A/S SILVERBERG MEETING WITH MFA IO DG WU HAILONG

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 006974

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/05/2027
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM PREF SY LE BM YI IR IZ KN
SUBJECT: A/S SILVERBERG MEETING WITH MFA IO DG WU HAILONG


Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Aubrey Carlson. Reasons 1.
4 (b/d).

Summary
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1. (C) In an October 31 meeting, A/S Silverberg disagreed
with her MFA counterpart's positive assessment of the
situation in Burma; when MFA International Organizations
Director General Wu Hailong called for the international
community's patience, A/S Silverberg laid out specific steps
the Burmese regime needs to take. On Sudan, A/S Silverberg
expressed disappointment on the speed of deployment and urged
the Chinese to do their best to move quickly in response to
DG Wu's comments that deployment of Chinese engineers may not
take place until late December, and China will not likely be
able to provide helicopters for the United Nations-African
Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). On Iran, to Wu's statement
that the United States must give due consideration to China's
financial and energy interests, A/S Silverberg responded that
sanctions required sacrifice. Regarding North Korean
refugees, the next "two to three months" will show the
Chinese answer to U.S. concerns regarding the lack of exit
visas for North Korean asylum seekers, Wu said. On UN
Security Council reform, Wu said resolving procedural matters
in intergovernmental negotiations must precede substantive
discussion. Discussion also covered Lebanon, Kosovo, an
EU-sponsored death penalty resolution, UNSYG Ban Ki-moon, the
Human Rights Council, and our bilateral human rights
dialogue. End summary.


2. (U) MFA Director General for International Organizations
Wu Hailong and Assistant Secretary for International
Organizations Affairs Kristen Silverberg met November 1 in
Beijing. Their discussion covered Burma, Sudan, Iran,
Lebanon, DPRK refugees, Kosovo, UN Security Council reform
and the Human Rights Council.

BURMA
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3. (C) Wu said progress has been made in Burma, including the
regime's appointment of a liaison officer for dialogue with
Aung San Suu Kyi, the cancellation of the curfew and the
release of political prisoners. The Burmese Government would
like to have direct dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi, Wu said,
but that is not currently possible. The liaison officer,
however, might be able to make it happen. Wu said China
signed the UNSC Presidential Statement on Burma because it
supports the efforts of Special Envoy Gambari. Wu urged
patience on the part of the international community, however,
because problems in Burma are complicated. The international
community should give Burma constructive support, but let it
solve its own internal problems. Wu said problems in Burma
are "not a threat to regional security" and expressed doubts
on the efficacy of sanctions.


4. (C) A/S Silverberg said that the United States does not
share Beijing's positive assessment of the situation in
Burma. No progress has been made on dialogue with Aung San
Suu Kyi, the Burmese government still holds close to 1,000
political prisoners, there is no assurance of free movement
for UN Special Envoy Gambari and the Burmese government has
made no concessions on delivering humanitarian aid. In
short, the on-the-ground situation has not appreciably
improved. A/S Silverberg said the United States would not be
satisfied with concessions only on the delivery of
humanitarian aid and offered two benchmarks for real
progress: direct and meaningful dialogue with democracy
activists and ethnic minority groups and the release of
political prisoners. A/S Silverberg said that dialogue with
Aung San Suu Kyi would not be meaningful unless she were able
to consult freely with her advisors other opposition leaders.

SUDAN
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5. (C) The Chinese deployment of engineers to Darfur may not
occur until the end of December, DG Wu said. Wu said that
Chinese negotiations with the UN's Department of Peacekeeping
Operations (DPKO) on an MOU governing the deployment had
taken longer than expected. Weather conditions would now
also delay the deployment. Wu said that he had not received
a firm answer from the Chinese military, but the request that
China provide helicopters to UNAMID would be difficult or
impossible for China at this time. He called on all parties

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to pressure all rebel factions to participate in peace talks.
A/S Silverberg urged China to deploy its engineering
contingent as quickly as possible, as delay would set back
efforts to get UNAMID in place. She also asked China to try
its best to send the requested helicopters.

Iran
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6. (C) DG Wu said that China's change in its chief negotiator
reflected internal divisions in Iran. China is participating
in discussions regarding a new UNSC resolution on Iran and
understands the need to pressure Iran, Wu said. However, he
said, the United States must give due consideration to
China's economic interests in Iran, especially energy.
Action should only be taken after EU foreign policy chief
Solana and IAEA chief El Baradei present their respective
reports.


7. (C) A/S Silverberg said the view of U.S. experts is that
there is a consensus in Iran on a civilian nuclear program,
but there are divisions on whether to weaponize and how
quickly. Other countries have a responsibility to encourage
the moderate factions. She reminded Wu that sanctions
"require sacrifice." The United States has long sacrificed
substantial economic interests in Iran. Moreover, since the
deadline for UNSCR 1747 has long since passed, the time to
wait is over, and actions must begin. President Bush has
made clear that he is pursuing a diplomatic solution to this
problem, she said. However, the key to a diplomatic solution
is strong action by the council.

Kosovo
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8. (C) A/S Silverberg said that the United States fully
supports the Troika mechanism on Kosovo, but that the
Kosovars will not tolerate endless delays. Wu said that the
international community should not set the timeline for
Kosovo independence.

North Korean Refugees
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9. (C) The United States is concerned that China has not
granted exit visas to North Korean asylum seekers under UN
High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) care, Silverberg said.
Wu said that China is "considering very seriously" how to
proceed on the 30 "illegally immigrated persons." He said
that China wants to solve the problem quietly, so as to
discourage a flood of North Koreans. He said that each case
requires individual attention, including a criminal check,
and that we could expect to see how China addresses the
situation within "two to three months."

Syria/Lebanon
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10. (C) DG Wu said that the situation in Lebanon is perhaps
even more complicated than Burma, but is ultimately an
internal issue. If the major political parties do not agree,
problems will continue. A/S Silverberg responded that the
elements who most oppose the tribunal are those who have the
most to fear from its deliberations. Wu reiterated that
China hopes all sides can solve their differences through
negotiation. China supports UN Interim Force in Lebanon
(UNIFIL),he said, and he agreed that UNIFIL should play a
role in stopping arms smuggling.

Security Council Expansion
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11. (C) DG Wu urged greater coordination among the P5 nations
in upcoming intergovernmental negotiations on Security
Council reform. He said that before discussing substance,
the relevant parties must agree on procedural issues
governing the intergovernmental negotiations. Given the
disparity of various existing proposals (including varying
numbers of new permanent members, non-permanent members, and
an "intermediate approach" of long-term non-permanent seats),
without prior agreement on procedures it will be difficult to
reach consensus. Wu specifically cited the need to pay
attention to Africa, which controls one-third of the votes
and could vote as a block in favor of expansion.


12. (C) A/S Silverberg acknowledged that the diversity of
approaches on the table made substantive negotiations
difficult at this time. She said the United States is
open-minded on "modest, criteria-based" proposals. She said

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an intermediate approach might be a way out, but there seemed
to be no consensus among the G4 on its negotiating position.
The Japanese now insist on a clear path to permanent member
status, for example, whereas Brazil and Germany might be more
flexible. Silverberg said that President Bush has also
indicated that UNSC reform must take place within the context
of broader reforms of the UN. Reforms that aim to make the
UNSC more representative must be coupled with reforms that
aim to make the UN General Assembly more responsible.
Silverberg said some nations currently have unreasonable
expectations about the size of potential UNSC expansion, and
China and the United States must strive to make those
expectations more reasonable.

Death Penalty at the UN
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13. (C) DG Wu asked about the U.S. position regarding an EU
resolution on the death penalty at the UN. Singapore is
coordinating opposition to the resolution. While about 80
countries have the death penalty, most are keeping quiet.
Silverberg responded that the United States will not support
any resolutions that call for a moratorium on the death
penalty or that assert that the death penalty is illegal
under international law.

UNSYG Ban Ki-moon
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14. (C) When asked for his assessment of UN Secretary General
Ban Ki-moon's performance, Wu said that he thought Ban was
"doing well" by taking a more active role in hot spots like
Darfur and Burma. On a personal level, he assessed Ban as
"nice, humble, not aggressive," and "easy to approach."

Human Rights Council, Human Rights Dialogue
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15. (C) A/S Silverberg said that if the UN Human Rights
Council report, which she termed a "catastrophe," is called
to a vote, the United States will vote no. She said that the
Council's treatment of Israel had been egregious and crossed
U.S. red lines. In general, the Council has been
irresponsible and if the report comes to nothing, the United
States will "not lose any sleep." In response to A/S
Silverberg's suggestion that China and the United States
resume the bilateral human rights dialogue, DG Wu said China
remained interested in holding such talks, but the recent
Dalai Lama visit to the United States made the current
atmosphere inappropriate for resumption of the dialogue.
Randt