INDIAN PRIORITIES FOR MAY ARF SOM

UNCLAS NEW DELHI 003645 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL MARR IN ARF SUBJECT: INDIAN PRIORITIES FOR MAY ARF SOM REF: NEW DELHI 1223 ¶1. (SBU) MEA Deputy Secretary (Disarmament and International Security) Naveen Srivastava told us on May 13 that Additional Secretary Meera Shankar (International Security) will lead SIPDIS the Indian delegation to the May 19-10 ARF Senior Official's Meeting in Vientiane. He noted that India is now fully on board with the US-proposed ARF seminar on missile defense. ¶2. (SBU) Srivastava indicated that the GOI delegation's priority at the meeting will be to reiterate the maritime security and cybersecurity initiatives which they had proposed at the February Intersessional Support Group (ISG) in Berlin, and if possible, establish a timeframe for the two programs. Another focus area will be ARF membership expansion. The Indians will support the inclusion of East Timor, for which there appears to be broad support, but with respect to the numerous other candidates, New Delhi will go with the consensus, although the GOI is skeptical of overly rapid expansion to include others. Srivastava added that New Delhi's understanding is that their approach will be in line with the other members. BLAKE