VZCZCXRO8472
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHHI #0592/01 1411008
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 201008Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7857
RHEHNSC/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 4744
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 000592 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, DRL/AWH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL CM VM
 
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH VICE FOREIGN MINISTER ON PRIME 
MINISTER'S "STRATEGIC" VISIT TO U.S. 
 
HANOI 00000592  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
1.(SBU) Summary: In a May 19 meeting with the Ambassador, Vice 
Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh emphasized that the upcoming visit 
to the United States by Prime Minister Dung had "strategic 
importance" and took a serious effort by the GVN to arrange.  Minh 
and the Ambassador discussed possible deliverables for the visit in 
the areas of education, climate change, human rights, and consular 
district issues. They also exchanged views on Vietnam's role on the 
UN Security Council, cyclone assistance to Burma and concerns about 
China's role in the South China Sea.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Minh said the Prime Minister's visit had "strategic 
importance" and had required major reshuffling of the Vietnamese 
leaderships' schedules in order for the visit to the United States 
to occur this year.  The Prime Minister had recently convened an 
interministerial meeting to discuss the wide range of areas that 
could be addressed in the context of a visit.  Minh said in his own 
meetings with NSC and State in April he understood that there was 
difficulty in finding a date when Blair House was available, but 
that in any case the visit itself was not in question. 
 
¶3. (SBU) On deliverables, Minh said the Ministry of Education and 
Training was sending a team to Texas to look at possibly signing 
MOUs with universities there.  There has been an "evolution" in 
Vietnamese thinking, and the country now wants schools with U.S. 
curricula and teachers.  The Ambassador noted that, while MOUs could 
be valuable, time was short and a joint task force could pull 
together a number of initiatives following up on the visit. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The Ambassador noted that our bilateral Human Rights 
Dialogue is set for May 29 and that it offered an opportunity for 
progress ahead of the Prime Minister's visit.  He pointed out that 
one simple change the GVN could make for press freedom would be to 
allow foreign news organizations to open offices in Ho Chi Minh 
City.  Currently they can only have offices in Hanoi and must travel 
to the south to report.  Minh said this could be considered. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Minh said climate change was another area of high GVN 
interest, and the Ambassador said we are preparing a package of 
deliverables in this area.  Among other deliverables, GVN 
participation in the Global Peacekeeping Operations Initiative 
(GPOI) would be welcome.  Minh said the GVN was open to sending 
personnel for training for noncombat operations.  On the AO/dioxin 
issue, a team from the Embassy is doing an assessment in Danang this 
week and EPA is coming out to Vietnam to consider next steps.  Minh 
said any concrete steps on this before the Prime Minister's visit 
would be welcome.  On adoptions, the Ambassador pushed for a GVN 
commitment to join the Hague Convention and said the USG could offer 
technical assistance. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Discussing Vietnam's tensions with China in the South China 
Sea, Minh said the situation could be solved peacefully and Vietnam 
is ready to negotiate.  Asked about an ASEAN role, Minh responded 
that the ASEAN countries have different interests but the various 
claimants try to work together.  The Ambassador said the U.S. 
supports dialogue and remains concerned about Chinese harassment of 
companies working in the area.  Minh noted he understood from his 
April consultations in Washington that this was an issue POTUS would 
like to discuss with the Prime Minister. 
 
¶7. (SBU) On cyclone assistance to Burma, Minh said Vietnam was 
offering to send a medical team but was facing transportation 
issues.  The Ambassador noted that the USG has airlift capability 
and renewed our offer to transport Vietnamese supplies and personnel 
to Burma.  Minh was noncommittal, but noted that the GVN is in touch 
with the Burmese regime and that it is changing and becoming more 
open. 
 
¶8. (SBU) On the UN Security Council, the Ambassador thanked Minh for 
Vietnam's support on Iran sanctions but noted that we had 
differences over other issues such as a resolution on Somali piracy. 
 Minh said Vietnam feels it is important that its voice is heard. 
The GVN's concern had been that the resolution could be expanded to 
include other areas including the South China sea.  That clause was 
changed, Minh said, but the resolution would set a precedent for 
acting against a nonstate actor and piracy is not as serious a 
threat to international security as terrorism.  To the Ambassador's 
observation that some in the U.S. say Vietnam is simply following 
Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) positions, Minh responded that Vietnam is 
after all a NAM member. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Minh said the GVN is focused on solving the remaining 
issues regarding the New Embassy Compound (NEC) in the context of 
Prime Minister's visit.  Minh said the U.S. side misunderstood that 
the 99-year lease the GVN offered was not renewable.  He clarified 
that it is in fact renewable but that renewal is not automatic - the 
USG just requests renewal six months before the lease runs out.  The 
 
HANOI 00000592  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Ambassador responded that 99 years plus "maybe" 99 more does not 
equal freehold.  The Ambassador then asked about the possibility of 
the 70 year plus 70 arrangement offered for private investment. 
Minh asserted that such an arrangement is not for diplomats and that 
there is no precedent - we are already far down the road on this and 
changing tack now would complicate things in a negative way.  The 
Ambassador said if nothing can be worked out we would be back to the 
issue of reciprocity. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Minh said the GVN is considering sending a team to Houston 
to look at property for a new consulate.  The Ambassador said that 
would not be a problem as long as the GVN signed no agreements - a 
Houston consulate for the GVN could be established at the same time 
the Ho Chi Minh City consular district issue is resolved.  Minh 
agreed that this was possible.  Minh noted that the GVN is still 
pressing for permission to issue visas in New York, and the 
Ambassador said he would look into the issue. 
 
MICHALAK