Vietnam's Defense Minister Pham Van Tra, here on a landmark visit, complained about a US congressional resolution accusing the communist government of "egregious" abuses of religious freedom, a senior State Department official said.
Pham registered Hanoi's protest during a courtesy call with Secretary of State Colin Powell but was told the way to deal with such criticism is to improve conditions in Vietnam, according to James Kelly, the top US diplomat for Asia.
"Religion did come up because that's a problem," Kelly told reporters, describing Powell's meeting with Pham.
"They complained about the Vietnam Human Rights Amendment and we pointed out that if we see improvements on the ground then you don't have to worry about it," Kelly said.
Last week, the Vietnamese foreign ministry lashed out at the resolution, which was introduced in the US House of Representatives on October 30 after the US ambassador at-large for religious freedom expressed concern at the situation in Vietnam after a fact-finding visit there.
"We reject this draft resolution because it is wrong and fails to reflect the realities of Vietnam and does not conform to the developing relationship between Vietnam and the US," foreign ministry spokesman Le Dung said on November 6.
The non-binding legislation, introduced into the House of Representatives, acknowledges the leadership of the outlawed Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) and calls for major improvements in religious freedom.
In recent weeks, Vietnam has intensified a crackdown on the UBCV, placing senior monks under house arrest in a bid to split the church and isolate them from their followers, according to its overseas information arm.