MTAG: JAPAN SAYS "NO" TO TAIWAN CWC PARTICIPATION

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 001001 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/TC AND ISN/MTR E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/24/2026 TAGS: ECCT PARM MTCRE JP TW SUBJECT: MTAG: JAPAN SAYS "NO" TO TAIWAN CWC PARTICIPATION REF: A. TAIPEI 855 ¶B. STATE 36441 ¶C. STATE 30954 ¶D. STATE 21176 ¶E. AIT TAIPEI 00171 ¶F. STATE 008195 ¶G. AIT TAIPEI 00141 Classified By: AIT DEPUTY DIRECTOR DAVID J. KEEGAN, REASONS 1.4 B, C, D . ¶1. (S) Summary: An estimated 300 company representatives attended a Japan-Taiwan Export Control Industry Outreach Seminar held in Taipei March 21. On the margins of the conference, AIT discussed the export control "gameplan" with Japan MFA Director for Non-Proliferation Futoshi Matsumoto. Matsumoto told AIT that Taiwan has requested Japan to support its participation in the Chemical Weapons Convention. Japan refused because of suspicions that Taiwan is developing chemical weapons. End summary. Japan-Taiwan Joint Export Control Seminar -------------- ¶2. (SBU) AIT joined a capacity audience of about 300 representatives of Japanese companies in Taiwan and Taiwan companies at the Export Control Industry Outreach Seminar sponsored by the Japan Interchange Association and Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs, Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) in Taipei on March 21. Conference organizers told AIT that seating limitations forced them to turn down many requests to attend the seminar. Topics covered included trends in Japan's export controls, the legal framework and implementation of Taiwan's export controls, and Taiwan's controls on exports to Mainland China. ¶3. (SBU) In the question and answer sessions, company representatives requested that the licensing process be speeded-up, questioned the need for re-export licenses for commodities going from Taiwan companies to their subsidiaries in China, and why only company CEOs could sign end-use certificates. Japanese and Taiwan officials responded in detail to every question. ¶4. (S) On the margins of the seminar, AIT discussed the U.S.-developed export control gameplan with Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Non-Proliferation Director Futoshi Matsumoto. Matsumoto, (who speaks fluent English and Arabic and seemed well versed in non-proliferation issues,) said that Japan is ready and willing to work with the U.S. on implementing the gameplan, which, he said, coincided with Japan's views on Taiwan's export control regime. Japan Suspects Taiwan Developing Chemical Weapons -------------- -------------- ¶5. (S) According to Matsumoto, on March 20, he participated in non-proliferation discussions with Taiwan's National Security Council and other agencies, during which Taiwan made a pitch for Japanese support of some form of Taiwan participation in the Chemical Weapons Convention. Japan flatly refused to consider the request, Matsumoto said, because it suspects that Taiwan is developing chemical weapons. A Japanese official working under Matsumoto told AIT that such suspicions were "widespread." ¶6. (S) Matsumoto urged AIT to coordinate the export control training offered by the United States with training offered by the other gameplan partners (Japan, the UK, Australia, and Germany). He thought that the small number of BOFT people working on export controls (five) handicapped Taiwan's ability to implement its commitments and limited its ability absorb training, but said Japan was reluctant to propose that Taiwan increase the number of people working on export control lest it be seen as interfering. Matsumoto indicated that the reason Japan was offering export control training for private companies, was precisely because the very small number of Taiwan officials working the issue limited government-industry coordination. He saw the lack of government outreach to the private sector as a major deficiency in Taiwan's export control system. TAIPEI 00001001 002 OF 002 ¶7. (S) Matsumoto said this was his first trip to Taiwan and he was surprised by the behavior of Taiwan officials, such as BOFT Peter Ho, who used points from the bilateral non-proliferation discussions in his opening remarks to company representatives at the seminar. YOUNG