Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05SANTIAGO2526
2005-12-18 10:53:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Santiago
Cable title:
CHILE NOT BUYING BRAHMOS MISSILES; DOWNPLAYS
how-toVZCZCXRO9090 PP RUEHAO RUEHCD RUEHGA RUEHGD RUEHHA RUEHHO RUEHMC RUEHNG RUEHNL RUEHQU RUEHRD RUEHRG RUEHRS RUEHTM RUEHVC DE RUEHSG #2526 3521053 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 181053Z DEC 05 FM AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8068 INFO RUEHWH/WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS PRIORITY RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 0086
C O N F I D E N T I A L SANTIAGO 002526
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPT PASS TO MISSILE TECHNOLOGY CONTROL REGIME COLLECTIVE
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/16/2015
TAGS: PARM PREL MNUC MTCR ETTC IN CI
SUBJECT: CHILE NOT BUYING BRAHMOS MISSILES; DOWNPLAYS
PROLIFERATION CONCERNS
REF: A. STATE 224831
B. DAO SANTIAGO IIR 6817 9977 06
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Emi L. Yamauchi for
reasons 1.4(b) and (d).
C O N F I D E N T I A L SANTIAGO 002526
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPT PASS TO MISSILE TECHNOLOGY CONTROL REGIME COLLECTIVE
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/16/2015
TAGS: PARM PREL MNUC MTCR ETTC IN CI
SUBJECT: CHILE NOT BUYING BRAHMOS MISSILES; DOWNPLAYS
PROLIFERATION CONCERNS
REF: A. STATE 224831
B. DAO SANTIAGO IIR 6817 9977 06
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Emi L. Yamauchi for
reasons 1.4(b) and (d).
1. (C) Post delivered ref A demarche to Claudio Ortiz,
advisor to the Minister of Defense, and to Francisco
Bernales, Deputy Director Special Policies Directorate at the
MFA, on December 15. Both reiterated the GOC's earlier
assurances that the GOC and Chilean military do not intend to
procure the Brahmos missile system (ref B). The Chilean Navy
is committed to the Harpoon Block II and will be looking to
increase its stock of Harpoons. That said, Ortiz and
Bernales were unconvinced that an introduction of the Brahmos
in the region would present a serious threat to regional
stability.
2. (C) Ortiz, who said he was close to the negotiations,
said the reports of GOC interest in the Brahmos system were
"Indian propaganda." While India is interested in selling
the Brahmos, the technology does not compare with the Harpoon
missile. He reiterated that the Harpoon Block II was the
missile of choice for the Chilean Navy. Ortiz said the
Brahmos was "old technology," and that its extended range and
greater payload would not be a concern to Chile should other
countries acquire it. The only proliferation issue, in his
point of view, would be if a country outfitted the missile
with a non-conventional warhead to deliver chemical,
biological or radiological payloads. Ortiz said any arms
sale in the region was destabilizing to some extent, but the
Brahmos was not of particular concern to Chile.
3. (C) The Foreign Ministry's Bernales said the MFA was
neither involved nor consulted in military procurement
decisions and said he did not have specific knowledge of the
Brahmos deal. Although the MFA was pressing for a role in
the process, the MFA's concern was more "where the military
buys rather than what they buy." Bernales said the GOC would
continue to look at a wide range of military procurement
options, partly because the U.S. continued to be perceived as
a "fickle partner," making reference to the 1970s
Kennedy-Harkin Amendment and the American Servicemember's
Protection Act. Bernales said the GOC was concerned that the
U.S. Congress could intervene in the military procurement
relationship "at any time," including if the next Chilean
administration leaned more to the left.
4. (C) Bernales added he did not believe the Brahmos
represented a bona fide proliferation threat. He asked
whether it exceeded Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)
limitations, and noted the Harpoon missile system could also
be used to strike littoral targets.
5. (C) Comment: High-level military procurement officials
and civilian government officials have told us separately
that Chile is not interested in the Brahmos system. Boeing
representatives recently told us the GOC is close to signing
a deal to retrofit the Chilean Navy's flagship, the Almirante
Williams, with a Harpoon II launch and control system.
KELLY
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPT PASS TO MISSILE TECHNOLOGY CONTROL REGIME COLLECTIVE
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/16/2015
TAGS: PARM PREL MNUC MTCR ETTC IN CI
SUBJECT: CHILE NOT BUYING BRAHMOS MISSILES; DOWNPLAYS
PROLIFERATION CONCERNS
REF: A. STATE 224831
B. DAO SANTIAGO IIR 6817 9977 06
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Emi L. Yamauchi for
reasons 1.4(b) and (d).
1. (C) Post delivered ref A demarche to Claudio Ortiz,
advisor to the Minister of Defense, and to Francisco
Bernales, Deputy Director Special Policies Directorate at the
MFA, on December 15. Both reiterated the GOC's earlier
assurances that the GOC and Chilean military do not intend to
procure the Brahmos missile system (ref B). The Chilean Navy
is committed to the Harpoon Block II and will be looking to
increase its stock of Harpoons. That said, Ortiz and
Bernales were unconvinced that an introduction of the Brahmos
in the region would present a serious threat to regional
stability.
2. (C) Ortiz, who said he was close to the negotiations,
said the reports of GOC interest in the Brahmos system were
"Indian propaganda." While India is interested in selling
the Brahmos, the technology does not compare with the Harpoon
missile. He reiterated that the Harpoon Block II was the
missile of choice for the Chilean Navy. Ortiz said the
Brahmos was "old technology," and that its extended range and
greater payload would not be a concern to Chile should other
countries acquire it. The only proliferation issue, in his
point of view, would be if a country outfitted the missile
with a non-conventional warhead to deliver chemical,
biological or radiological payloads. Ortiz said any arms
sale in the region was destabilizing to some extent, but the
Brahmos was not of particular concern to Chile.
3. (C) The Foreign Ministry's Bernales said the MFA was
neither involved nor consulted in military procurement
decisions and said he did not have specific knowledge of the
Brahmos deal. Although the MFA was pressing for a role in
the process, the MFA's concern was more "where the military
buys rather than what they buy." Bernales said the GOC would
continue to look at a wide range of military procurement
options, partly because the U.S. continued to be perceived as
a "fickle partner," making reference to the 1970s
Kennedy-Harkin Amendment and the American Servicemember's
Protection Act. Bernales said the GOC was concerned that the
U.S. Congress could intervene in the military procurement
relationship "at any time," including if the next Chilean
administration leaned more to the left.
4. (C) Bernales added he did not believe the Brahmos
represented a bona fide proliferation threat. He asked
whether it exceeded Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)
limitations, and noted the Harpoon missile system could also
be used to strike littoral targets.
5. (C) Comment: High-level military procurement officials
and civilian government officials have told us separately
that Chile is not interested in the Brahmos system. Boeing
representatives recently told us the GOC is close to signing
a deal to retrofit the Chilean Navy's flagship, the Almirante
Williams, with a Harpoon II launch and control system.
KELLY