VZCZCXRO6501
OO RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHHI #1408/01 3650443
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 300443Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8940
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 5438
RUEHZS/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 001408 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR H AND EAP/MLS. 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM ECON ETRD MARR VM
 
SUBJECT: SENATOR WEBB'S DECEMBER 23-24 MEETINGS IN HANOI 
 
HANOI 00001408  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: In a wide-ranging set of meetings in Hanoi 
December 23-24, Senator Jim Webb emphasized the considerable 
progress made since he first re-engaged with Vietnam as a civilian 
in 1991.  Speaking with officials from the National Assembly (NA), 
MFA and Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT); the Archbishop of 
Hanoi; local intellectuals; and U.S. businessmen, the Senator 
emphasized the need to continue to develop a relationship he 
described as one of the four most important in Asia.  At the same 
time, the Senator stressed that true reconciliation must also 
embrace those in Vietnam's south, as well as in the diaspora, who 
had suffered after 1975.  The Vietnamese side was well briefed, both 
on the Senator's personal history with Vietnam and on issues 
particular to Virginia, and spoke from common talking points on GSP, 
market economy status, and catfish exports.   END SUMMARY. 
 
Building a Bridge 
----------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The consistent theme of Senator Jim Webb's December 23-24 
meetings in Hanoi was the need to continue strengthening the 
U.S.-Vietnam relationship, which he characterized as one of the four 
most important in Asia.  In separate discussions with VFM Pham Binh 
Minh, NA Vice Chairman Nguyen Duc Kien, NA Foreign Affairs Committee 
Chair Nguyen Van Son, and MOIT VM Do Huu Hao -- as well as in 
conversations with Vietnamese intellectuals at the Ambassador's 
residence December 23 and with the American Chamber of Commerce 
December 24 -- Senator Webb 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.  Particularly striking, the 
Senator noted, were improvements in the business and investment 
climate, as well as efforts -- on both sides -- to heal the wounds 
of war. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) At the same time, Senator Webb emphasized candidly, as a 
longstanding friend of Vietnam, that true reconciliation would 
remain elusive as long as substantial elements of Vietnamese society 
in Vietnam's south, as well as in the diaspora, remained excluded. 
In making this point, the Senator noted that "bridges," while 
invaluable, are vulnerable to hostile fire from either side.  In 
this vein, Senator Webb emphasized to National Assembly Vice Chair 
Kien the tremendous symbolic importance of his planned visits to the 
Ho Chi Minh City Martyrs Cemetery (for NLF and PAVN soldiers) and 
the Binh An Cemetery (for soldiers of the ARVN). 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The Senator's official interlocutors voiced general 
agreement and argued that attitudes were changing; VFM Minh noted, 
for example, that Vietnam's embassy in Washington was actively 
pursuing better relations with the Vietnamese community of Northern 
Virginia.  The only discordant note was struck by NA Vice Chairman 
Kien, who complained about the activities of Vietnamese Americans 
critical of the GVN; however, Kien's remarks appeared almost 
perfunctory, and overall the tone of the Senator's visit was 
extremely positive.  VFM Minh urged the two sides to boost 
cooperation on education, while NA Foreign Affairs Committee Chair 
Son and his deputy, former UN Ambassador Ngo Quang Xuan, called for 
more legislative exchanges and support for the National Assembly's 
efforts to carve out a more robust law-making and oversight role. 
MOIT VM Hao urged closer collaboration on science and technology 
issues, particularly in the energy sector. 
 
GSP, Market Economy Status, Catfish 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The Senator's official counterparts presented a closely 
coordinated message urging Senator Webb to support Vietnam's efforts 
to be granted GSP status.  The most forceful advocate of the GVN 
position was MOIT VM Hao who expressed hope that a favorable 
decision could be reached before the end of the Bush Administration, 
as was discussed during PM Nguyen Tan Dung's June visit to 
Washington.  VM Hao (and others) cited a letter his ministry had 
sent to the USTR detailing plans to revise Vietnam's labor laws by 
¶2010.  VM Hao and NA Vice Chairman Kien also made a strong push for 
Market Economy Status, arguing that such a move would help Vietnam 
in its efforts to redress its trade surplus with the United States. 
The Senator explained continuing U.S. concerns over labor standards, 
stressing that these were standards that the United States sought to 
apply universally, not just with Vietnam.  The Ambassador urged 
Vietnam to consider a Presidential decree to cover the period until 
appropriate legislation could be pass. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Moving to an issue of direct concern to the Senator's 
constituents, VM Hao, Chairman Kien, and VFM Minh urged Senator Webb 
to oppose efforts to reclassify certain types of Vietnamese fish, 
such as the basa, as catfish.  Senator Webb responded that his 
primary concern was less with categorization than with food safety 
and inspection. 
 
 
HANOI 00001408  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Local Intellectuals: U.S. Elections and China 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) While the Senator's GVN counterparts were generally 
circumspect about the change in U.S. administrations, intellectuals 
hosted by the Ambassador the evening of December 23 were more 
effusive.  The former President of Hanoi University, Dr. Nguyen Xuan 
Vang, and Institute of Development Studies economist Le Dang Doanh 
expressed admiration for the U.S. electoral process and said they 
hoped that an Obama administration would remain engaged in Asia. 
Doanh, Vang, and the head of Hanoi Moi newspaper's foreign affair 
division, Nguyen Quoc Chinh, also voiced familiar concerns about 
China, in particular fears that Vietnam was becoming economically 
dependent on its northern neighbor. 
 
AmCham Focuses on the U.S. 
-------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) At an American Chamber of Commerce breakfast December 24, 
members of the U.S. expatriate business community expressed concern 
that Vietnam, despite certain advantages, would be hit hard by the 
global financial crisis.  Attention was primarily focused on the 
United States, however, with the Senator fielding tough questions on 
the Treasury Department's troubled assets relief program (TARP), the 
extension of TARP funds to U.S. automakers, and foreign policy 
priorities for the incoming Obama administration.  Webb said that he 
has advised both President-Elect Obama and future Secretary of State 
Hillary Clinton that the United States should concentrate on 
strengthening its relationships with countries in the region besides 
China and listed Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, and Thailand as 
potential key partners.  Senator Webb noted that he was particularly 
heartened to see where the U.S.-Vietnam relationship is today. 
 
A Moving Discussion with the Archbishop 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) In his final official meeting, Senator Webb and his wife 
exchanged Christmas greetings with Hanoi Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang 
Kiet.  (Note: The next morning, Senator Webb and his family attended 
the Christmas service conducted by the Archbishop.  End note.) 
Archbishop  Kiet eschewed more sensitive topics such as land 
disputes at the former residence of the Papal Nunciate and Thai Ha 
parishes, instead focusing on Pope Benedict's call for world peace 
and an end to poverty.  Senator Webb's allusion to his work as a 
"bridge" between Vietnam and the United States, and the 
sensitivities this involves, appeared to resonate with the 
Archbishop, who himself has come under pressure from the Chairman of 
the Hanoi People's Committee.  Noting that reconciliation was in 
harmony with the teachings of Catholicism, Archbishop Kiet expressed 
hope that divisions within Vietnamese society -- regional 
differences, political divisions, ethnic and religious tensions -- 
could be bridged and old wounds healed. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) The Senator declined an opportunity to clear this cable.