CANADA'S APPROACH TO MAY 25 ARF MEETING IN MANILA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 000915 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/RSP (KEVIN SHEIVES) E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/16/2017 TAGS: PREL PTER PARM KNNP ARF XB CA SUBJECT: CANADA'S APPROACH TO MAY 25 ARF MEETING IN MANILA REF: STATE 64134 Classified By: PolMinCouns Brian Flora. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Canada and the U.S. agree on most of the important issues to be addressed at the upcoming ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) in Manila. Canada is enthusiastic about the U.S. draft UNSCR 1540 implementation statement, agrees that the inter-sessional meeting (ISM) on non-proliferation should not be re-titled, and stands with us against Russia's draft statement on inter-civilizational dialogue. The Canadians do not like, but will not oppose, the U.S. proposal on ISM working groups. Canada will press the ARF to record its support for the NATO-ISAF mission in Afghanistan, and will ask the U.S. delegation to do the same. This cooperation on the eve of the SOM is the latest sign of a positive trend of GOC officials seeking and exploiting areas of policy convergence with the U.S. End summary. ¶2. (C/RelCan) We delivered reftel demarche on the May 25 ASEAN Regional Forum Senior Officials Meeting in Manila to Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) Asia-Pacific Policy Advisor Philip Cordier on May 15. Cordier emphasized Canadian agreement with U.S. views on the UNSCR 1540 implementation statement, the inter-sessional meeting (ISM) on non-proliferation, and the need to "kill" the Russian draft statement on inter-civilizational dialogue. UNSCR 1540 Implementation Statement -------------- ¶3. (C/RelCan) Canada, Cordier said, was enthusiastic about the UNSCR 1540 implementation statement. U.S. officials would hear strong, vocal support from Canada at the SOM. The Canadians liked the U.S. text and expected to "follow the U.S. lead" on reacting to statement language suggested by the Indonesians; language that appeared to be an attempt to water down the emphasis on national implementation. Cordier added that Canadian officials would look forward to developing a shared strategy with U.S. and other counterparts at the informal pre-meeting of "like-mindeds" in Manila. ISM on Proliferation -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Canada agreed with the U.S. that the inter-sessional meeting (ISM) on non-proliferation should not/not be re-titled, Cordier said. Canadian officials, he noted, would look forward to strategizing on this issue with their U.S. counterparts in Manila. ¶5. (C/NF) Canada would like eventually to chair the ISM, and Cordier had just begun to prepare a pitch for the necessary funds from the GOC when we called on him. Russian Draft Statement of Inter-Civilizational Dialogue -------------- -------------- ¶6. (C/RelCan) Canada's preference, according to Cordier, would be for no consensus to emerge on the Russian draft statement of inter-civilizational dialogue, and for it to "go away." In the absence of that happy outcome, Cordier said, the GOC would seek support for Canada's alternative text. Canada, he added, was grateful for U.S. backing, expected to receive the support of Australia and New Zealand, and would Qreceive the support of Australia and New Zealand, and would probably garner EU and Malaysian support as well. The Canadians were hoping to parlay expected Malaysian backing into support from the other ASEAN members. The GOC was also struggling over whether to demarche Indonesia and Thailand directly, or to leave it to the Malaysians. Inter-sessional Meeting Working Groups -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Cordier emphasized that while Canada would remain silent on the issue in Manila, the GOC disagreed with the U.S. call for an ISM working group, or groups. Canada, in particular, was concerned about the proliferation of such groups that, in some cases, were not very useful. If the U.S. proposal was adopted, he said, Canada would try to staff it. In that case Canada would ask, however, that any new OTTAWA 00000915 002 OF 002 meetings be tied to others already on the calendar. Doing so would relieve the pressure on the GOC's small and overworked cadre of subject matter experts. Manila -------------- ¶8. (C/RelCan) Cordier reviewed a copy of the ARF provisional agenda, noting that: -- (Item 5) Afghanistan would figure prominently in the Canadian intervention, and Canada would appreciate the same from the U.S in order to ensure that members (vice only Canada's) support for the mission would be noted in the Chair's Statement. The Canadians would also share observations about regional and international security threats related to North Korea, Iran, and Burma. And the GOC would congratulate East Timor on its recent elections. -- (Item 8.2) Canada would like information about U.S. funding for the proposed study on preventative diplomacy. -- (Item 8.5.2) Canadian officials appreciated the participation of the OSCE in the ARF meetings at multiple levels, and would like to hear what it has to say about preventative diplomacy and confidence-building. The SCO was another matter, Cordier said, and Canada was worried about the motivation of its leaders. -- (Item 8.6) The GOC was hoping that Kazakhstan's application for membership would not come up again. Canada would support the continuation of a moratorium on new members. ISG Ottawa, April 2008 -------------- ¶9. (U) Canada will host the ARF Inter-sessional Support Group (ISG) meeting in Ottawa, 1-3 April 2008. ¶10. (C/RelCan) Canadian officials had been thinking about inviting NATO to brief the ISG. Doing so could provide delegates direct exposure to NATO thinking on confidence building measures related to the Mediterranean Dialogue, a non-threatening, useful way to get NATO into the meeting, Cordier said. Comment -------------- ¶11. (C/NF) Cordier ended our meeting by saying, "Three-and-a-half out of four ain't bad, right?" Embassy would note that Canada's welcome approach to the ARF SOM tracks with our recent experience on many other defense and security issues. Rather than emphasizing our differences, as DFAIT operators so often did in international fora under the Liberals, the Harper government has directed officials to look for and exploit areas of common-cause with the U.S. While there remain important differences in certain critical areas of defense and security policy, the trend emerging among many of our contacts is to seek out and exploit areas of U.S.-Canada policy convergence. Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa WILKINS