AUSTRALIA WANTS TRILATERAL STRATEGIC DIALOGUE,

C O N F I D E N T I A L CANBERRA 000293

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/15/2015
TAGS: AS CN JA PREL ARF
SUBJECT: AUSTRALIA WANTS TRILATERAL STRATEGIC DIALOGUE,
HELP FROM JAPAN ON EAS MEMBERSHIP


Classified By: J. Thomas Schieffer, Ambassador. Reasons: 1.4 (b/d)


1. (C) Summary: Australian Foreign Affairs Secretary Michael
L'Estrange told the Ambassador on February 14 that he hoped
another round of the U.S.-Japan-Australia Trilateral
Strategic Dialogue could be held in the near future. He also
asked that the U.S. encourage Japan to use its influence with
ASEAN to push for Australia to be included in the East Asian
Summit (EAS). It was in both our countries' interest, the
Ambassador and L'Estrange agreed, to have an open and
inclusive EAS that was not dominated by China. End summary.

Trilateral Security Dialogue
--------------

2. (C) Michael L'Estrange, who recently succeeded Ashton
Calvert as Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and
Trade (DFAT),told the Ambassador at a February 14 meeting
that he was keen to restart the U.S.-Japan-Australia
Trilateral Strategic Dialogue. The meeting Australia had
hoped to host in Sydney late last year had been postponed due
to personnel changes in all three countries. Although he
realized that the new Deputy Secretary had yet to be
confirmed, L'Estrange said he was concerned the process could
lose steam if another six months passed without a meeting.
Australia would not insist on being the host; L'Estrange
would be willing to go to Washington or Tokyo. L'Estrange
said he recognized that holding the Trilateral in conjunction
with the U.S.-Japan bilateral security talks, as had been
done in the past, was the most convenient option and offered
the best chance of holding a meeting in the near future. The
priority for Australia, L'Estrange said, was that another
Trilateral take place "sooner rather than later" so that the
process could become more routine and institutionalized.


3. (C) The Ambassador told L'Estrange it was his impression
that participating in the Trilateral had made the Japanese
more enthusiastic about the process. The U.S. believed it
was a valuable forum for the three like-minded governments to
compare views on the major regional issues and hoped the
meetings at the Deputy Secretary level would continue.

East Asian Summit
--------------

4. (C) L'Estrange also raised with the Ambassador Australia's
desire to be included in the first meeting of the East Asian
Summit (EAS) to be held in Kuala Lumpur this fall and asked
for quiet U.S. intervention to get Japan to push Australia's
membership with ASEAN countries. Australia was eager for a
seat at the EAS, but could not be seen as being too eager or
engaging in "megaphone diplomacy," L'Estrange said.
Singapore supported Australian membership, as did Indonesia,
but neither was pushing the issue forcefully because of the
traditional ASEAN emphasis on consensus, as well as wariness
of China's reaction. L'Estrange said he appreciated
Washington had its own issues with EAS and that asking the
U.S. to weigh in directly with ASEAN would be
counterproductive. Given the situation, Australia believed
the best route would be if the U.S. could encourage Japan to
promote Australian membership. Australia, the U.S., and
Japan all had an interest in ensuring that the EAS was open
and inclusive and not dominated by China.


5. (C) The Ambassador replied that he did not foresee a
problem with us quietly talking to the Japanese and asking
them to use their influence in ASEAN to push for Australian
membership, which would be in all our interests. None of us
wanted to see the Chinese dominate the EAS, the Ambassador
added, and his sense was that Tokyo was also keen to have
more like-minded countries in the organization. He promised
L'Estrange that he would report Australia's request