VZCZCXRO0810
OO RUEHDT RUEHPB
DE RUEHHI #1198/01 3100729
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O R 060729Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0408
INFO ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE
RHMCSUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RHMFISS/COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 001198 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, ISN/ECC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL SNAR KNNP MASS VM
SUBJECT: U.S. Coast Guards Begins Training the Vietnam Marine Police 
 
HANOI 00001198  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary.  The United States Coast Guard (USCG) kicked off 
its partnership program with the Vietnam Marine Police (VMP) under 
the Export Control and Related Border Security (EXBS) program by 
conducting two sessions of the Maritime Law Enforcement Boarding 
Officer course in Haiphong and Phu Quoc, October 12-23.  Vietnamese 
participants received practical instruction and hands-on training 
on a range of issues, including interdiction and boarding 
procedures, and a briefing by the Embassy's acting Drug Enforcement 
Agency Attache.  The participants were active, posed questions, and 
offered favorable feedback reviews.  Overall, the training was not 
only beneficial for the participants, but highlighted opportunities 
for more in-depth future training in specific subject areas.  End 
summary. 
 
 
 
¶2.  (U) A 4-person team from USCG visited Vietnam October 12-23 to 
conduct two training sessions as part of the partnering program 
established earlier this year between the USCG and VMP.  The 
sessions, conducted in Haiphong and Phu Quoc, consisted of two days 
of classroom instruction, followed by three days of practical 
hands-on training.  Classroom subjects covered international law, 
boarding preparation and procedures, use of force, stopping 
uncooperative vessels, tactical concepts and tactical procedures, 
smuggling trends and hidden compartment detection, occupational 
hazards, drug identification, introduction on explosives and 
improvised explosive devices, alien migration interdiction 
operations and the use of personal radiation detection devices 
("pagers").  At the end of each class, radiation pagers were handed 
over to VMP Regions 1 and 5 and several more will be transferred to 
VMP Headquarters to help strengthen their non-proliferation 
capacity.  Hands-on training, including easy weapon removal, 
frisking, handcuffing, and boarding exercises, allowed students an 
opportunity to apply the lessons in simulated boarding situations. 
The Acting DEA Attache joined the session in Phu Quoc, where he 
gave an overview of the DEA counternarcotics mission in Vietnam, 
discussed the overall narcotics smuggling situation in Southeast 
Asia, and explained new methods used by drug criminals in the 
region. 
 
 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The VMP Headquarters and their regional offices organized 
the training at their facilities, providing classrooms as well as 
boats for the practical exercises for the 45 VMP students who 
attended the two classes.  The Ministry of Defense (MOD) limited 
this initial training event to the VMP, and the VMP leadership 
easily filled all of the available slots with students with various 
experience and expertise.  Customs and Navy officials have also 
expressed a desire to send their officers to such training, and the 
MOD and VMP have agreed to include these agencies in future events. 
(Comment:  We suspect the MOD limited the initial offering to VMP 
officers only as this fit the scope of the agreed partnership 
proposal and this was their first opportunity to see what the 
training entailed.  We are hopeful that MOD is now more comfortable 
with the training and will allow other agencies to participate in 
future.  End comment.) 
 
 
 
¶4.  (U) During the two courses, students posed questions concerning 
the USCG's organizational structure, U.S. laws and regulations, 
USCG investigation authority, cooperation and coordination between 
USCG and other relating agencies, and information collection and 
sharing, as well as how USCG handles different situations at sea, 
especially when a foreign vessel is involved.  The students of the 
second class, comprised of younger officers with greater English 
capability than the first, were particularly enthusiastic and 
engaged in the training activities.  The Acting DEA Attache also 
reported great interest in counternarcotics issues from the second 
class, particularly in how the U.S. undertakes such operations on 
the sea. 
 
 
 
¶5.  (U) Despite differences in U.S. and Vietnamese laws and 
regulations and the relative level of experience of the two forces, 
the students' evaluated the training highly and said it was a 
valuable opportunity to improve their knowledge and skills.  They 
were impressed with the combination of theory and practical 
exercises and were also complimentary of the instructors, who got 
high marks for being dedicated, enthusiastic, and friendly, yet 
disciplined and professional. 
 
HANOI 00001198  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶6.  (U) The students shared their ideas for improving future 
training, including lengthening the course, adding more advanced 
courses and specialized courses in drug interdiction, search and 
rescue, and international law, and offering specialized English 
language training.  As the VMP is still in the planning process to 
develop its own training facility, both the students and the VMP 
leadership asked for additional USCG training opportunities for 
more attendees.  The senior VMP officials present also requested 
additional equipment, including contraband detection tools, 
narcotic field test kits, and fraudulent document detection 
machines. 
 
 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Comment.  This was the first USCG engagement with the VMP 
under their new partnership program.  Its positive results bode 
well for future cooperation between the two forces.  The training 
courses received a great deal of attention from the VMP leadership, 
as well as the Ministry of Defense, with senior representatives 
from MOD both attending the opening and closing ceremonies, and 
hosting farewell lunches and dinners.  The VMP leadership's 
recommendations for future training will not only be very useful 
for planning purposes, but represent clear signals that they are 
eager for further cooperation.  Continuing the partnership plan, 
the USCG has invited one VMP officer to attend the 15-week 
International Maritime Officer Course starting in March 2010 at the 
USCG Training Center in Yorktown, Virginia. 
Palmer