Fund for Reconciliation and Development

                                                 

WASHINGTON INDOCHINA UPDATE

 

July-August, 2005

 

 

 

Early July was dominated by celebrations of the tenth anniversary of the normalization of U.S.-Vietnamese relations.  In the second half of the month, Congress pushed toward the August recess with a reappearance of the Vietnam Human Rights Act and lower foreign assistance appropriations for Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.   In the meantime, new legal life has been breathed into the Agent Orange issue as plaintiffs prepare an appeal for the class action lawsuit dismissed earlier this year.

 

 

Diplomacy

 

Hanoi and Washington Celebrate Anniversary

 

The tenth anniversary of the normalization of relations between the United States and Vietnam was marked by the two countries with diplomatic and cultural events on both sides of the Pacific.  In Washington, the Vietnamese embassy hosted an artistic performance that was repeated at the Smithsonian’s Freer and Sackler Galleries, before the troupe departed to perform in New York and San Francisco.    Ceremonies at the Freer included an address by Jim R. Nicholson, US Secretary of Veterans Affairs and a Vietnam war veteran.  Secretary Nicholson expressed his desire to return to Vietnam for a visit, and maintained that Vietnam and the United States “must press forward to resolve the full range of issues that remain from the war.”   In that regard, however, Secretary Nicholson mentioned only continued accounting for American MIA’s as an item on that agenda.  His speech can be read at http://www.va.gov/opa/feature/secyspchs/US-Vietnam-10 years-07-10-05.htm.

 

In Hanoi, a series of events was capped by a reception featuring U.S. Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs Gordon Mansfield, also a Vietnam veteran; Vietnam’s Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien; and U.S. Ambassador Mike Marine. (Ambassador Marine’s speech can be found at http://hanoi.usembassy.gov/wwwhamb050712.html.)    The reception, held at the Museum of Fine Arts, also featured a photographic exhibit of works resulting from the partnership of Peter Steinhauer and Nguyen Hoai Linh.  Vietnam Development Gateway reported that in an earlier meeting Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Phuc Thanh told Mansfield that “both sides should take more efforts to solve the consequences of the war.”  At a press conference, Mansfield expressed confidence in the vigorous development of U.S.-Vietnam relations and noted that officials on both sides believed they would jointly resolve outstanding issues, emphasizing that “by being partners, the U.S. and Vietnam would gain more fruits of cooperation in the future.” 

 

 

Zoellick Visits Vientiane

 

Robert Zoellick made his first official visit to Laos in his new capacity as Deputy Secretary of State July 27-29.  He was the U.S. representative to the annual meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), held in Vientiane on the heels of the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting.  Laos is chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this year.   Zoellick’s attendance was the result of a controversial decision by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to skip the ARF gathering.   The Rice no-show has variously been interpreted as a criticism of the ASEAN plan to allow Burma to take the chair in 2006 (although Rangoon officially withdrew from that responsibility at the Ministerial), and of ASEAN as a regional institution.  There is no evidence that Rice intended to shun Laos itself, but analysts have pointed out she forfeited an opportunity to visit one of Asia’s least-developed countries, at a time when the Bush administration had paid special attention to African LDC’s through the G-8 Summit debt package, and to Caribbean LDC’s through its support for the Caribbean Free Trade Area.

 

 

Human Rights and Political Development

 

Vietnam Human Rights Act Introduced for Third Time

 

On June 30 H.R.3190, the Vietnam Human Rights Act, was introduced into the House of Representatives by Representative Christopher Smith and a number of co-sponsors, including Frank Wolf, Dana Rohrabacher and Loretta Sanchez.  The bill closely follows the format of its two predecessors (in 2001 and 2004), both of which passed in the House but failed to go forward in the Senate.  The findings of the new bill acknowledge positive elements, such as the assertiveness of the Vietnamese National Assembly, but echo previous drafts with a primary emphasis on religious freedom issues and the Central Highlands.  With regard to the latter area, the bill focuses on “indigenous Montagnards,” a term often employed by Westerners but seldom used by Vietnamese themselves. 

 

The bill’s primary aim is to prohibit non-humanitarian US assistance to Vietnam unless the State Department certifies that specific markers have been met, but also includes funds for pro-democracy groups and increased support for Radio Free Asia.  As in previous years, the bill would require the Department to submit an annual report to Congress on human rights in Vietnam and, in doing so, consult with Vietnamese and international non-governmental organizations.    The bill has been referred to the House Committee on International Relations and is awaiting response from the Senate.

 

Vietnam is also cross-hatched in H.R. 2216, known as the Global Internet Freedom Act, introduced into the House on May 10, 2005.   Sponsored by Representative Christopher Cox, with co-sponsors including Tom Lantos and Gary Ackerman, the bill charges that the governments of several countries, including Vietnam, Laos, China and Saudi Arabia, take “active measures to prevent their citizens from freely accessing the Internet and from obtaining international political, religious and economic news and information.”  With respect to Vietnam, some specialists object to the legislative language and maintain that it paints a misleading picture of categorical attempts to block access to the Internet for the general population  The bill does not stipulate sanctions but proposes to establish an Office of Internet Freedom within the International Broadcasting Bureau to give greater attention to this issue.

 

Although discussion of Vietnamese human rights on Capitol Hill will be dominated by these bills in the short-term, developments in other sectors could also influence the issue.  The official U.S.-Vietnam human rights dialogue is scheduled to resume, at Hanoi’s request, in the early fall.  In addition, Christopher Seiple, President of the Institute for Global Engagement, visited the Central Highlands in late June, on a visit to Vietnam and Laos.  The Institute was established by Robert Seiple, the State Department’s first Ambassador-at-Large for Religious Freedom, and takes a pragmatic, country-specific approach to policy issues such as religious freedom.

 

 

ABA Strengthens Ties with Laos

 

Representatives of the American Bar Association (ABA) visited Vientiane June 30-July 5 to discuss expanding cooperation with the Laotian judicial sector.  Through its Asian Law Initiative, based in Bangkok, the ABA has focused on drafting and enforcing anti-corruption laws and codes in recent years.  In April the National Assembly of Laos passed the country’s first anti-corruption law.

 

 

Trade

 

Vietnam Approaches New Round of WTO Talks

 

This week Hanoi will participate in its ninth round of World Trade Organization negotiations in Geneva, in preparation for entry into the WTO.  Vietnam expects to conclude several bilateral talks at what will be the last WTO round of the year before the Hong Kong meeting in December.  Thusfar, negotiations have been completed with the European Union, Cuba, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Singapore, and were conducted last week with Japan.  Vietnamese officials have indicated that they are still aiming for admission this December, although talks are not yet complete with the United States, which is pressing for legal and service sector reforms. 

 

One key element of Vietnam’s accession to the WTO will be Congressional approval for Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) for Hanoi.  Congress must grant PNTR to Vietnam before it enters the WTO, or resort to a non-application clause of the WTO agreement which would enable Hanoi to enter prior to that, but with restrictions.  If US-Vietnam WTO talks conclude in the ninth round, Congressional aides estimate that the PNTR bill, which would be referred to the House Ways and Means and the Senate Finance Committees, could be considered in late September or early October.  The U.S.-Vietnam Trade Council has made additional information on the WTO/PNTR process available at http://uvtc.org/trade/WTO/PNTR%20_WTO_FAQ28July2005.pdf.

 

 

Vietnamese Fish Win Taste Test

 

In July researchers at Mississippi State University released the results of a three-year study comparing Vietnamese basa (known in other quarters as catfish) to American farm-raised catfish.    The two varieties of fish were found to have essentially the same nutritional value, but 75% of blind tasters picked Vietnamese basa over American catfish for taste.  Basa is exported to the United States under tariffs as high as 64% after US catfish farmers brought an anti-dumping suit against Vietnam.  The Catfish Farmers of America and the Catfish Institute, both Mississippi-based organizations, have criticized the study.

 

 

 

Congressional Leaders Laud Cambodian Labor Practices

 

Cambodia’s linkage of ILO-monitored labor standards with trade drew bipartisan praise in a two-day July conference – “Promoting Cambodia’s Competitiveness in a Post-MFA World” -  co-sponsored by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Global Fairness and Oxam America.  Republican Senator Gordon Smith and Congressman Jim Kolbe, and Democratic Representative Sander Levin joined representatives of Gap, Nike, Target and Wal-Mart in affirming Cambodia’s competitive advantage, due in part to its reputation for maintaining reasonable work place standards despite the termination of quota benefits under the Multi-Fiber Agreement last January.  However, Cambodian Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh noted that even a good reputation could not overcome the economic advantages of China and India.  He appealed for passage of the Trade Act of 2005 which would give Cambodia, Laos and thirteen other least-developed Asian and Pacific countries the same low tariffs offered their economic counterparts in Africa, the Caribbean and Central America.   For additional information, see “Cambodia Blazes A New Path for Economic Growth and Job Creation,” by Carnegie Senior Associate Sandra Polaski, at http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/inde/cfm?fa=view&id=15891.

 

 

Economic Development

 

Funding Levels Drop for Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam

 

Bush Administration requests for development assistance through the US Agency for International Development for Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos in Fiscal Year 2006 are all lower than FY 2005 appropriations for these countries.   FY 2006 levels are expected to be $44 million for Cambodia (versus $55 million in FY 2005 and $49 million in FY 2004); $17.72 million for Vietnam (a slight decline from $18.42 million in FY 2005) and nothing for Laos (down from $2 million in FY 2005).  Laos, however, is likely to receive funds from regional USAID programs for the environment and human trafficking.

 

Lower levels are most likely the reflection of greater Administration priorities elsewhere, in “front line” states, such as Iraq and Afghanistan, and for the Millennium Challenge Account.  Thusfar, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia are not eligible for MCA funds, although Vietnam could technically be designated as a “threshold” country (but has not been) by the administration. 

 

In substance, if not in funding levels, the Congressional appropriation for Cambodia this month closely followed the practice of previous years.  Although the largest earmark for development assistance is for prevention of HIV/AIDS, funds are also allocated for political party development and other democracy programs.  Assistance to basic education has dropped from $6 million in FY 2005 to $1.25 million for next year.  As has been the case for the past several years, bilateral non-humanitarian assistance is prohibited, although there are numerous exceptions: for programs in HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, rule of law, counter-narcotics, human trafficking and anti-corruption.  As in previous years, the Secretary of the Treasury is also directed to instruct the American representatives to international development banks to oppose loans for non-humanitarian purposes to Cambodia, but these efforts seldom, if ever, block funding.

 

Security

 

Vietnam Defense Staff to Visit PACOM

 

In September staff from the External Relations Division of the Vietnam’s Ministry of Defense will visit the US Pacific Command (PACOM) in Honolulu, the first-ever visit of Vietnamese officials to the US naval facility.  The visit will also be the occasion for the second round of the U.S.-Vietnam security dialogue.  Informal dialogue between the defense sectors of the two countries has been building in recent years, but last year regular and formal talks at the working level were initiated.  The dialogue is intended to broaden and deepen defense relations that have been boosted in recent years by high-level visits at the ministerial level.

 

 

Legacy Issues

 

VAVA Readies Agent Orange Appeal

 

The Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange (VAVA)  and other plaintiffs are preparing to file an appeal in their class action suit against 37 American chemical companies that manufactured Agent Orange and other defoliants used in the war in the 1960’s and 1970’s.   The plaintiffs’ brief is to be filed in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals no later than September 30 of this year, and the defendants will have until January 16, 2006 to submit their brief.  Oral arguments for the appeal will be scheduled no earlier than March 1, 2006.      

 

The lawsuit, brought before the Federal Court in New York in January, 2004 was dismissed on all counts on March 10, 2005.  Parallel to the lawsuit, Vietnamese and international groups are seeking to raise awareness of Agent Orange damage as well as to increase contributions for Vietnamese Agent Orange victims.  VAVA has declared August 10 as the annual Day for the Victims of Agent Orange.  Extensive information on the lawsuit and other efforts to aid Vietnamese Agent Orange sufferers can be found on the Fund’s website at http://www.ffrd.org/agentorange.htm.

 

 

Rand Report Assesses Post-War Cambodian Stress

 

A report released by the Rand Corporation on August 3 revealed that almost two-thirds of the nation’s largest Cambodian-American community that left Cambodia in the late 1970’s suffer post-traumatic stress disorder.  The study involved 490 adults, ranging in age from 35 to 70, who came to the United States as refugees.  In this group, almost all of those interviewed reported experiencing near-death due to starvation; 90% had a friend or family member killed by the Khmer Rouge; and 54% said they had been tortured before coming to the U.S.

 

Sixty-two per cent of those interviewed reported experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder since leaving Cambodia, and 51% said that have dealt with major depression in the past year.  The study’s findings contrast to the average rate of post-traumatic stress disorder in the U.S. population as a whole, which is estimated at 3%.  Rand psychologist Grant Marshall, the study’s main author, called the stress disorder and depression rates in the Cambodian-American community “shockingly high,” particularly since these disorders still manifest nearly thirty years after leaving Cambodia.   Further information is available at http://www.rand.org/news/press/.05/08.02.html.

 

New Document Releases Shed Light on Possible JFK Path

 

American and Polish cables and other documents from the 1960’s, newly uncovered by the National Security Archives of George Washington University and reported in the Boston Globe in June, reveal attempts to explore negotiations to end the Vietnam war by President John F. Kennedy and the Soviet Union through India and the U.S. Ambassador to New Delhi at the time, John Kenneth Galbraith.  The 1962 and 1963 discussions ultimately were not fruitful.  However, they have sparked another round of debate within the United States about whether President Kennedy would have avoided sending combat troops to Vietnam and would instead have relied upon a negotiated solution, a controversy which shows no sign of resolution.

 

 

 

 

The Washington Indochina Update reports on and analyzes events and trends in U.S. relations with Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.  The Update is one element of the Fund’s Washington policy dialogue program, made possible by generous support from The Henry Luce Foundation and managed by FRD’s Washington Representative, Catharin Dalpino.  Comments and suggestions can be directed to frd-dc@earthlink.net.  More extensive information on issues in US relations with the three countries can be found on the Fund’s website:  http://www.ffrd.org.

 

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