INDEPENDENT NEWS

Cablegate: Meeting Between U.S. Army Chief of Staff And

Published: Thu 9 Aug 2007 11:02 AM
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FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC//ISA/DPMO//
INFO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6045
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 3508
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/CJCS WASHINGTON DC//J2/J3/J5//
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC//DHO-3//
RHMFIUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI//J00/J2/J3/J5//
RHHMHAA/COMPACFLT PEARL HARBOR HI
RHMFIUU/CDR JPAC HICKAM AFB HI
RHMFIUU/CDRUSARPAC FT SHAFTER HI
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC//SAFE//
RHMFIUU/NGA FT BELVOIR VA
RHMFIUU/NGA HQ BETHESDA MD
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 001420
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SENSITIVE
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STATE FOR EAP/MLS AND EAP/RSP, SECDEF FOR ISA/SHUBERT AND
STERN, JCS FOR J5/CDR CHASE, PACOM FOR J5/MAJ MA, PACFLT
FOR N5/YAMAMOTO
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: MARR PGOV PTER VM
SUBJECT: MEETING BETWEEN U.S. ARMY CHIEF OF STAFF AND
PEOPLE'S ARMY OF VIETNAM DEPUTY CHIEF OF THE GENERAL STAFF
(U)
1. (SBU) Summary: On August 8 during the Pacific Armies
Commanders' Conference (PACC) in Sydney, Australia General
George Casey Jr., Chief of Staff, United States Army and
Lieutenant General John Brown III, Commander, U.S. Army of
the Pacific met with Lieutenant General Nguyen Huu Kham,
Deputy Chief of the General Staff for the Peoples' Army of
Vietnam (PAVN). The meeting was a cordial, professional
exchange that covered a range of topics including: counter
terrorism, regional relations, bilateral military relations
and security cooperation, fullest possible accounting,
consequences of war and high level visits. Lt Gen Kham
also invited the Chief of Staff to visit Vietnam sometime
during 2008. End Summary.
2. (SBU) On August 8, during the Pacific Armies Commanders'
Conference (PACC) in Sydney, Australia, General George
Casey Jr., Chief of Staff, United States Army and
Lieutenant General John Brown III, Commander, U.S. Army of
the Pacific, met with Lieutenant General Nguyen Huu Kham,
Deputy Chief of the General Staff for the Peoples' Army of
Vietnam. It was a cordial, professional meeting that
covered a variety of topics. General Casey thanked Lt Gen
Kham for attending PACC and noted that participation by
Vietnam enhanced the overall value of PACC and sent a
positive signal to the entire region. Lt Gen Kham thanked
General Casey and Australia's Lt Gen Leahy for hosting
PACC, for inviting Lt Gen Kham to the conference, and for
the opportunity to interact with the other regional Army
Chiefs. General Casey and Lt Gen Kham then reviewed
several issues concerning the bilateral military
relationship.
=================
Counter Terrorism
=================
3. (SBU) General Casey noted there had been discussions
about terrorism during PACC and asked about terrorism and
the counter-terrorism (CT) situation in Vietnam. Lt Gen
Kham responded that the Government of Vietnam is against
terrorism in any form. He noted that Vietnam currently
does not face an active terrorist threat, but he also said
that Vietnam's leaders must anticipate potential future
threats, be able to prevent terrorists from entering the
country, and also be able to respond when necessary.
=======================
Regional Relations & CT
=======================
4. (SBU) General Casey then asked about Vietnam's
relations with its neighbors and about cooperative CT
efforts. Lt Gen Kham replied that Vietnam's relations with
its neighbors are good, as are its relations with all ASEAN
states. He said that ASEAN holds conferences to facilitate
the sharing of intelligence on possible terrorist threats.
He also said that Vietnam has several bilateral agreements
to share CT information as well.
5. (SBU) LTG Brown then mentioned that Vietnam continues to
take an active role in regional issues. He cited Vietnam's
hosting of the Asia-Pacific Military Medicine Conference
(APMMC) in May 2005 as an example of this effort. That
APPMC meeting addressed various pandemic threats, such as
Avian Influenza (AI). He noted that PAVN participants at
the APMMC made many presentations on this topic. He
concluded by saying that since that time PAVN
representatives have participated in almost all AI regional
conferences.
============================
Bilateral Military Relations
============================
HANOI 00001420 002 OF 003
6. (SBU) General Casey then asked Lt Gen Kham for his
thoughts on the pace of United States-Vietnam bilateral
military relations. Lt Gen Kham observed that he has seen
many new developments in mil-mil relations in recent years.
This has resulted in greater mutual understanding in many
fields. He opined that this is a good sign for the overall
defense relationship, and especially of that with the U.S.
Pacific Command. General Casey agreed and noted that both
sides could go as fast or as slow as Vietnam can manage
comfortably. General Casey also noted that it is important
to put the past behind us. While agreeing with General
Casey's comments, Lt Gen Kham said that when the two
countries' Presidents met (in November 2006 and again in
June 2007), they also agreed to focus on the future.
7. (SBU) Lt Gen Kham then commented on bilateral military
exchanges and requested that General Casey consider
increasing the number of military exchanges with Vietnam,
including with the Army. Lt Gen Kham said that he was
especially appreciative of the International Military
Education and Training (IMET) program and the military
medical cooperation thus far. He suggested that both sides
increase cooperation for limited-scale exercises in
hydrometeorology and for search and rescue.
===========================
Fullest Possible Accounting
===========================
8. (SBU) General Casey thanked Lt Gen Kham for his
recommendations and also for Vietnam's ongoing support for
the fullest possible accounting mission. He noted how
important this mission is to the people of the United
States. Lt Gen Kham echoed the importance of this mission
and said that Vietnam considers the fullest possible
accounting a humanitarian issue. He said that Vietnam is
working hard to facilitate the quickest possible resolution
of this issue. He noted that the sooner these cases can be
resolved, the less suffering there would be for families of
the missing. Lt Gen Kham also mentioned his appreciation
for the efforts the United States has made to help resolve
Vietnam's own MIA cases.
===================
Consequences of War
===================
9. (SBU) Lt Gen Kham then turned to the issue of
dioxin/Agent Orange (AO). He noted recent developments by
the United States for supporting the remediation of
dioxin/AO contaminated sites. He said that there were many
contaminated sites in Vietnam, which will require much
work. He was grateful for the United States' effort thus
far and requested that General Casey ask the U.S.
Government to increase the budget to facilitate resolution
of this issue.
10. (SBU) Lt Gen Kham also noted the positive cooperation
by the U.S. Government on unexploded ordinance (UXO) and
de-mining. He welcomed this but stated that more
assistance would speed the resolution of this problem.
=====================
Invitation to Vietnam
=====================
11. (SBU) Lt Gen Kham then concluded by inviting General
Casey to visit Vietnam any time next year. General Casey
replied that he had not made next year's schedule yet, but
would look into making a visit.
12. (SBU) Comment: This meeting of senior military leaders
reaffirmed the positive evolution of bilateral military
relations and the shared goal of promoting closer military
HANOI 00001420 003 OF 003
relations in the future. There were no contentious issues
identified in this discussion, but many areas of potential
cooperation were not addressed (including peace operations/
PKO, and security assistance sales and training).
Vietnam's Deputy Chief of the General Staff was optimistic,
but careful in exploring areas for cooperation and future
initiatives between both forces.
MARINE
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