VZCZCXRO8220
OO RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHHI #0336/01 1031009
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 131009Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9479
RUEHZS/ASEAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 000336 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS AND DRL 
 
E.O. 12598: N/A 
TAGS: OVIP MCCAIN PREL ECON ETRD SENV PHUM CASC VM
SUBJECT: CODEL McCain Visit to Vietnam 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  FOR INTERNAL USG USE.  NOT SUITABLE FOR 
INTERNET POSTING. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: In their April 6-8 visit to Vietnam, CODEL McCain 
covered a wide range of issues with the Vietnamese leadership, 
including the recent DPRK missile test, the need for a new bilateral 
agreement on adoptions, the GVN's desire for market economy status 
and the need for greater respect for human rights and press freedom. 
 The Codel, led by Senator John McCain and including Senators 
Lindsey Graham and Amy Klobuchar, held separate meetings in Hanoi 
with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and National Assembly Chairman 
Nguyen Phu Trong.  Senator McCain also spoke to an enthusiastic 
group of several hundred students at the Diplomatic Academy of 
Vietnam, stressing the need to turn away from economic isolationism, 
increase military-to-military cooperation and improve human rights 
and political freedoms in Vietnam.  The delegation's visit received 
extensive positive coverage in the local and national press.  End 
summary. 
 
VIETNAMESE LEADERS STRESS COOPERATION 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) PM Dung thanked Senator McCain for his long-standing role 
in strengthening bilateral cooperation.  Dung noted that Vietnam had 
6.3 percent economic growth in 2008 and said that growth in the 
first quarter of 2009 was 3.1 percent, acknowledging the United 
States role in spurring growth in Vietnam through trade and 
investment.  He said trade volume had a ten-fold increase from 2001 
through the end of 2008 and now totaled over $15 billion annually. 
PM Dung highlighted bilateral cooperation in four main areas: trade 
and investment, education, climate change and security issues.  In 
discussing trade, both Prime Minister Dung and National Assembly 
Chairman Trong urged the United States to move forward in 
recognizing Vietnam's status both as a market economy and making it 
a Generalized System of Preferences beneficiary. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Turning to education, PM Dung commented that by increasing 
the number of Vietnamese studying in the United States we are 
building a "lasting bridge of cooperation."  He noted that currently 
10,000 Vietnamese students are in the United States.  On climate 
change, PM Dung stressed that according to international if sea 
levels continue to rise the effect on Vietnam will be second only to 
that on Bangladesh.  In response to a question from Sen. Graham on 
the need for increased nuclear power to combat climate change, PM 
Dung responded that the GVN is planning to construct a 4,000 MW 
reactor and is in the final stages of completing the bidding 
process.  The PM also commented that without the new reactor Vietnam 
will be unable to meet its growing electricity demand. 
 
¶4. (SBU) PM Dung also asked for U.S. assistance with Agent Orange 
remediation, locating Vietnam's 300,000 MIA and in dealing with 
unexploded ordinance and remnants of war. PM Dung thanked Senator 
McCain for the United States' large financial commitment to fight 
HIV/AIDS in Vietnam and for Cindy McCain's personal contributions to 
the country through her involvement with Operation Smile in Vietnam. 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) Senator Klobuchar asked for assistance from the Prime 
Minister in rebuilding the bilateral adoption relationship.  PM Dung 
responded that the GVN continues to move towards joining the Hague 
Convention soon and that he had recently convened an 
inter-ministerial discussion on the Hague Convention.  He stressed 
that he wants cooperation on adoptions to move forward and asked for 
assistance in getting a new adoption agreement signed. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Sen. Klobuchar also raised the increased agricultural 
exports from the United States in both meetings with the Prime 
Minister and Chairman of the National Assembly.  Chairman Trong 
responded that Vietnam too wants to increase agricultural exports to 
the United States, especially basa catfish.  He stressed that 
Vietnam's basa catfish exports should not be singled out in the farm 
bill before Congress. 
 
SECURITY ISSUES, NORTH KOREA AND IRAN 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Rounding out the top areas for cooperation, Dung focused on 
continued cooperation on security issues such as counterterrorism 
and the fight against transnational crime.  Senator McCain stressed 
the need for improved military-to-military cooperation within the 
realm of security issues with both PM Dung and NA Chairman Trong. 
Sen. Graham asked both the Prime Minister and the Chairman about 
their thoughts on North Korea's recent missile test.  PM Dung 
answered that Vietnam wants peace and reunification in the Koreas 
and opposes weapons of mass destruction.  He affirmed Vietnam's 
support for UNSC Resolution 1718 on DPRK and stressed that all 
countries should abide by the resolution.  He also said that the 
Six-Party Talks remain the best mechanism to resolve the issue. 
 
¶8. (SBU) National Assembly Chairman Trong likewise echoed PM Dung's 
calls for peaceful reunification on the Korean peninsula and the 
 
HANOI 00000336  002 OF 002 
 
 
importance of the Six-Party Talks.  He said that North Korea and 
Iran both must comply with international law and practices when 
asked by Sen. Graham the best path forward in dealing with the two 
countries.  Trong counseled all parties to show restraint and use 
dialogue to solve ongoing disputes. 
 
HUMAN RIGHTS AND PRESS FREEDOM 
------------------------------ 
 
¶9. (SBU) In his meetings with the Prime Minister and National 
Assembly Chairman, Sen. McCain asserted the need for a free press to 
combat corruption in a democratic society, and questioned Chairman 
Trong on the arrest and conviction of journalists who had uncovered 
the PMU-18 corruption scandal.  Chairman Trong agreed that a free 
press was important.  He asserted that the journalists in question 
were arrested not because they reported on corruption but due to 
violating the law and misstating the facts of the case.  He noted 
that many NA committee hearings and all main sessions are now aired 
live on national television.  He also stated that Vietnam currently 
has more than 40,000 professional journalists and several hundred 
news agencies. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Noting the National Assembly's desire for stronger ties 
with the U.S. Congress, Chairman Trong asked the delegation to send 
his warm regards to Speaker Pelosi and let her know that he would 
like to extend an invitation for Speaker Pelosi to visit Vietnam. 
 
SPEECH FOCUSES ON COOPERATION, LIBERALIZATION 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Senator McCain's speech at the Diplomatic Academy of 
Vietnam drew hundreds of cheering students and faculty.  Senator 
McCain dedicated a large portion of his speech to encouraging 
enhancing bilateral military-to-military cooperation by increasing 
IMET exchanges, adding additional ship visits, and continuing 
discussions about Vietnam's participation in UN peacekeeping 
operations.  He also focused on the need for Vietnam to "take steps 
toward greater political liberalization" by "allowing greater 
freedom of expression, releasing all individuals imprisoned for 
peacefully expressing their views, improving human rights, and 
widening the scope of political activity." 
 
PRESS COVERAGE POSITIVE AND EXTENSIVE 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶12.  (SBU) The delegation's visit received wall-to-wall positive 
press coverage, with all major national and local news daily 
carrying extensive articles.  State-run Vietnam Television's nightly 
news program, watched by an estimated 25 million Vietnamese, spent 
nearly six minutes reporting on the delegation's meetings with Prime 
Minister Dung and National Assembly Chairman Trong. 
 
MICHALAK