DEMARCHE TO SPAIN ON CHINA ARMS EMBARGO

C O N F I D E N T I A L MADRID 003007 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/07/2016 TAGS: PARM PREL PGOV PHUM EUN SP CH SUBJECT: DEMARCHE TO SPAIN ON CHINA ARMS EMBARGO REF: STATE 194456 Classified By: DCM Hugo Llorens for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) The DCM discussed the EU's reconsideration of the China Arms Embargo with MFA Director General for Foreign Policy Rafael Dezcallar on December 5. Dezcallar assured the DCM that Spain is not seeking to lift the embargo, nor would it support such an effort. He noted that he had recently visited Tokyo and heard strong objections from Japanese officials to any thought of lifting the embargo. Dezcallar expressed his personal opinion that the embargo would be unsustainable in the long term. He said that today's China is not the same as the China of Tiananmen Square and has changed for the better. Spain views China as a conservative power that has not taken a destabilizing or threatening posture in world affairs. Dezcallar said that Spain has been following with interest China's growth into a major economic power, and he speculated that future negotiations on the arms embargo would likely be tied to concessions on transparency on arms procurement, cooperation on non-proliferation matters, and reforms in governance and human rights. Dezcallar reiterated that Spain's official position is to support the embargo. ¶2. (SBU) Separately, MFA Subdirector General for the European Union Carlos Fernandez-Arias told POLOFF on December 5 that Spain would support language in the GAERC conclusions to the effect that the European Union would commit to study and consider alterations to the embargo at such time when the political and human rights situation in China has improved. He said the conclusions should remain general and not cite specific concerns because it ought not be seen as a list of conditions for lifting the embargo. Fernandez-Arias added that Spain would not support any change in European posture that failed to take into account the legitimate security concerns of China's neighbors, and he acknowledged that the United States considers itself a neighbor in the security context. -------------- Visit Embassy Madrid's Classified Website; http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/madrid/ -------------- Llorens