Embassy Hanoi and Consulate General Ho Chi Minh - OIG - US ...

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED
The Military Relationship
Four American personnel serve in what is one of the embassy’s busiest, most
productive offices. The office handles a stream of VIP visits, ship visits, incipient
military assistance and possible training program, humanitarian demining assistance,
and the overall U.S. military fascination with Vietnam. In a major success,
Defense secured blanket overflight clearances for U.S. aircraft assisting the region
after the 2004 tsunami. Although the defense attaché did not complain, it is evident
his office is stretched tautly and appears to require a security assistance officer
if the military relationship is to progress further.
Detachment Two is one of three forward operational deployments based in
Southeast Asia and is a subordinate unit of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting
Command, which falls under the operational umbrella of the U.S. Pacific Command
based in Hawaii. Currently headed by an Army lieutenant colonel, Detachment
Two was the first U.S. presence established in Vietnam, prior to the normalization
of any bilateral agreements and the establishment of diplomatic relations between
the United States and Vietnam. The purpose of the Hanoi-based office since its
inception 13 years ago has been to find the whereabouts or remains of U.S. service
personnel lost in the war. As of June 2005, 1,397 are unaccounted for in Vietnam,
375 in Laos, 55 in Cambodia, and seven in the territorial waters of China. Detachment
Two conducts year-round combined investigations, recoveries, research, and
analysis throughout Vietnam using, among others, forensic anthropologists and
experts in mortuary science. Cooperation from the Vietnamese has been generally
excellent.
Trade and Development
Bilateral trade has grown to $6 billion in the past few years, with the 2001
Bilateral Trade Agreement fostering even further growth. The lopsided trade
balance favors Vietnam with over $5 billion primarily in garment, seafood, and
furniture exports to the United States. Agricultural products are the leading U.S.
export, but a recently concluded sale of Boeing aircraft promises to increase sharply
the current level of $1.1 billion in American sales to Vietnam.
Department of Commerce offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, with a total
of four American officers (although one position is not yet filled), foster growing
bilateral trade. Half of U.S. exports are agricultural, largely cotton and lumber,
with growing prospects for grain sales. One officer in Hanoi represents the Foreign
Agricultural Service.
OIG Report No. ISP-I-05-28A, Inspection of Embassy Hanoi and CG Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, September 2005
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED
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