VZCZCXRO2415
RR RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHPB
DE RUEHHI #0031/01 0431213
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 121213Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0960
INFO ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 0223
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 0528

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 000031 
 
SIPDIS 
DEPT FOR EAP/MLS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/12 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM ASEAN
SUBJECT: Tour D' Horizon with Vice Minister of Public Security 
 
REF: 10 HANOI 25 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Virginia Palmer, DCM, DEPT OF STATE, EXEC; REASON: 
1.4(B), (D) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary: Over dinner with the Ambassador February 8, 
powerful vice Minister of Public Security Nguyen Van Huong 
expressed serious concern about the success of China's "soft power" 
campaign to increase its influence in the region and challenged the 
U.S. commitment to Asia, saying ASEAN nations had "lost trust" in 
the U.S. after years of neglect.  Huong was characteristically 
strident about human rights issues.  Nonetheless, Huong asserted 
that "Vietnam wants to be closer to the United States," the most 
senior confirmation we have heard of what we sense is the beginning 
of a political decision to commit to a deepening of the bilateral 
relationship.  End Summary. 
 
WE WANT TO BE CLOSER TO YOU 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
¶2.  (C) After over a year of ignoring requests for meetings, Vice 
Minister of Public Security Nguyen Van Huong, accompanied by 
General Department of Security (GDS) Deputy Director General To 
Lam, invited the Ambassador and the Ambassador's Senior Advisor to 
dinner February 8.   Throughout the two-hour meal, Huong pointed to 
China's increasing influence in SE Asia, saying China's no-strings 
attached business deals had resulted in the virtual colonization of 
Burma, Laos, Thailand and increasingly Cambodia.  The United States 
was "behind" in diplomatic and economic engagement in Asia and many 
countries in the region had "lost trust in the U.S.;" China was 
filling that vacuum.  Huong claimed that only Vietnam is resisting 
this trend, but, he acknowledged, Vietnam is careful not to 
antagonize China.  Huong seemed to take on board the Ambassador's 
comments about greater U.S. engagement with ASEAN, but was clearly 
interested in assessing the United States' willingness to balance 
China's influence in the region. 
 
¶3. (C) Huong said international engagement used to be regarded as 
important only in so far as it promoted social (and Communist 
Party) stability, but it is playing a bigger role.  Cooperation 
with the United States had played an important role in that shift, 
Huong said. "We want to build cooperation with the United States at 
all levels, including in counter-terrorism, counter-proliferation 
and exchanging high level visits Huong professed.  He cited three 
Deputy Prime Minister visits to the U.S. in 2009, MPS Minister 
Ahn's desire to visit the U.S. again in 2010 and satisfaction with 
warming military to military ties.   (Comment:  Although there are 
Politburo members who argue for closer ties with either Russia or 
China, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Ministry of 
National Defense and now Public Security, we are sensing a desire 
to improve relations with the United States, in part because of the 
economic benefits of the bilateral relationship, but primarily as a 
means of balancing China's increasingly assertive regional role. 
We hope that trend will be confirmed at the 2011 Party Congress, 
but there will fierce, though largely subterranean, debate over the 
issue within the Party and government on the issue over the next 
year.  End Comment.) 
 
PREDICTABLE HARD LINE ON HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
¶4. (C) Huong was dismissive of U.S. concerns about human rights. 
When the Ambassador raised the case of Le Cong Dinh, for example, 
Huong waved his hand and said "I will not listen. He is a 
Vietnamese citizen."  Houng protested Western statements 
criticizing the string of recent convictions, calling it 
"interference in Vietnam's internal affairs.  I ask that you do not 
write these letters or make such statements."  When the Ambassador 
raised concerns about the deteriorating health of Father (Nguyen 
Van Ly), Huong claimed (disingenuously) not to know of it, but said 
derisively "I can tell you that he will be treated by the relevant 
authorities.  I have no further information on the so-called Father 
Ly."  The Ambassador noted that despite our enthusiasm for 
strengthened bilateral relations, Vietnam's poor human rights 
record limited our ability to move forward in many areas. 
 
BIO NOTES 
- - - - - 
¶5.  (C) Huong's imminent retirement has been rumored for at least 9 
months.  However, Huong suggested to the Ambassador that no matter 
what his official title at the Ministry, he would maintain his role 
as a Party Central Committee member and could take up an "Executive 
Vice Minister" role. Huong's analysis of U.S. political actors and 
"anti-Vietnamese forces" reveals a poor understanding of the U.S. 
system and just plain bad analysis. He also acknowledged that he 
had previously understood the Ambassador to be dealing only with 
issues like human rights and had failed to understand the role of 
the Ambassador as the President's representative and manager of all 
aspects of U.S. national power in country, including intelligence 
 
HANOI 00000031  002 OF 002 
 
 
and defense. 
 
¶6. (C) Just before the dinner, MPS officials revealed that frequent 
Embassy interlocutor GDS Deputy Director General To Lam would soon 
fill the recently-vacated GSD Director slot and would be promoted 
to Lt. General later in 2010. Lam is a hardliner himself, but smart 
and interested in increasing cooperation with the United States on 
a number of fronts. 
Palmer