DAS COULTER'S VISIT TO PERU FOR POL-MIL TALKS

C O N F I D E N T I A L LIMA 002313

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/24/2016
TAGS: PGOV PINR PHUM VE PE
SUBJECT: DAS COULTER'S VISIT TO PERU FOR POL-MIL TALKS

REF: LIMA 0046

Classified By: A/POL David C. Brooks, for Reasons 1.4 (c,d)

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Summary:
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1. (SBU) Peru and the United States held their first-ever
bilateral POL-MIL talks on June 26 in Lima. Participants
noted the striking overlap between the Peruvians' vision of
their own security and that of the United States. The
Peruvian team, made up of both Foreign Ministry and Ministry
of Defense representatives, stressed that the GOP now defines
its defense needs in terms of the country's ability to
respond to transnational threats: narcotrafficking,
terrorism, piracy, smuggling and trafficking in persons. The
Peruvians see cooperation with the U.S. and with other
countries as the key to modernizing their armed forces so
that they can better confront these new, more diffuse
threats. They also laid out an impressive array of
agreements and cooperation projects that they have undertaken
with their neighbors. The Peruvians continued to maintain
their position that Article 98 and SOFA agreement could be
best obtained through modifications to the U.S.-Peru Military
Cooperation Agreement of 1952 (reftel),but agreed to receive
a SOFA team from Washington to explore options. The
Peruvians described the talks as a "turning point" in our
mil-to-mil relations. End Summary.


2. (SBU) Peru and the United States held their first-ever
bilateral POL-MIL talks on June 26 in Lima. DAS Michael
Coulter led the U.S. team, which also consisted of WHA State
Senior Coordinator Giovanni Snidle and PM/RSAT Jeff Burnett.
DOD was represented by OSD-Policy-WHA, Walter Earl, Col.
Robert Ballew of OSD-Policy-Forces, Transformation and
Resources, and Mark Rondon of OSD Counter-narcotics,
Counter-proliferation and Global Threats. SOUTHCOM reps
present were J5 Deputy Director for Political-Military
Affairs, COL Jose Rivera, Country Director LTC Melba
Hernandez and P-3 customs flights expert Kevin Cronin. The
Peru team was led by the Peru MFA Director for Defense Issues
Minister Augusto Freyre, Deputy Director for Defense Issues
Alejandro Ugarte, MFA Director General for South America Jose
Salinas, Director of the U.S. Desk Carlos Briceno, Director
of the MFA's Counterdrug Office Doris Salazar, and MOD
representative Ambassador Jose Bellina. The Peruvian
Delegation was also accompanied by a series of military
officers who represented all the service branches.

Shared Visions of Security


3. (C) The most notable element of the POL-MIL talks was the
striking overlap between the Peruvians' vision of their
security and that of the United States. In a number of
areas, both sides laid out nearly identical visions of how
their governments conceptualize the present security
environment in South America, Latin America and the world.
For both Peru and the U.S., transnational threats have
replaced older models based on state-against-state conflict.
In particular, the Peruvians emphasized that the GOP now
defines its defense needs in terms of the country's ability
to respond to transnational threats: narcotrafficking,
terrorism, smuggling and trafficking in persons.


4. (SBU) The Peruvians see cooperation with other countries,
including the U.S., as the key to modernizing their armed
forces so that they can better confront the new spectrum of
transnational threats. They enumerated the various events
that have contributed to their closer alignment with the
U.S., including: MOD Wagner's conversation with SecDef
Rumsfeld in Managua in September 2006, SOUTHCOM's Admiral
Stavridis' visit to Peru in February and the joint U.S. Peru
Air Show that took place that same month, MOD Wagner's
meeting with SecDef Gates in March and this month's visit to
Peru by SecDef Gates. The Peruvians described the present
POL-MIL talks as marking a "turning point" in our mil-to-mil
relations.

Priority Areas of Cooperation for the GOP


5. (C) The Peruvians described several areas in which they
are eager to cooperate with the US and with other countries.
These were:

--Combating Narcotrafficking. Minister Salazar emphasized
that drug trafficking is a shared problem for Peru and the
U.S. She noted that drug addiction in Peru is on the rise
and that drug profits from U.S. consumption fund criminal
elements in Peru. Salazar characterized U.S. Alternative
Development programs as highly successful.

--Global Peacekeeping. Peru's delegation noted that Peru has
over 40 observers working in Africa under the aegis of the
United Nations and has committed over 200 soldiers to
MINUSTAH operations in Haiti. Peru sees peacekeeping as a
vital part of the country's security mission and wishes to
continue to participate. Ambassador Bellina noted that Peru
would be willing to send a Peruvian C-130 to Haiti to help
with MINUSTAH's transportation needs. The Peruvians have
begun work with Chile on forming a joint peacekeeping unit
with that country. (Note: MOD committed to DAS Coulter to
sign a 505 Agreement with the U.S. prior to Secretary Gates'
upcoming trip, which would enable the U.S. to provide USD 4.4
million as part of the Global Peace Operations Initiative to
assist the GOP's refurbishment of an engineering battalion
for participation in peacekeeping operations. End Note.)

--Peru seeks to re-establish cooperation with the U.S. in
demining operations along the Peru-Ecuador border. The
Peruvians gave concrete examples of efforts they have taken
to restore their credibility on this issue by engaging in
demining operations worthy of international donor attention.
The Peruvians presented the outlines of their demining plans,
which project that such operations will continue until 2018.

--Regional Integration via the Andean Community (CAN). The
Peruvians saw the CAN as a vehicle to promote Latin American
integration. While Venezuela has recently left the
organization, Chile has taken steps to re-join it and,
further, the Peruvians welcomed Colombia's increased presence
therein.

--Peru-Brazil Cooperation on the Amazon. Peru is working
actively with Brazil and the NGO, Globally Important
Agricultural Heritage Systems, to protect the Amazon. In a
larger sense, the Peruvians described their relationship with
Brazil as a "strategic association." (Note: Both countries
are cooperating on the construction of an interoceanic
highway that would cross the Andes and pass through
impoverished areas of Peru's southern sierra, presumably
stimulating the economy of those marginalized regions. End
Note.)

Ongoing Regional Cooperation


6. (SBU) Peru's ongoing cooperative efforts with its
neighbors constituted a key feature in the activities
discussed above. The GOP is supplementing these initiatives
with a range of additional outreach activities. The Peruvian
team cited a number of examples in which they are trying to
engage their immediate and regional neighbors -- even
difficult ones -- in joint activities. Minister Freyre
mentioned the 2 plus 2 talks that Peru has held with Colombia
and will hold next week with Ecuador as well as Peru's
technical cooperation with Colombia. Right now, Freyre said,
Colombian riverine patrol boats are being repaired at a
Peruvian facility in Iquitos.

Peruvian Concerns


7. (C) While GOP reps expressed an overall optimistic view
of their country's security position, particularly vis-a-vis
its neighbors, some of them (like Chile and Ecuador) historic
enemies, they also shared with us a variety of concerns:

--Chile's Military Buildup. GOP reps said that Chile's
weapons purchases went beyond that country's defense needs
and exceeded the combined military purchases of the GOC's
neighbors. They are concerned that this arms buildup could
create unnecessary regional tensions.

--Bolivarian Instability. The Peruvians said that the GOP
had passed through a period of "colder" relations with
Venezuela, but that now Peru sought to normalize relations
with Caracas. Even so, Ambassador Bellina noted Venezuelan
President Chavez is establishing Bolivarian centers in some
of the most isolated and marginalized areas of their country
with the goal of gaining influence in Peru. He said that the
Peruvians are closely watching these activities.

--Concern about Bolivia. Peru seeks closer cooperation with
Bolivia. Our interlocutors noted that both countries have a
"shared identity" and a long border with one another.
Nonetheless, the Peruvian team regarded Bolivia with concern.
They noted that the Bolivian military is taking on an
ever-greater role in that country's politics.

--FARC and the border with Ecuador. The Peruvians said that
the FARC is not present in military form on their side of the
border with Ecuador. Should the FARC military elements
appear in Peru, they said they would become immediate targets
for Peru's military.

Article 98/SOFA


8. (C) On both these issues, the Peruvians reiterated their
previous position (reftel) that the best vehicle with which
to work is the 1952 US-Peru Military Cooperation Agreement.
(Comment: It does not appear likely that we will make
progress on Article 98 any time soon. Despite ASPA
sanctions, the political cost of signing an Article 98
agreement with the U.S. is simply too high for the GOP right
now. End Comment) Peruvian reps appeared to take a slightly
softer line with the SOFA. Here, again, however, they
stressed that the 1952 US-Peru Military Cooperation Agreement
provided the appropriate vehicle. The Peruvian delegation
noted, without citing specifics that one of the US standard
SOFA provisions would require legal and constitutional
changes that the present Peruvian Congress would be unlikely
to accept. The Peruvians appreciated that the SOFA is a
mechanism to enable a more robust and mature mil-mil
relationship and agreed to accept a U.S. team in Lima to
discuss options and a way ahead.

MOD Wagner Meeting


9. (C) Following the conclusion of the formal pol-mil talks,
MOD Wagner hosted DAS Coulter, Ambassador Struble, and DCM
for a private meeting. Wagner was accompanied by Vice Foreign
Minister Gonzalo Gutierrez. Wagner took the opportunity to
stress the strategic importance of the bilats and the
momentum behind the U.S.-Peru pol-mil relationship. Wagner
laid out his views of security in the hemisphere,
highlighting unprecedented coordination with neighbors,
concerns with transnational threats and Venezuela, and issues
worthy of significant attention like Bolivia. Wagner
committed to DAS Coulter to sign the 505 agreement prior to
Secretary Gates' upcoming visit, to enable GPOI cooperation.

SIPDIS
Wagner also requested reconsideration of USG support to his
demining program, recognizing past failures but highlighting
the new commitment of this administration. He agreed that the
priority of the U.S.-Peru Pol-Mil agenda for the next year
should be to make progress on P-3 flights, a SOFA, and
military cooperation.

Comment:


10. (SBU) While the meetings did not produce immediate
forward movement on key U.S. goals (Article 98, SOFA),they
did reveal a strong synchronization between the GOP's vision
of transnational threats and that of the U.S. This should
not be misinterpreted by readers as an all-fluff,
no-substance event. Washington observers were impressed with
the depth of the Peruvians preparation, Peru's strong and
wide ranging outreach initiatives to its neighbors (including
historic enemies Chile and Ecuador),and the Peruvians' frank
discussion of the challenges in dealing with Venezuela and
Bolivia. In our view, the leadership of the GOP,
particularly MOD Wagner, is sincerely interested in stronger
cooperation with the United States.


11. The cable has been cleared by DAS Michael Coulter.
STRUBLE