PDAS STEPHENS' DISCUSSIONS ON NEAPSM WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 004926

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E.O. 12958: DECL: AFTER KOREAN UNIFICATION
TAGS: PREL PGOV CH JA KN KS RU
SUBJECT: PDAS STEPHENS' DISCUSSIONS ON NEAPSM WITH
ASSISTANT FM CUI TIANKAI

REF: BEIJING 4899

Classified By: Acting Political Minister-Counselor Ben Moeling. Reason
s 1.4 (b/d).


1. (C) Summary: China sees a Northeast Asia peace and
security mechanism (NEAPSM) as the "logical outcome" of
Six-Party Talks, Assistant Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai told
EAP PDAS Stephens July 26. AFM Cui finds U.S. thinking on
core principles for the regional peace mechanism to be
"useful" but cautioned that progress in the NEAPSM Working
Group will be dependent on the progress of other working
groups, especially the denuclearization group. AFM Cui
believes that developing a set of core principles for the
NEAPSM will be possible, but observed that it might take
time, because the "devil is in the details." Transparency is
important but each cited different reasons. China disagrees
with the United States about the continued necessity of
regional bilateral alliances "from the past" but accepts that
if they contribute to peace and security and do not involve
third countries, they are "none of China's business." Cui
cautioned against "values-based" groupings, such as Japan is
pursuing (implicitly the "quad" of U.S. ) India ) Japan )
Australia),warning that such alignments are "not useful."
End Summary.


2. (C) EAP PDAS Kathleen Stephens visited Beijing July 25-26
(reftel) to present initial U.S. thinking and learn about
Chinese views on the goals and principles of a Northeast Asia
Peace and Security Mechanism (NEAPSM). In a July 26 meeting
with Assistant Foreign Minister (AFM) Cui Tiankai, PDAS
Stephens said that her trip to Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing has
been useful for sharing views and brainstorming on the way
forward.

Peace Mechanism: "Logical Outcome" of Six-Party Talks
-------------- --------------


3. (C) China sees a regional mechanism as the "logical
outcome" of Six-Party Talks, AFM Cui said. If members of the
Six-Party Talks make sufficient progress towards
denuclearization, there could also be progress towards
establishing a regional peace and security mechanism. The
initial members of such a mechanism should be the members of
the Six-Party process "for quite some time to come," he
added. Other nations in the region might be allowed to
participate but only later on. Referring to PDAS Stephens'
earlier presentation of initial U.S. thinking to his MFA
colleagues, AFM Cui said he finds the U.S.-proposed core
principles "useful." In particular, he noted the importance
of Six-Party Talks, confidence building measures, peaceful
settlement of disputes and transparency. He highlighted
transparency and said that individual countries' plans and
policies, including bilateral relationships and alliances,
should be transparent. PDAS Stephens added that the United
States also wants to see transparency in military programs,
defense budgets and military capability. She noted that U.S.
alliances in the region contribute to peace and stability and
are a fundamental tenet of the United States' approach.


4. (C) Progress in the NEAPSM Working Group will be dependent
on the progress of other working groups, especially
denuclearization, said AFM Cui. China is pleased North Korea
committed to denuclearization in the February 13 agreement
and that North Korea and the United States are looking
towards normalization of relations. Because denuclearization
will not be easy, he encouraged the development of mutual
trust "to overcome future obstacles." The start of the
Six-Party Talks was rocky, with North Korea and the United
States refusing to sit in the same room, reminisced AFM Cui.
Gradually, the delegations changed and EAP Assistant
Secretary Christopher Hill made a "successful" trip to North

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Korea. "We've come a long way, but the road ahead may still
be long. We will need patience." PDAS Stephens agreed that
we have come a long way, and said we must continue to be
persistent. "We need to combine a sense of patience with a
sense of urgency," she said. "We will be stubborn about
this. We are committed to persevering."

The Road Ahead
--------------


5. (C) One positive aspect of the September 2005 agreement is
that it lays out several mutually reinforcing areas of
action, PDAS Stephens said. If it is possible to make
progress on the declaration and disabling phase of
denuclearization in coming months, it might also be possible
to set a goal for the Working Group to come to agreement on

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the key principles of the NEAPSM in a set period of time, she
suggested. AFM Cui agreed that there is a common need among
the Six-Party members to work towards common principles, but
the "devil is in the details." A statement of general
principles could be drafted relatively quickly, but if the
goals of a NEAPSM go into any depth, he predicted that this
will take some time to negotiate among all members and will
need to be handled "skillfully." At present, there is
insufficient trust among the various Six-Party members,
especially in the U.S.-North Korea and Japan-North Korea
relationships. The United States-China relationship also
does not have "100 percent total mutual trust" because of a
lack of transparency, he said. "Physical transparency is
easy," he said. "Just log on to Google Earth." But in our
hearts and minds, he continued, "it is not so clear."


6. (C) There also needs to be a better understanding of how
bilateral relationships will impact the multilateral process,
AFM Cui continued. Alliances in the region are remnants of
the past, he said. If, however, U.S. alliances in the region
"contribute to peace, and do not interfere with or involve
third parties, then they are none of our business," he
conceded. Bilateral issues such as those between Japan and
North Korea need to be "controlled and contained." Any
attempt to hold Four-Party peace talks would first need to be
reconciled with the Six-Party mechanism, AFM Cui said. China
believes no country in the region should be in possession of
nuclear weapons except the P5, but he acknowledged that it
may be a challenge to present this principle to the other
Parties. AFM Cui said he is not optimistic that these issues
can be resolved before the ministerial meeting.

Shared Interests vs. Shared Values
--------------


7. (C) AFM Cui reflected on the Northeast Asia process along
with U.S. participation in the development of a "grouping"
(referring to the United States, Australia, Japan and India)
in the region based on shared values. "Efforts in Northeast
Asia will intersect with other parts of Asia. Setting up
such "values groupings" is not useful," he declared. The
United States and China share common interests and it is "not
wise" to put an emphasis on shared values. PDAS Stephens
responded that shared interests are important, and can be the
basis for a partnership, but shared values are even more
important. The U.S.-ROK alliance is a case in point, she
said; the alliance began on the basis of shared U.S. and
Korean interests and has evolved into a much deeper
relationship based on shared values.


8. (U) PDAS Stephens cleared this cable.
PICCUTA