Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06SANTIAGO93
2006-01-15 20:20:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Santiago
Cable title:  

CHILE: MINISTER OF DEFENSE BRIEFS CODEL MCCONNELL

Tags:  PGOV PREL MARR MASS OVIP CI 
pdf how-to read a cable
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SANTIAGO 000093 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/15/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL MARR MASS OVIP CI
SUBJECT: CHILE: MINISTER OF DEFENSE BRIEFS CODEL MCCONNELL
ON CHILE'S REGIONAL CONCERNS AND DEFENSE PLANS


Classified By: Ambassador Craig Kelly for reasons 1.4(b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANTIAGO 000093

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/15/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL MARR MASS OVIP CI
SUBJECT: CHILE: MINISTER OF DEFENSE BRIEFS CODEL MCCONNELL
ON CHILE'S REGIONAL CONCERNS AND DEFENSE PLANS


Classified By: Ambassador Craig Kelly for reasons 1.4(b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: Chilean Minister of Defense Jaime Ravinet
told members of CODEL McConnell January 12 that Chile was the
United States' "most reliable partner in the region."
Ravinet shared his concerns about neighboring countries'
leftward drift and their propensity to use Chile as a straw
man. Ravinet said Chile's military policy is one of
responsible, credible deterrence, while its fiscal policy
emphasizes strict responsibility, focusing social spending on
the poorest sector of society. Ravinet also reaffirmed
Chile's strong commitment to multilateralism; he opined Chile
would stay the course in Haiti; suggested the U.S. turn
Iraq's reconstruction over to the United Nations; and said
Chile would soon ratify its accession to the International
Criminal Court. Ravinet said the Lagos Administration was
striving to find an accommodation that would avoid the
imposition of U.S. sanctions under the American Servicemember
and Citizen Protection Act. End Summary.


2. (U) Minister of Defense Ravinet was accompanied by Under
Secretary of the Navy, Gonzalo Garcia; Minister of Defense

SIPDIS
(MOD) International Affairs Advisor Maria Inez Ruz; MOD
International Affairs Director of the Joint Staff Col.
Guillermo Castro; and Auditor General of the Joint Staff
Commander Claudio Escudero. Attending for the U.S. were
Senator Mitch McConnell; Senator Mel Martinez; Senator
Richard Burr; Senator John Thune; Staff Director,
Appropriations Sub-Committee for Foreign Operations Paul
Grove; Professional Staff Member, Appropriations
Sub-Committee for Foreign Operations Tom Hawkins; Staff
Member, Office of Senator McConnell, Reb Brownell; Attending
Physician Admiral John Eisold; Ambassador Craig Kelly; Acting
Defense Attache Col. Robert Scott; and Political Officer
Jeffrey Galvin.


Chile is your most reliable partner...
--------------



3. (C) Senator McConnell noted that for three of the four
visiting Senators this was a first visit to Chile, and that
the country gave the appearance of progress and great
success. Ravinet said Chile still had high levels of
poverty, but unlike other Latin American countries, rather
than blaming the "Washington consensus" for its problems,
Chile had pursued policies of fiscal responsibility and
tightly focused its social assistance programs on the most
impoverished sectors of society. This focus and fiscal
responsibility is the big difference between Chile and its
neighbors.


4. (C) Senator McConnell asked what Ravinet saw as Chile's
greatest challenge. Ravinet replied as Minister of Defense,
it was having defense forces with enough deterrent power to
secure Chile's borders. He said Chile had no territorial
aspirations, but is modernizing and professionalizing its
armed forces, making Chile the United States' "most reliable
partner in this part of the world." Ravinet said that Chile
was committed to peacekeeping operations; would continue its
deployment in Haiti through June and hopefully beyond; and
was considering increasing its commitments in Bosnia and
other areas.

Regional Stress Lines
--------------


5. (C) Noting the election of Evo Morales in Bolivia,
Senator McConnell asked Ravinet what impact this would have
on relations. Ravinet replied, "We don't quite agree on the
northern borders." He said Bolivia continued to press for an
outlet to the sea, while Peru would like to regain territory
in Chile's northern desert as well. Chile is one of the
primary sources of foreign direct investment in Peru, and
essentially extends a "unilateral FTA" to Bolivia, allowing
Bolivian goods to transit Chile duty free. Still,
politicians in Peru and Bolivia use anti-Chile sentiment as a
rallying point, and while the attacks are generally
rhetorical, Chile must maintain a credible military
deterrent.


6. (C) Ravinet contrasted the situation in the north to that
with Argentina, where "historic border disputes have given
way to historic cooperation." Chile and Argentina conduct
joint military exercises and patrols, and use an
ECLAC-developed formula to exchange information on defense
expenditures. Chile and Argentina plan to create a joint
combined peacekeeping force, and Ravinet stated that Chilean
and Argentine forces in Haiti are going to develop a joint
command structure.

Political Developments in Bolivia and Peru
--------------


7. (C) Senator Martinez asked about the broader regional
issue of Venezuela President Hugo Chavez' irresponsible
behavior, and the implications of Bolivian President-elect
Morales' apparent ties to Chavez and Fidel Castro. Ravinet
replied that it was impossible to predict the future.
Morales was a better result for Bolivia than Quiroga would
have been, as Morales had a chance to stop the cycle of
instability. If Morales acted responsibly, he should have
some resources to begin addressing poverty and long-standing
social issues in Bolivia. Bolivia has suffered from poor
governance over the last few years. According to Ravinet,
the greatest obstacle to resolving bilateral issues with
Bolivia has been the lack of a stable negotiating partner.


8. (C) Ravinet said Peru was a contradiction - economically
the country is performing well, with steady growth and
healthy rates of investment. However, governance is poor,
institutions are weak and the administration unpopular.
Ravinet was concerned about Ollanta Humala's rise in the
polls, saying if elected, Humala could increase Peru's
instability. According to Ravinet, in the last two elections
Peru elected relative unknowns from outside the political
establishment -- current President Toledo and former
President Fujimori -- and Humala fits that same mold.
Ravinet noted the instability in Ecuador as well, saying,
"The changes underway are going to make this a more difficult
area."

Bilateral Cooperation and Iraq
--------------


9. (C) Senator Burr noted the excellent military to military
relations we enjoy, and reminded Ravinet that President Bush
would like to strengthen relations with Chile across the
board. Despite our original disagreement about whether to
intervene in Iraq, at this point would Chile agree the U.S.
and international community have to stay and finish the job?
Ravinet said this was a hard question, because the GOC agreed
with the U.S. on so many of the essentials. (Post Note:
Although opposing the resolution to use force in Iraq, while
on the Security Council Chile supported all subsequent
resolutions concerning the administration and reconstruction
of Iraq under the coalition and transitional government. End
Note.)


10. (C) Ravinet said the GOC's position was that the
decision to use force, except in case of attack, should have
been taken by the international community. In deciding to
remove a dictator or restore democracy, the decision should
not be taken unilaterally. Contrasting U.S. involvement in
Iraq with Vietnam, Ravinet said the U.S. was slowly drawn
into Vietnam and had not anticipated its eventual
entrenchment there. In Iraq the U.S. had taken the decision
to invade and occupy a sovereign country. The costs for the
U.S. were very high, but a pull out at this point would be
disastrous. Ravinet said the U.S. should consider fully
turning security and reconstruction efforts over to the UN.
Senator Burr noted that the EU 3 had referred the Iran
nuclear issue to the UN, and the UN's response would be
watched closely as an indicator of the UN's willingness and
capacity to deal with serious security issues.

The International Criminal Court and Article 98
-------------- --


11. (C) Senator Thune said the U.S. sees Chile playing a
critical political and strategic role in the region, and we
share concerns about increasing instability. As a member of
the Armed Services Committee, Senator Thune supported the
F-16 sale and wanted the flow of security assistance and

technology to Chile to remain open. The symbolism of our
cooperation is very important in the region. However,
Chile's impending ratification of the International Criminal
Court (ICC) was a sticking point - the American Servicemember
and Citizen Protection Act (ASPA) has real teeth and the U.S.
Congress takes this issue seriously.


12. (C) Ravinet thanked Senator Thune for raising the ICC
and ASPA. Ravinet noted for Chile the most important aspect
was not defense materials, but the training and personal
relations the militaries enjoyed. The U.S. and Chile "have a
long-standing treaty for military cooperation and the
cooperation is excellent and important." However, political
support for ratifying the ICC spans Chile's political
spectrum, and passage is virtually assured. The ICC was not
only a domestic issue, Ravinet explained. With most
countries in the region already ICC members, Chile was not
winning any friends by remaining outside. Ratifying the
treaty would be an act of regional solidarity.


13. (C) The same logic applied to an Article 98 agreement.
Ravinet said, "There is no political floor (sic) to discuss
an Article 98 here." Only Colombia in the region had an
acknowledged agreement with the U.S. It was important to
find a solution that would save face for Chile while allowing
the close relationship with the U.S. to continue. Ravinet
observed, "There are ways around the problem in the law...we
need to find an imaginative way to solve the problem."
Ravinet noted specifically that ASPA provided for a
Presidential waiver of sanctions. He said it was important
to solve the sanctions issue before Chile ratified the ICC,
and the GOC had delayed consideration of the measure in
Congress to open a space to do so. However, the Lagos
administration wanted to ratify before leaving office in
March. "We have to do this hard and fast," Ravinet said.


14. (C) At the end of the meeting, Ravinet called the
Ambassador and Senator Martinez aside for a brief discussion
of options for addressing Article 98. Ravinet said the GOC
was considering extending SOFA-type protections to a small
group of "strategic allies (countries)," and expressed the
hope that this could be the basis for an agreement that would
avoid ASPA sanctions. Ravinet added that President Lagos
wanted to resolve this issue while he was still in office and
not hand it off to his successor.
KELLY