PRC-JAPAN: EAST CHINA SEA TALKS, LEE TENG-HUI

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 003648

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/31/2017
TAGS: PREL ENRG JA CH KS
SUBJECT: PRC-JAPAN: EAST CHINA SEA TALKS, LEE TENG-HUI
VISIT ILLUSTRATE ONGOING OBSTACLES TO IMPROVED TIES

REF: BEIJING 2680

Classified By: Polmincouns Daniel Shields. Reasons 1.4 (b/d).

Summary
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1. (C) The first round of East China Sea talks following
Premier Wen's landmark visit to Tokyo clearly outlined the
difficulty of bridging gaps between Beijing and Tokyo and
moving toward joint exploitation of East China Sea resources,
according to MFA Japan Division Deputy Director Lu Guijun.
Tokyo remains focused on moving the East China Sea talks
forward and on the Joint High Level Economic Dialogue
announced after Wen's visit, but Beijing is cautious about
Taiwan and history issues, especially in light of the Lee
Teng-hui visit to Japan. Taiwan resurfaced as an obstacle to
improved relations and FM Yang protested the Lee visit while
meeting FM Aso in Europe. At the June 6 trilateral foreign
minister's meeting in South Korea, FM Yang plans to voice
Beijing's concern that "rightists" in Japan not support
Taiwan independence. Lu also raised questions about the
U.S.-Japan military alliance, U.S.-Japan military integration
and potential regional groups, like the
U.S.-Japan-Australia-India "Quad," which China sees as an
effort to contain its rise. End Summary.

East China Sea Talks Still Tough After Wen Visit
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2. (C) The Eighth Round of Sino-Japanese talks on the
resource and territorial dispute in the East China Sea
concluded without a result on May 25, MFA Japan Division
Deputy Director Lu Guijun told Poloff on May 30. Both sides
clearly stated their differences about sovereignty issues in
the Easy China Sea and will meet again at the end of June,
according to Lu, who participated in the talks. The talks
were significant because they were the first following
Premier Wen's April visit to Tokyo and the five-point
consensus Wen and Abe announced on peaceful joint development
of the East China Sea. Lu said that consensus will be
difficult to implement because it requires the parties to
"move towards each other at the same time."


3. (C) Tokyo places priority on making progress in the East
China Sea talks, while Beijing is in no hurry, Lu said,
seeing the fall 2007 deadline announced by Wen during his
visit to Tokyo as a deadline for a report on the status of
talks, not a deadline for resolution of the issues. Beijing
is willing to begin joint exploration "tomorrow," Lu said,
but Tokyo should not take unilateral steps nor expect
unilateral concessions on Beijing's territorial claims.

Concern over Taiwan Independence Issues, Lee Visit
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4. (C) Lee Teng-hui's visit to Japan re-emphasizes the
possibility that Taiwan can be a major obstacle to
improvement in Sino-Japanese affairs, Lu said. In a meeting
with FM Aso on the margins of the Asia-Europe Meeting May 28,
FM Yang strongly objected to Lee's visit. China's main
concern remains that Lee will court Japanese "rightists" and
convince some to express support for Taiwan independence, an
outcome Lu said Beijing "could not accept." Analyses
suggesting that Taiwan will resurface as a major obstacle to
improved Sino-Japanese relations now that some WWII history
issues have been referred to a scholars' committee (reftel)
have "a certain logic," Lu said. He noted that Beijing
remains angry about history issues, especially PM Abe's
recent gift to Yasukuni Shrine and the May 9 Japanese court
ruling denying compensation to individual victims of the
Nanjing massacre and germ warfare. (Note: Our meeting with
Lu took place prior to a small protest in Beijing, reported
separately, over the court decision. The protest took place
in front of the Japanese Embassy on May 31. End Note.)
Trilateral Meeting on Regional Security
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5. (C) China's protest of the Lee visit will likely surface
during the June 6 trilateral meeting between FM Yang, FM Aso
and South Korean FM Song in South Korea, Lu said. The
trilateral aims to focus on Northeast Asian regional
security, especially the DPRK nuclear issue. But Lu said
China will have no choice but to stress its displeasure over
the Lee visit should Tokyo refuse Beijing's request to cancel

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the visit. UN reform is "no longer on the front page" and
will not get major play at the trilateral meeting, Lu
predicted.

Concern about U.S.-Japan Military Integration
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6. (C) Beijing remains concerned about the United
States-Japan military alliance and what he called the
increased integration of American forces and the Japanese
Self Defense Forces, Lu said. China also sees potential
regional groups, like the U.S.-Japan-Australia-India Quad, as
a threat to bilateral cooperation and regional security, he
said. Lu said he hopes such topics are discussed during Asia
DG Hu Zhengyue's upcoming consultations in Washington,
because China wants a clear understanding of American
intentions with regard to the United States-Japan alliance.
PICCUTA