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QUESTION: I don't really understand why Defense Secretary Robert Gates only met
Minister of National Defence General Phung Quang Thanh for a forty minute working
lunch instead of an official meeting. Does that mean the US does not consider
Thanh's visit to the US important? See:
http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/world/19817‐vietnam‐us‐to‐expand‐military‐
links‐talks‐set.html.
It said: ‘Defense Secretary Robert Gates and General Phung Quang Thanh agreed
during a one‐hour working lunch that
defense officials will meet next year “to
enhance military to military engagement,”
said Air Force Maj. Maureen Schumann, a
spokeswoman for the defense department,
in an e‐mailed statement.’ Or maybe they
officially met each other in an official
meeting? Thanks for helping me to
understand this.
ANSWER: Washington‐based sources claim that Vietnam and the United States
agreed several years ago for visits by Defence Ministers every three years. Phung
Quang Thanh’s visit comes at the very end of the current three‐year period.
In the bilateral relationship it is the United States that is always pressing for a step
up in relations and it is always Vietnam that responds with caution. It is clear from
General Thanh’s visit that Vietnam would like to step up the relationship but
cautiously. It is highly significant that Vietnam and the United States have agreed to
meet at defence ministry level next year. This will pave the way to create military‐to‐
military working groups to hammer out the details of which activities Vietnam would
like to participate in.
An important step was taken in October 2008 when the two sides held their first
political‐military dialogues. This was led, however, by the State Department and
Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In other words, the pol‐mil talks were civilian‐
led although they included defence officials.
2
There is not much substance in US‐Vietnam defence relations at present. It is clear
from statements by US Defense officials prior to General Thanh’s visit that only a
modest step up in bilateral defence relations was possible. It was only after Vietnam
engaged with the US that non‐lethal arms sales were likely. The head of the
Pentagon’s Defense Cooperation Agency singled out maritime patrol craft and
coastal radar. Both would be useful for Vietnam in asserting its sovereignty in the
East Sea.
In sum, although the two defence ministers met at a working lunch (a very American
custom), it was by prior arrangement. My assessment is that this meeting was held
at a low‐key level because of Vietnamese sensitivities. Why should a more formal
meeting be held at defence minister level when Vietnam was only prepared to “talk
about talking”? If Vietnam had been prepared to sign on to the Global Peace
Operations Initiative (GPOI) or the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), for example,
then a high‐level meeting would have been more appropriate.
Now that the defence ministers have charted the way ahead, uniformed military
officers can carry the relationship forward into new areas. It is up to Vietnam to
decide between now and the meeting in Hanoi next year where it wants to take the
relationship and to advance concrete proposals of its own. Here is a possible menu:
• Increase the number of ship visits from the “quota” of one per year;
• More visits by Vietnamese officers to US ships transiting the South China Sea;
• Greater participation in the International Military Education and Training
(IMET) program;
• Reception of US Military Training Teams to deal with specific matters such as
aviation security;
• Joint training by each of the services (army, navy, air force);
• Increased cooperation in meteorological and hydrographic research, search
and rescue, and maritime security procedures;
• Low‐level naval exercises such as ship passing exercise (PASSEX);
• Foreign Military Sales (spare parts for Vietnam’s US‐era Armored Personnel
Carriers (APCs) and US UH‐1 (Huey) helicopters so these craft can be put back
in service);
• Signing an Acquisition Cross Servicing Agreement to facilitate logistics
support during US naval ship visits and emergencies. This could be expanded
to include logistics support for joint exercises and training programs.
I would not depreciate the significance of Phung Quang Thanh’s visit. Most
importantly he stopped off in Hawaii and met with U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM)
officials. When bilateral defence relations move forward, Vietnam will be dealing
almost exclusively with PACOM. Note the symbolism of General Thanh’s visit to a US
nuclear submarine and the photograph of him looking through its periscope.