Western Hypocrites & the 1965 Indonesian Right-Wing Massacres

Western Hypocrites & the 1965 Indonesian Right-Wing Massacres Australia’s Role in the 1965-66 Communist Massacres in Indonesia By Marlene Millott                 EXTRACTS Fifty years ago, on September 30, one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century took place on Australia’s doorstep. Following an AIIA and ANU conference on these events, a young Australian reflects on Australia’s complicity. An estimated half a million people affiliated with the Partai Komunis Indonesia (Indonesian Communist Party or PKI) were massacred by the Indonesian Army, with help from local religious and youth groups. These killings contributed to a reorientation in Indonesian politics, installing General Suharto as president and eliminating the once-strong PKI through violent purges and systematic imprisonment. Declassified documents have shown that the US and its allies played a significant role in these killings, as the US provided weapons, communications equipment and lists of known communists. As an ally of the US, the Australian Embassy and the Department of External Affairs acted in a way that made Australia an accomplice, by helping to create the conditions that allowed the massacres to take place. In the years leading up to 1965, Sukarno favoured the PKI and it grew in strength, while his foreign policy became increasingly hostile towards the West. The Indonesian Army and the US and its allies watched these developments with suspicion, and formed secret relationships. From 1958-1965, the US secretly trained, funded and advised the Army to turn it into a ‘state within a state’ that would be ready to take over government if the opportunity arose. On the night of the 30th of September 1965, the Commander of the Army Lt General Achmad Yani and five Generals were kidnapped by a group calling themselves the September 30th Movement. They were murdered and thrown down a well. The Army and the US embassy had been patiently waiting for an event like this. It declared the PKI responsible for masterminding a coup, seized almost all media outlets and spread the story of PKI treachery. General Suharto extracted a mandate from Sukarno to return order to the country, before setting out to destroy the Communist Party. Across the archipelago, a campaign to eliminate the PKI saw the murder of an estimated 500,000 people. Victims were rounded up and detained for days, or months, before being executed. The Army was instrumental in the massacres, often accompanied by local militias. Those who weren’t killed were transferred to prison camps, with one million people held in detention facilities without trial, with terms varying from a few months to fourteen years. Following the events of September 30th, Western nations solidified their support for the Indonesian Army, in an effort to remove the PKI from power and sideline Sukarno. The US and the UK, supported by other nations in the region including Australia, carried out clandestine operations which supported and encouraged the Army-led massacres of alleged PKI. Documents from the National Archives of Australia show that the Australian Embassy and the Department of External Affairs were closely aligned with the Indonesian Army, offered support for their activities in overthrowing Sukarno and eliminating the PKI, and used Radio Australia to broadcast Army propaganda in Indonesia that contributed to anti-Communist hysteria. Cables show that the Australian Embassy was aware that Communists were being rounded up and killed from early October 1965. The Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Keith Shann, ‘personally witnessed’ around 250 prisoners being taken away by the Army, and noted that it was impossible to know the number of people killed and detained, but ‘it cannot be small’. In February 1966, J.M. Starey, the First Secretary at the Australian Embassy, visited Bali, Flores and Timor, and spoke to Australian students who had been in Lombok. He heard first-hand accounts of the killings by people who had participated in them, and in Flores even saw victims’ heads on spikes in some villages. Starey noted that the Army was in control of the proceedings. The Australian Embassy and Department of External Affairs made it clear they were satisfied with these events. In early October 1965, Ambassador Shann cabled the Department saying that it was ‘now or never’, and that he ‘devoutly’ hope[d]’ that ‘the Army [would] act firmly’ against the PKI. In mid-1966, Prime Minister Harold Holt expressed detached satisfaction with the pro-Western shift in Indonesian foreign and economic policy. He casually told the crowd at the Australian-American Association in New York ‘with 500,000 to one million Communist sympathisers knocked off, I think it is safe to assume a reorientation has taken place’. As the Indonesian Army murdered hundreds of thousands of alleged PKI, the Australian Embassy maintained ties with Indonesian Army generals, discussing anti-PKI activities and ways Australia could assist the Army in its transition to power. A cable from November 12th 1965 shows Ambassador Shann discussed the Army’s anti-Communist campaign and Australia’s military campaign in Borneo to defend the newly created Malaysia against Indonesian aggression with the Undersecretary from the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr A.Y. Helmi. Helmi requested Australian and British troops restrict all patrols and activities in Borneo, so the Indonesian Army could deal with the Communists. Shann reassured Helmi that the Army was ‘completely safe in using their forces for whatever purposes they saw fit’, knowing those forces would be used to attack PKI members and allies. The biggest role Australia played in the 1965-66 massacres of the PKI was through broadcasting and supporting Indonesian Army propaganda. In the weeks that followed the attempted coup, the Indonesian Army seized control of virtually all of Indonesia’s media, and began an aggressive and pervasive anti-PKI campaign which spread disinformation aimed at discrediting and dehumanising the communists. ... Australia’s actions as an accomplice to these killings should not be exaggerated. The massacres of the PKI took place against the backdrop of years of tension and hatred between the Army and the PKI, in a complex internal political environment that would have seen the killings take place regardless of any role Australia might have played. Fifty years later, those who committed the atrocities have never been brought to justice. Denial of the killings is rife. Where it is acknowledged, the perpetrators are admired as heroes who saved the nation from a Communist menace. As activist groups across Indonesia struggle to cut through the propaganda and spread the truth about the massacres of the PKI, it is important that Australia’s role in these events is understood. Marlene Millott is a Research Assistant at Monash University. She was a recipient of the Euan Crone Asian Awareness Scholarship in 2014. This article is based on the thesis completed for her Masters in Journalism and International Relations. This article can be republished with attribution under a Creative Commons Licence. Published October 2, 2015 http://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/australian_outlook/australias-role-in-the-1965-66-communist-massacres-in-indonesia/ -------/\/\/ http://socialistworker.org/2015/12/10/indonesias-massacres-on-trial Indonesia's massacres on trial Janis Hooper reports on a tribunal into the crimes committed in Indonesia in 1965-68, in an article written for the Australian socialist newspaper Red Flag. December 10, 2015 EXTRACTS "Fifty years ago, the Indonesian army, led by Gen. Suharto, used an alleged coup attempt by the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) as a pretext to mount a savage right-wing seizure of power. Starting on October 1, 1965, at least 500,000 people were murdered and millions were imprisoned without trial in appalling conditions for up to 20 years. Many were subjected to torture--including rape and other sexual violence--forced labor and exile." ... United States, the UK and Australia charged with conspiracy for role in facilitating commission of these crimes ... "established that the state of Indonesia during the relevant period through its military and police arms committed and encouraged the commission of these grave human rights violations on a systematic and widespread basis." "done for political purposes: to annihilate the PKI and those alleged to be its members or sympathizers, as well as a much broader number of people including [former President] Sukarno loyalists, trade unionists and teachers." "design was also to prop up a dictatorial violent regime" "It cannot be doubted that these acts, evaluated separately and cumulatively, constitute crimes against humanity, both in International Law and judged by the values and the legal framework of the new reformist era  ..." "The tribunal called on the Indonesian government to implement the recommendations (to take action to find justice and provide reparations for the 1965 crimes against humanity) made by both its own Commission for Violence against Women in 2007, and Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) in 2012 after hearing representatives of both bodies; and for Indonesia's President Joko Widodo to deliver on his electoral promise to act." http://socialistworker.org/2015/12/10/indonesias-massacres-on-trial -------/\/\/ http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/10/government-brushes-hague-tribunal-1965-massacre.html   Government brushes off Hague tribunal on 1965 massacre thejakartapost.com, Jakarta | National Tue, November 10 2015, 12:31 PM The government has refused to acknowledge the International People's Tribunal 1965, being held in The Hague, the Netherlands, saying that Indonesia works on its own justice system. Attorney General HM Prasetyo refused to accept the mass killings of 1965 and 1966 being brought before a tribunal overseas. "We solve our own issues. There is no need for other parties to be involved in this," he told kompas.com. He said the government was making continued efforts to resolve past human rights violations, however, there had faced difficulties in finding evidence and witnesses to testify. Questioning sessions and early investigations conducted by the National Commission of Human Rights (Komnas HAM) could not yet be brought to the full investigation stage he said. "The government is trying to resolve the violations through reconciliation, but there are so many things to discuss and prepare," Prasetyo said. State Secretary Pratikno said the government was working to prepare a systematic solution for the human rights violations. "President [Joko Widodo] directed us to [work] based on our own justice system," he said. The international tribunal, initiated by human rights activists, is being held from Nov. 10 to 13, marking the 50th anniversary of the massacre of up to 1 million considered members or supporters of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Panjaitan also questioned the people's tribunal, claiming it was unjust. "Who do they want to try? How can they make a decision about our [case]?" he said. Nursyahbani Katjasungkana, the general coordinator of the International People's Tribunal 1965 earlier announced that there would be seven judges, six international prosecutors and 16 witnesses taking part in the tribunal. She urged the government to apologize as the first step toward recognizing the crimes committed by a past government, and also take into account the recommendations resulting from the tribunal. (rin)(+) http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/10/government-brushes-hague-tribunal-1965-massacre.htm -------/\/\/ http://thediplomat.com/2015/11/international-court-revisits-indonesias-1965-mass-killings/ And even if the tribunal has no legal standing in Indonesia, the prosecutors are confident that it can lead to political victories in the future. The tribunal also tackled the “complicity” of the governments of the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia in the commission of the mass crimes in 1965. A witness alleged that these governments “provided radio-communication equipment in order to facilitate communication between the troops and delivered small arms and money. They also provided lists of alleged PKI members to the Indonesian authorities.” As expected, the Indonesian government dismissed the international tribunal as a farce. It reminded the participants that Indonesia is a sovereign nation with a functioning legal system. It also insisted that President Jokowi will not apologize for the actions of the army in 1965. Some hardliners even branded the Indonesian participants as traitors and communists. http://thediplomat.com/2015/11/international-court-revisits-indonesias-1965-mass-killings/ -------/\/\/ BOOK The New Rulers of the World by John Pilger "Pilger tackles the injustices and double standards inherent in the politics of globalization and exposes the terrible truth behind the power and wealth of states and corporations John Pilger is one of the world’s renowned investigative journalists and documentary filmmakers. In this classic book, with an updated introduction, he reveals the secrets and illusions of modern imperialism. Beginning with Indonesia, he shows how General Suharto’s bloody seizure of power in the 1960s was part of a western design to impose a “global economy” on Asia. A million Indonesians died as the price for being the World Bank’s “model pupil.” " source http://www.versobooks.com/books/2153-the-new-rulers-of-the-world ---------------------- ---------------------- COMMENT The West is responsible for facilitating murder and atrocity on a MASSIVE SCALE, yet no Westerner has been held accountable for facilitating the 'knocking off' 500,000 to a million 'communist sympathisers', in the noble endeavour to save the world from the 'horrors' freedom from economic exploitation. It is astounding that the above writer  absolves Australia of responsibility on the following basis: "Australia’s actions as an accomplice to these killings should not be exaggerated. The massacres of the PKI took place against the backdrop of years of tension and hatred between the Army and the PKI, in a complex internal political environment that would have seen the killings take place regardless of any role Australia might have played." [source - above] The 'backdrop of years of tension', 'hatred' and 'complex internal political environment' could just as readily apply to the Balkans or to World War II Europe or, really, any other contest. It looks like the attitudes, the course of action taken, and the standards applied depend entirely on who performed the deeds in question, and what is in it for the champions of global capitalism. While Radovan Karadzic has been convicted in some US war criminal sponsored kangaroo court, knocking off half a million to a million pesky Indonesian commies happens to be just fine -- even something to be proud of, by the look of things. The hypocrisy is breathtaking when you consider the enormity of what the West has supported here -- and this is just ONE example of murder, torture and suffering on a massive scale, in a LONG SERIES of wilful evil-doing, right around the globe, committed by those that would have us believe they are the 'righteous' among nations -- this glorious 'international community,' as they refer to their vicious, destructive coterie. And these are the shining examples of humanity that would have us believe the Third Reich 'Nazis', and not they, are the epitome of 'evil' that was righteously conquered for the good of the entire world that our noble WWII heroes have ... *cough* ... lovingly liberated.

FOREIGN SERVICE UPDATES

Anti Benjamin Netanyahu protest: 35,000 -- #Israel Tel Aviv's Rabin Square Saturday 35,000 - anti #NETANYAHU rally reckon ignoring domestic / obsessed with Iran Dissenters say Bibi focus on Iran = avoiding Palestine issue also 'ISIS excuse' >made the security of Israel hostage settlers Issues raised by speech-makers: >peace with Palestine >occupation >economy >housing crisis >damage to relations with USA Ditch Ron Dermer Writer suggests #Netanyahu get rid of 'political hack' at embassy - Ron Dermer  presumably -  replace with competent and professional ambassador http://www.thejewishweek.com/blogs/political-insider/israel-wants-change -- Israel - Non-residents Voting - General Election Israel elections limited absentee votes for citizens abroad mainly for diplomats & other official emissaries Israel - other citizens return to Israel to vote / civic commitment driving force Israel - Woman interviewed says overseas voters not fair having say a on issues affecting her & other permanent residents. Well, yeah, I'd be complaining about that as well ... if it's people that have been away for ages. http://www.jewishaz.com/us_worldnews/israel/for-some-israelis-abroad-cost-and-distance-no-barrier-to/article_7c6104a8-c777-11e4-a102-8f52dd54429f.html -- LatAm  Venezuela Following US sanctions, Venezuela demand: Washington cut embassy staff from about 100 to 17 {same number Caracas is allowed in WA} LatAm Venezuela vehemently criticised new US sanctions. Washington goal:  for new govt to be installed. LatAm Venezuela US = Venezuela top trading partner Venezuela in 2014 = 4th largest oil supplier to USA *trade unaffected by sanctions row http://www.spyghana.com/venezuela-vents-her-anger-on-new-us-sanctions/ --- Rev. Hyeon Soo Lim, 60, #Canada detained #NorthKorea in Feb. #Sweden embassy mediating for US (US = no ties) http://www.christiandaily.com/article/canada.church.prays.for.pastor.detained.in.north.korea/49931.htm #Indonesia #auspol Jakarta = abt 10 death row prisoners to finish legal appeals before setting a date for executions  http://www.echo.net.au/2015/03/sukumaran-paints-jokowi-portrait/ #India Delhi Police baton charged & detained exiled Tibetans staging a protest outside #Chinese Embassy. #Tibet March 10 Tibetan National Uprising Day (1959) http://www.newkerala.com/news/2015/fullnews-29562.html Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between #EU & #KoreaSouth is in effect South Koreans want to suspend NorKs nukes program Bilateral buddies #Latvia  #Latvia   http://www.baltic-course.com/eng/legislation/?doc=103532 -- Said it before and I'll say it again:  look how buddied up the Swedes are with the US, standing in for the US in negotiations with North Korea.

VIDEO - Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media (1992)

(1992, IMDB)   Link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dzufDdQ6uKg      Watched this to the intermission.  Way long for me.  It could have done with some savage editing, or an edited version for people who just want the distilled message. Have notes somewhere.  So disorganised I can't recall where.   Found them.  Didn't number the pages.  Day's later, I can't tell beginning from end. Anyway, here's what I got out of it: The 'elite media' (eg New York Times, Washington Post) is agenda setting media.  What they draw attention to and what they ignore becomes the agenda of the wider news services.  Large media outfits also shape history. Further, NYT was creator of history as it had a massive archive of carefully collated news information. Reed Irvine - insinuates that press agenda-setting is a left-wing conspiracy.   There's appearances of left-wing bias and opposition to power.  If I recall correctly, this is not a genuine left-leaning press or opposition to the establishment:  this press is firmly entrenched in the system and is part of the establishment. Press ignoring atrocities in Timor, the Panama invasion and the Gulf War (ie in step with the US agenda). Bush stating 'aggressors can't be rewarded' seemed to really annoy Chomsky, I think.   If I remember correctly, it may have been the hypocrisy of the US totalitarian war state that was at issue for Chomsky. Anyway, in Panama US actions were ignored (and wherever else around the world), while the actions of those the US war state decides to vilify become hugely overblown and over-reported. 'Official enemy' is the term used for those the US stands against. Column inches were compared and what the US government didn't want you to know about went massively under-reported.  Only a fraction of that topic would even make the news, unlike the overblown news about events concerning those the US was in opposition to. News stories were also censored -- example of a UK article -- information gouged before it hit the press in the US. Pol Pot's 1975-78 genocide in East Timor wasn't deemed newsworthy. Try again: Pol Pot in Cambodia was deemed massively newsworthy (I think the notes should read.  Hard to make them out!  Sorry about this mess.  Don't have time to check or fix).  Khmer Rouge in Cambodia became the 'official enemy' and their actions were blown grossly out of proportion (if I recall correctly). Reporting in respect of the 'official enemy' is subject to: exaggeration outrage falsification (photos) lies frudulence compared to US atrocities. There is an interplay: Government does. Press says. People think. Press is therefore complicit in genocide by suppressing facts. East Timor involved an Indonesian invasion that was ignored.  UN voted against the resolution to invade.   If I recall correctly, it was profitable supplying weapons.  West was selling arms to Indonesians for profit. * Indonesians killed a couple of Australian journalists December 7, 1975. UN response was condemnations and sanctions, but US clearly not allowing intervention. Meantime there was outrage over what was going on in Cambodia (for which the US was responsible). Very hard to make out my scrawl or the order this is in.    ............................................. Democratic process is what violence is to totalitarian society. It is a case of the Big Stick (totalitarian) versus the Big Lie (democracy). Some mention of 'rationalist libertarian socialism', but (days later) I've no idea what this is about.  Might have to watch the video again.  Social action animated by visions of future society | challenge authority and domination. Control/Coercion require justification - there is seldom a justification. Mention made of exceptions - eg war, parent/child relationships Democracy requires free access to information -- including publishing, education --  and press scrutiny. Discussion of origins of democracy:  17th C. revolution - Royalists versus others. Multiple issues:  incl. master/servant Time of radical publishing - disturbed all elites on both sides of the war.  Manufactured consent:  technique of control of special class. View that decision requires cool observation & that stupidity of average man is guided by myth (beliefs). INDOCTRINATION is the essence of democracy. Fear of people not submitting to civil control  -- people contained by manufactured consent / propaganda (versus the totalitarian model of domination by military force). The state becomes the myth-maker. Propaganda targets:  1. Political class - about 20% educated. 2. The 80% that follow orders and pay the costs. Mentioned sports as indoctrination.  So pleased about that because I detest sports and have never understood the point of following who kicks a ball etc. Walter Lippmann got a mention.  Cannot recall why.   Will link him, but its the early hours of the morning and I can't take the time to do more than that. Richard Niebuhr got a mention regarding the 'cool observer' and stupid average man who follows faith.  Not absolutely certain I have the right person.  Guessing I have.  No time to double-check.  Might come back to this over the next few days. (: Thought it was funny that Chomsky referred to NYT as a 'lapdog'.  While discussing how the government doesn't like to be exposed as the 'emperor with no clothes', it reminded me of why the powers that be have targeted WikiLeaks and publisher Julian Assange. Anyway, this is a scrambled and sketchy summary of the first portion of the documentary.   Even though this isn't chronological (I notice I've reversed the order), I'm going to leave it and shut down as soon as I can because I've got Christmas obligations.   Have noticed that if you really push yourself and not sleep normally for extended periods, it seems to have a depressant effect.  Or maybe that's just on me. Have a nice holiday everyone. [In a rush, excuse any typos]

Vietnam's Cam Rahn Bay facilities - Vietnam looking to East or West?

 The Japan Times Article

China removes oil rig that triggered Vietnam riots from disputed waters

AP

... 

It said oil and gas has been discovered during the operation, but was assessing the data gathered before deciding its next move. It has always been unclear whether the Beijing deployed the rig for genuine exploration reasons or geopolitical ones. When it announced the deployment, Beijing said it would withdraw it on Aug. 15, also citing the typhoon season.

Ha Le, deputy director of Vietnam’s fisheries resources surveillance department, said China began removing the rig and escorting vessels Tuesday night, and by 8 a.m. Wednesday it was 40 nautical miles northwest of its original location and continuing to move toward Hainan island.

Le said 30 vessels from Vietnam’s coast guard and fisheries patrol forces that were sent to try to force the Chinese oil rig away will return to port to avoid the incoming Rammasun typhoon.

China’s unwillingness to move the rig exposed Vietnam’s lack of options when dealing with its giant neighbor. The workings of the Vietnamese government are shrouded in secrecy, but it has long been assumed that the Communist Party is split between a faction that favors a tough line against Beijing — and consequentially stronger ties with the United States and its allies in Asia — and those members who believe a compromise can be reached with their ideological allies to the north.

As a result of the rig placement, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has said the country was preparing to file a legal challenge to China’s claims in an international tribunal, something that risks angering China. It remains to be seen whether Vietnam will go ahead with that now the rig has been withdrawn.

Former Vietnamese Ambassador to Beijing Nguyen Trong Vinh said China’s removal of the rig didn’t signal a change of attitude on behalf of the country.

“The removal of the oil rig from our continental shelf and exclusive economic zone is only temporary. Maybe they pulled out the oil rig ahead of the typhoon season. It does not mean that they have abandoned their resolve to take control of most of the East Sea,” he said, using the Vietnamese term for the South China Sea.

EXTRACT ONLY - Source - The Japan Times - here.

--------------------------------------------
Article Publisher Background

Toshiaki Ogasawara has been Chairman of The Japan Times Ltd. since 2001 and serves as its Chief Executive Officer and Publisher. ... He served as an Advisory Director with Bank of America. Mr. Ogasawara ...

Board Members Memberships*

Trustee

University of Southern California

Unknown/Other Education

Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs  - [Princeton University]

 Other Affiliations*

University of Southern California

...

Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs [Princeton University]

Business Breakthrough, Inc. [Educational services - Tokyo Japan]

...

Source - Business Newsweek - here. 

--------------------------------------------
Vietnam Government

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam, along with China, Cuba, and Laos, is one of the world's four remaining single-party socialist states officially espousing communism. Its current state constitution, which replaced the 1975 constitution in April 1992, asserts the central role of the Communist Party of Vietnam in all organs of government, politics and society.

[wikipedia]

 --------------------------------------------
Japan Government

Japan is a member of the G8, APEC, and "ASEAN Plus Three", and is a participant in the East Asia Summit. Japan signed a security pact with Australia in March 2007 and with India in October 2008.

It is the world's third largest donor of official development assistance after the United States and France, donating US$9.48 billion in 2009.


Japan has close economic and military relations with the United States; the US-Japan security alliance acts as the cornerstone of the nation's foreign policy.  A member state of the United Nations since 1956, Japan has served as a non-permanent Security Council member for a total of 20 years, most recently for 2009 and 2010. It is one of the G4 nations seeking permanent membership in the Security Council.

Japan is engaged in several territorial disputes with its neighbors: with Russia over the South Kuril Islands, with South Korea over the Liancourt Rocks, with China and Taiwan over the Senkaku Islands, and with China over the EEZ around Okinotorishima.  Japan also faces an ongoing dispute with North Korea over the latter's abduction of Japanese citizens and its nuclear weapons and missile program (see also Six-party talks).


Japan maintains one of the largest military budgets of any country in the world.  Japan contributed non-combatant troops to the Iraq War but subsequently withdrew its forces.

[wikipedia]

--------------------------------------------
COMMENT

[NOTE - The above background info is largely for my own benefit, trying to make out who's who.]

China pulling its oil rig from the contested waters is a development which may -- or may not -- influence current negotiations purportedly taking place between Vietnam and both US and Russia, in respect of the Cam Rhan Bay port -- a deep sea port 'seven miles from open sea', which has recently been upgraded to the tune of millions of dollars and is capable of accommodating aircraft carriers as well as docking and maintaining sea vessels.

So the question is, which way will Vietnam turn and:  is the Communist Party in Vietnam divided when it comes to deciding how to best address maritime territorial interests?

Vietnamese Communist Party factional divisions (if any) can only be guessed at.

However, I suspect that alliance-shy Vietnam is looking to make the best deal it can negotiate and, as mentioned, discussions are purportedly 'well under-way' with both Russia and the US.

From the US perspective, Vietnam has common interests with with the US who:

... also wants to protect what is, according to a 2012 U.S. estimates, $1.2 trillion in U.S. trade transiting along South China Sea shipping lanes. 

[Source - stripes.com]

Of course, the US also has military interests in the Asia-Pacific region, so Cam Rahn Bay access is also of wider strategic military value to the US.

At this stage (June 2014), it appears that the US is quietly hopeful that the Vietnam's attitude has warmed towards the US in more recent times:

“There have been remarkable strides already made in last few years, and it’s been very rapid since 2010 in terms of U.S.-Vietnam military relationships,” said Christian Le Mière, senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “Continued assertiveness by China in the South China Sea will only further convince the Vietnamese that they should be expanding their international alliances, and that includes the United States.”

The U.S. Navy has been making port visits to Da Nang in recent years, engaging in activities that started with sports and ship tours with Vietnamese sailors, and developed into a joint search-and-rescue exercise last year. Greater U.S. Navy access to Cam Ranh Bay, further south near Nha Trang, would represent a bigger step in the military-to-military relationship.

The deep water port is about seven miles from open sea and is capable of accommodating aircraft carriers, and its facilities recently underwent millions of dollars in upgrades. Its airport is used by both Vietnamese military forces and by commercial carriers.

U.S. Military Sealift Command ships have visited for repairs — the first came along with former U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in 2012 — but no active U.S. Navy ship has visited the port since the Vietnam War.

[Source - stripes.com] 

What is also interesting is that the US has set up the PSI (Proliferation Security Initiative) which received over 50% UN support since its inception:

Launched by United States President George W. Bush in May 2003 at a meeting in Kraków, Poland, the PSI has now grown to include the endorsement of 103...nations around the world, including Russia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, New Zealand, Republic of Korea and Norway. Despite the support of over half of the Members of the United Nations, a number of countries have expressed opposition to the initiative, including India, China and Indonesia.
[wikipedia]

Vietnam, along with China, appears to have opposed the PSI initiative -- until Vietnam backed off last month:

PSI was created by the U.S and Poland in 2003 as an international effort to interdict [prohibit] vessels carrying weapons of mass destruction, and it has since garnered signatories from more than 100 countries.

Vietnam joined with China in strenuously arguing that PSI violated international law, until Hanoi changed its mind last month.

“It’s a bait on the hook to request the United States to assist in standing up their ability to conduct maritime reconnaissance and surveillance, and link to shore-based radars and other technical equipment,” Thayer said.

The additional U.S. presence could force China to act less aggressively in the area, while at the same time allowing Vietnam to show that it took no provocative action against China.

[Source - stripes.com]

If I have that straight, it would seem that Vietnam backing off from opposing the PSI is perhaps signalling it may be inclined towards making way for US presence at the Cam Rahn Bay facilities -- or it may simply be one of the concessions Vietnam is willing to make in the interim, towards forwarding its Cam Rahn negotiations.

Uncertain what the 'bait in the hook' request is & too lazy to re-visit article (LOL).  Expect Vietnam has requested the US to assist in Vietnam with reconnaissance and surveillance, if I'm reading that right.

Whatever the outcome of negotiations, the US are purportedly keen on getting a foot in the Cam Rahn door.

One suspects that even if negotiations fail, the US would not be averse to creating an 'international logistics hub' via a less 'threatening' option (to Vietnam) -- ie the 'Places Not Bases' initiative -- where it would be envisaged that the Cam Rahn Bay facilities would provide the US with assured access for repair, refuelling, restocking and so on (as well as presence in the region), on an informal "partner" arrangement basis, such as the one the US has apparently negotiated with Singapore.

The 'Places Not Bases' strategy is explained below:

... the Pentagon fashioned a policy of “places, not bases,” whereby the U.S. military sought access to naval facilities of “partner” countries.

Compared to “bases” run by formal allies such as South Korea and Japan, “places” in Singapore — and other countries such as Malaysia and Brunei — enabled the U.S. military to maintain its presence in the region ...

Singapore is the quintessential example of such a “places, not bases” strategy.

SOURCE - The China Post (Taiwan) - here.

So will Vietnam look towards the east or the west when it comes to negotiating maritime concerns in the region?

If The Japan Times is correct, the final decision may depend on intra-party politics in Vietnam.

Politics aside, Vietnam's decision may well pivot on how attractive the commercial prospects are for Vietnam.

Or ... on how impressed they may be with Bill Clinton's visit (LOL):


--------------------------------------------
Thanhnien News

Bill Clinton to visit Vietnam again

Thanh Nien News

July 16, 2014 17:13

Former US President Bill Clinton will return to Vietnam on Friday (July 18) as part of his Asia-Pacific trip to visit the work of the Clinton Foundation and deliver remarks at the 20th International AIDS Conference, according to a release by the Clinton Foundation.

Clinton, who visited Vietnam for the first time in November 2000, is scheduled to visit India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Australia from July 16-23.

The trip highlights Clinton’s longstanding commitment to the Asia/Pacific region, as well as the work of the Clinton Foundation on a number of issues that are critical to the region, including global health and improved access to medicines, climate change and economic development, the release said.

In Vietnam, he will visit an orphanage outside of Hanoi to view a Clinton Health Access Initiative program that aims to prevent tuberculosis among children living with HIV.

Clinton's November 2000 visit to Vietnam was the first by a US President since the two countries normalized diplomatic relations in 1995, 20 years after the end of the Vietnam War.

He later returned to Vietnam in several occasions to promote work of the Clinton Foundation in the country.

Source - Thanhnien News - here.

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Hmmm ... what a coincidence Bill's in town.

Maybe I'm a cynic, but it looks like the US are pulling out all stops to win over Vietnam -- and Clinton's charity tour schedule just happens to coincide.

Charity foundations really are the way to go; good access, favourable impressions etc.