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DE RUEHHI #0017/01 0350453
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O R 040453Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0833
INFO ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RHMCSUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0061
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 0441
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 000017 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/04 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM ECON MARR ASEAN BM VM
SUBJECT: Vietnam's Impressions of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Retreat 
in Danang 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Virginia Palmer, Deputy Chief of Mission; REASON: 
1.4(B), (D) 
 
¶1.  (C) SUMMARY: The first major ASEAN meeting of Vietnam's 
chairmanship, an informal foreign ministers retreat, focused 
primarily on internal efforts to implement ASEAN's new charter and 
on aspirations to build an ASEAN Community by 2015, according to 
officials from the MFA's ASEAN Department.  ASEAN's external 
relations were a secondary, but important subject, with agreement 
that ASEAN should remain at the core of any emerging Asian 
architecture.  Burma was not an agenda item -- in keeping with the 
nature of the retreat, there was no formal agenda -- but the 
Burmese Foreign Minister was asked to report on preparations for 
the 2010 elections, which he said were tentatively planned May 
27-28.  Our MFA contacts gave no indication that ASEAN's human 
rights body was discussed.  Participants endorsed broadening 
external contacts for the ADMM, with a "+8" arrangement emerging as 
the most likely grouping.  Vietnam continues to press for senior 
U.S. participation in ASEAN events, including the Secretary's 
attendance at a series of ASEAN Dialogue Partner, ARF, and Lower 
Mekong Initiative meetings July 22-24, as well as a October 29-31 
Leaders Summit, which Vietnam dearly wants the President to attend. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
 
 
¶2.  (C) Vietnam kicked off its 2010 ASEAN chairmanship with a 
low-key meeting of ASEAN Foreign Ministers January 13-14 in Danang. 
According to the Director of the Political and Security Division 
within the MFA's ASEAN Department, Duong Tri Hien, the FM retreat 
also involved two of ASEAN's four ministerial-level committees, one 
dealing with political and security affairs, the other dealing with 
overall coordination.  (The economic and cultural/social committees 
did not meet.)  The political/ security committee, Hien said, built 
on discussions held last year in Phuket and focused on boosting 
regional initiatives to combat human trafficking, efforts to make 
the Declaration of Conduct in the South China Sea more robust, and 
prospects for a status-of-forces agreement in connection with 
regional disaster relief exercises.  Hien characterized 
deliberations on all these issues as amicable but still 
preliminary.  The ministers also established an ASEAN Connectivity 
Task Force, which will concentrate on supporting ASEAN's larger 
goal to build an ASEAN Community by 2015 by strengthening "hard" 
links within the region, such as maritime shipping and shared 
energy grids, as well as by encouraging "soft" links, such as 
cultural exchanges and more advanced and widely shared information 
technology. 
 
 
 
¶3.  (C) As for the retreat itself, Hien said that discussions 
focused primarily on setting priorities for 2010, including in 
particular efforts to accelerate the implementation of ASEAN's 
December 2008 Charter.  The most significant achievement in this 
regard was an agreement to finalize work on a dispute-resolution 
mechanism in time for the April ASEAN leaders summit, Hien said. 
Ministers also discussed ASEAN's external relations and affirmed 
that any discussion of regional architecture must have ASEAN as its 
core.  There was little discussion of ASEAN "+" mechanisms, a 
reflection, Hien claimed, of the fact that ASEAN is satisfied with 
current arrangements. 
 
 
 
Wish List for U.S. Participation in 2010 
 
---------------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The ministers did, however, discuss the second ASEAN-U.S. 
Summit, agreeing that the event should be held in Hanoi, most 
appropriately in connection with the ASEAN summit planned for the 
end of October (October 29-31).  Hien conceded it might be 
difficult for the President to attend a late October summit, coming 
immediately before the U.S. mid-term elections, and he said that 
there was still much to discuss, both internally and with the 
United States, before formal invitations could be extended.  He 
echoed the line given by nearly all GVN officials that whatever the 
date, Vietnam should host the summit in Vietnam.  Hien added that 
ASEAN's other dialogue partners have already committed to attending 
 
HANOI 00000017  002 OF 003 
 
 
meetings in Hanoi connected with the October summit. 
 
 
 
¶5.  (SBU) In a separate discussion, the MFA's Deputy DG for ASEAN 
Affairs Vu Ho outlined plans for the 43rd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting 
(AMM), as well as related post-ministerial meetings, including the 
17th ASEAN Regional Forum ministerials and the Lower Mekong 
Initiative.  He said that the dates were not confirmed, but 
stressed that none of the ASEAN members or dialogue partners had 
voiced objections and absent any pushback, the schedule would go 
forward as planned.  As currently scheduled, the meetings would be 
as follows, with the Secretary ideally participating July 22-24. 
 
 
 
July 16-18   ASEAN SOM meetings 
 
July 18      ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism Working Group 
 
July 19      ASEAN FMs arrive 
 
July 20      AMM 
 
July 21      ASEAN+3 SOM and FM meetings 
 
             EAS FM Consultations 
 
July 22      PMCs: +1s with China, ROK, Japan, Australia, India, 
 
             New Zealand, Canada, Russia, U.S., EU 
 
July 23      17th ARF retreat and plenary 
 
             Closing ceremony for AMM and related meetings 
 
             Press conference by ASEAN Chair 
 
July 24      Lower Mekong Initiative 
 
 
 
ASEAN Defense Ministerial Meeting 
 
--------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶6.  (C) In addition to the AMM and Leaders Summit, our MFA contacts 
confirmed that Secretary Gates would also be invited as a dialogue 
partner to attend the ASEAN Defense Ministerial Meeting, which 
would likely take place immediately prior to the October summit. 
On the ADMM, Hien reported that there was general agreement at the 
FM retreat that there should be a "+" mechanism, but the ministers 
differed slightly on how it should be structured.  Vietnam's view 
was that it should be a "+10" arrangement, others argued for 
smaller groupings, though nobody envisioned moving directly to "+1" 
discussions.  DDG Vu Ho, who led a joint MFA/MOD delegation to 
discuss the ADMM the week after the retreat, reported that there 
was now an unofficial consensus that the ADMM should begin this 
year with a "+8" arrangement (all ten dialogue partners, minus 
Canada and the EU, which means: ASEAN plus China, ROK, Japan, 
Australia, India, New Zealand, Russia, and U.S.); the defense 
ministers themselves can decide on any future configurations, he 
added, joking that by that point he would be too exhausted to care. 
Vu Ho said that a date for the ADMM has not been set but would most 
likely take place shortly before the ASEAN summit in late October. 
 
 
 
Burma 
 
----- 
 
 
 
¶7.  (C) Both DDG Vu Ho and Hien affirmed that Burma was discussed 
at the FM retreat, though not in great detail.  According to Hien, 
 
HANOI 00000017  003 OF 003 
 
 
FM Pham Gia Khiem, as the host, invited his Burmese counterpart 
Nhan Win to brief the group.  Nhan Win reported that preparations 
were underway for Burma's 2010 elections, which he said his 
government aims to conduct May 27-28.  Nhan Win claimed that 
Burma's relations with the outside world were "improving."  Neither 
Vu Ho nor Hien would characterize the discussions on Burma, but 
gave the impression that the FMs did not push the issue 
particularly hard.  (Note: Other ASEAN members gave a slightly 
different impression. Singapore Ambassador Simon Wong, for example, 
told the Ambassador the day after the retreat, that some FMs 
reportedly agreed during a "private" meeting that at a minimum the 
Burmese generals needed to allow Aung San Suu Kyi to meet with the 
"uncles."  End note.)  In both meetings, Deputy PolCouns emphasized 
the need for Burma's 2010 elections to be fair and transparent, 
stressing that this would be impossible as long as ASSK remained in 
prison.  He encouraged both Hien and Vu Ho to use Vietnam's 
leverage with Burma to, in the short run, permit ASSK to meet with 
the NLD leadership in full, along with representatives of national 
minority groups. 
Michalak