US embassy cable - 05HANOI3127

UNCLAS HANOI 003127 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR S/CT AND EAP/MLS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER, VM, CTERR 
SUBJECT:  VIETNAM: 2005 ANNUAL TERRORISM REPORT 
 
REF:  A. SECSTATE 193439 B. Hanoi 3099 
 
1.  (SBU) Vietnam's low-threat terrorist situation did not 
change in 2005.  Vietnam has a small Muslim population with 
no known affiliations with international terrorist 
organizations.  There is no evidence that terrorists operate 
in or transit Vietnam, or that they use Vietnam for other 
support services such as financing.  The Government of 
Vietnam (GVN) is concerned about what it calls a terrorist 
threat from ethnic Vietnamese exiles in France and the 
United States, but it has not provided evidence of this. 
Neither the United States nor the French Government defines 
these dissident political activities by these overseas 
groups opposed to the GVN as terrorism.  During 2005, there 
were no known acts of domestic terrorism or prosecutions for 
acts of terrorism in Vietnam.  There were no known judicial 
actions in Vietnam during 2005 related to acts of 
international terrorism. 
 
2. (SBU) Vietnam is a party to eight out of twelve of the UN 
conventions on counterterrorism.  The Japanese Government 
and the UN Office of Drugs and Crime are working with 
Vietnam to develop the conditions for Vietnam to accede to 
the remaining four conventions, according to UNODC and 
Japanese representatives in Hanoi.  Vietnam cooperates on 
counterterrorism initiatives in international forums, in 
particular in ASEAN-related events.  Senior GVN officials 
invariably express formal GVN opposition to international 
terrorist incidents, and the GVN has not publicly supported 
a terrorist-supporting country on a terrorist-specific 
issue.  The GVN does not support international terrorism, 
terrorists or terrorist groups. 
 
3. (SBU) Vietnam has never been included in the Patterns of 
Global Terrorism report.  No major developments have 
occurred in 2005 to recommend inclusion this year. 
 
4. (U) Ref B describes the results of Post's recent 
Counterterrorism Action Group meeting.  The meeting focused 
on ways that international donor assistance to Vietnamese 
law enforcement can have a secondary impact by improving 
Vietnam's ability to secure its borders against entry by 
terrorists.  This year's CTAG meeting was notable in that 
the GVN sent a Senior Colonel from the Vietnamese Ministry 
of Public Security to brief the CTAG Ambassadors on 
Vietnam's CT efforts and infrastructure, an indication that 
Vietnam appreciates and is reacting to international concern 
on terrorism. 
 
MARINE