
continued USG attention to the Agent Orange issue.  Finally, 
Minh sought the Ambassador's advice on how best to ensure that 
the East-West Economic Corridor through Thailand, Laos and 
Vietnam, which terminates at Danang seaport, reaches its full 
potential. 
 
Bishop of Danang notes Positive Trends, Ongoing Issues 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
¶8. (U) At Ambassador Marine's first-ever meeting with Danang 
Bishop Joseph Chau Ngoc Tri, he began by expressing common 
interest in supporting religious freedom issues in Vietnam, 
affirming that USG interest has not been diminished by Vietnam's 
removal from the list of countries of particular concern (CPC) 
last year, and noting our continued willingness to follow up 
with the GVN on cases as they arise.  Bishop Tri expressed a 
desire to increase exchanges with U.S. Catholics and noted that 
the Vietnam Bishops' Council plans to invite the U.S. Conference 
of Bishops to return to Vietnam next year. 
 
¶9. (U) Bishop Tri presented a generally positive picture of his 
diocese's relationship with the government, noting that 
conditions for the Church's followers in Danang had improved 
significantly over the past few years.  As evidence of the 
improving relationship between the Church and GVN, Bishop Tri 
 
HO CHI MIN 00000817  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
cited the government's recent commitment to provide the diocese 
with land near Danang's riverfront to construct administrative 
offices, partially compensating the diocese for the land it lost 
after 1975.  The diocese's current administrative offices have 
been borrowed from a local parish since 1985. 
 
¶10. (U) Despite overall positive trends, Bishop Tri did note 
several areas of concern.  He said establishing parishes in 
certain remote areas of the diocese has been "difficult" because 
of complications and delays created by local authorities.  He 
also said the Church was displeased with news reports quoting 
President Nguyen Minh Triet as saying the Vatican and the 
Vietnam Bishops' Council supported GVN's handling of the trial 
of Father Nguyen Van Ly.  Bishop Tri confirmed reports in the 
press that the Bishop of Nha Trang, who is also the Chairman of 
the Vietnam Bishops' Council, wrote President Triet to object to 
the way his comments were portrayed in the media.  Finally, the 
bishop expressed frustration over the diocese's inability to 
train adequate numbers of priests and nuns, but attributed that 
problem to Danang's relatively small proportion of religious 
people, rather than problems with local authorities. 
 
¶11. (SBU) When the Ambassador offered to raise the Bishop's 
concerns with the Danang People's Committee, Bishop Tri stated 
that he had not yet discussed the issue with the local 
government and preferred to talk to them first.  The Ambassador 
encouraged Bishop Tri to approach the local government as soon 
as possible, noting GVN's improved responsiveness to religious 
issues over the past year. 
 
U.S. Funds Dioxin Remediation Planning in Danang 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
¶12. (U) Ambassador Marine toured the Danang Airport, which is 
the first Agent Orange/dioxin hotspot to receive USG technical 
assistance, accompanied by officials from the Ministry of 
Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) Office 33 and MOD. 
The USG has provided approximately USD 2 million since 2002 to 
build the capacity of the GVN in dioxin soil analysis and 
remediation planning at the Danang Airport.  Since last year, 
the USG, together with the GVN and the Ford Foundation, have 
supported an activity to lock down the dioxin in the Danang 
Airport and minimize human risk of exposure at the site.  In the 
November 2006 Joint Statement of President George W. Bush and 
President Nguyen Minh Triet, the leaders agreed that further 
joint efforts to address the environmental contamination near 
former dioxin storage sites would make a valuable contribution 
to the continued development of their bilateral relationship. 
In the 2007 supplemental budget, Congress allocated an 
additional USD 3 million for dioxin remediation activities in 
Vietnam.  The GVN claims to have spent VND 5 billion (USD 
312,000) on cleanup efforts in Bien Hoa and Danang.  According 
to Dr. Le Ke Son of MONRE's Office 33 and Dr. Tran Ngoc Tam of 
the MOD's Science, Technology and Environment Department, the 
GVN is set to begin a three-month project to prepare a holding 
area and reinforce the walls of a drainage ditch located between 
the former dioxin storage areas and Sen lake, located downstream 
and close to the contaminated area. 
 
¶13. (U) Members of the media were not present during the site 
visit; however, the Agent Orange/dioxin issue was raised during 
all of the Ambassador's interactions with the press.  The 
Ambassador encouraged members of the media to do more to educate 
their audience on the need to cease harvesting water plants from 
the area and to avoid fishing in Sen Lake. 
 
Repatriation of Remains Ceremony 
--------------------------------------------- 
¶14. (U) On July 25, the Vietnam Office for Seeking Missing 
Persons (VNOSMP) transferred custody of three sets of remains 
believed to be those of Americans who died in the Vietnam 
conflict to Detachment Two, Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command 
(JPAC).  The remains were recovered from Quang Tri and Thua 
Thien-Hue provinces in central Vietnam and from Lang Son 
Province in the north.  Ambassador Marine presided over the 
repatriation ceremony at which a military honor guard 
transferred the remains to a U.S. Air Force aircraft for 
repatriation to the JPAC Central Identification Laboratory (CIL) 
at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii.  The JPAC/CIL is the executive 
agent of the United States Department of Defense for identifying 
the remains of all servicemen and servicewomen. 
 
Ambassador's Visit Receives Wide Press Coverage 
--------------------------------------------- 
¶15. (U) During his final press roundtable in Danang on July 25, 
the Ambassador took the opportunity to respond to questions on 
bilateral relations, including Agent Orange/dioxin, HIV/AIDS, 
educational collaborations, and joint military cooperation. The 
roundtable was broadcast not only by Danang television but also 
by VTV, and resulted in broad print coverage by Danang 
provincial newspapers and VietnamNet. 
 
HO CHI MIN 00000817  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶16. This cable was coordinated with Embassy Hanoi. 
FAIRFAX