TRIPARTATE DEMARCHE FINDS CHILE NOT READY TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANTIAGO 001108 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/23/2016 TAGS: MNUC PARM PGOV PHSA PREL KNNP CI SUBJECT: TRIPARTATE DEMARCHE FINDS CHILE NOT READY TO DECLARE FOR PSI REF: A. SANTIAGO 0907 AND PREVIOUS ¶B. STATE 50811 ¶C. SANTIAGO 00091 Classified By: Ambassador Craig Kelly for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: At the request of the Spanish Embassy, on May 19, Ambassador accompanied his Polish and Spanish counterparts in a joint demarche urging the GOC to accede to the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI). Foreign Ministry Director General Carlos Portales said the MFA needed time to build support for PSI within the new Bachelet administration. He questioned why observers were not being allowed to attend the high-level meeting planned in June. As long as attendance at the meeting was predicated on a prior declaration of support for PSI or the Statement of Interdiction Principles (SIP),Chile would have to consider itself "disinvited," Portales said. He said Chile strongly would like to participate, but only as an observer or "interested party," not as a member. End Summary ¶2. (C) Supplementing Embassy's bilateral demarches (reftel A),the Ambassador joined Polish Ambassador Jaroslaw Spyra and Spanish Ambassador Jose Antonio Martinez de Villareal to discuss PSI with MFA Director General Carlos Portales on May 19 (reftel B). Portales was accompanied by his Chief of Staff, Rodrigo Nieto, and Director for Special Policy Ambassador Luis Winter. ¶3. (C) Ambassador Spyra presented the requirement that only full PSI members could attend the June high-level PSI meeting in Warsaw as an evolution of the organization. Portales took issue with this, saying there was no logical reason for not allowing observers and like-minded countries to attend. It appeared Chile was being "disinvited" to participate in PSI. Chile had taken part in the Krakow meetings last year, and observed several PSI interdiction exercises. After this record of close cooperation, Chile's exclusion from the Warsaw meetings "hurt." Ambassador Spyra said that Chile's regional reputation and weight made its participation particularly important to PSI, but showed no flexibility on the requirement for a declaration supporting the SIP. ¶4. (C) Portales said the new Bachelet administration needed time to assess Chile's participation in PSI. Continued opportunities to participate in and observe PSI activities would be a key element in building a consensus to join. Conversely, Chile's exclusion in Warsaw could raise questions and slow a decision. Ambassador Kelly asked directly if Portales saw observer status as a way to keep Chile moving toward full membership. Portales replied "absolutely." The GOC would gladly participate in the high-level meeting, but only if a mechanism were found to allow countries cooperating with PSI to attend without publicly adhering to the SIP. ¶5. (C) Comment: Chile is not prepared to commit to full participation in PSI at this time and further approaches are not likely to move them. PSI adherence is now entwined with Chile's draft proposal for a new bilateral defense security cooperation agreement, presented to us by Portales in January 2006 (reftel C). KELLY