ISRAELI MOD POLDIR TRAVEL TO CHINA

C O N F I D E N T I A L TEL AVIV 003781 SIPDIS PENTAGON FOR OSD/ISRAEL DESK E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/21/2016 TAGS: PREL MASS MARR PARM CH IS SUBJECT: ISRAELI MOD POLDIR TRAVEL TO CHINA Classified By: Ambassador Richard H. Jones for reasons 1.4 (B and D). ¶1. (C) During a meeting on September 21, MOD Political Director Amos Gilad informed the Ambassador that he will travel to Beijing on September 24 at the invitation of the China Institute for International Strategic Studies for a strategic dialogue and discussions with MFA and MOD officials. Half joking that U.S. pressure had "destroyed all of our (MOD's) relations with China," Gilad claimed that he is the "only channel" between the MOD and China. He expressed surprise that Chinese anger at Israel for ceasing armaments cooperation has not negatively impacted Israeli-Chinese political relations. ¶2. (C) Stressing that he recognizes the importance of addressing U.S. concerns, Gilad said that he had rejected Chinese requests to discuss possible areas of defense cooperation. He reassured the Ambassador that all Israeli projects would strictly follow the procedures agreed in the USG-GOI Statement of Understanding. Gilad expressed some frustration that Israeli companies are having difficulty bidding on security projects for the Beijing Olympics because of the SOU. ********************************************* ******************** Visit Embassy Tel Aviv's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website. ********************************************* ******************** JONES