JAPAN URGES U.S. TO CO-SPONSOR NEGOTIATING MANDATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 002483 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/04/2016 TAGS: MOPS PARM PREL JA NATO SUBJECT: JAPAN URGES U.S. TO CO-SPONSOR NEGOTIATING MANDATE ON CLUSTER MUNITIONS AT CCW Classified By: Ambassador J. Thomas Schieffer. Reasons 1.4 (B) (D) ¶1. (C) Summary. During a June 1 briefing on the May 24-25 Lima conference on cluster munitions (CM),MOFA officials stressed that there had been no change in the Japanese position and that Tokyo still sought to balance security and humanitarian issues. Citing concerns about growing momentum in the Oslo process for a CM treaty or agreement that Japan might be compelled to support if public opinion in Japan forced the issue, the Japanese urged the U.S. to consider co-sponsoring a negotiating mandate at the June and November meetings of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). End Summary. ¶2. (C) On June 1, MOFA Disarmament, Non-proliferation, and Science Department Deputy Director-General Masatoshi Shimbo briefed Embassy Tokyo Political Minister Counselor on the May 24-25 Lima conference on cluster munitions, which Shimbo had attended. The DDG stressed that there had been no change in the Japanese position and that Tokyo still sought to balance security and humanitarian concerns. Japan agrees with the U.S. that cluster munitions are necessary and that the issue is best addressed in the CCW. Shimbo said Japan welcomes U.S. implementation of changes to CM that would limit civilian casualties. -------------- European Support Thin -------------- ¶3. (C) There had been considerable support for the CCW among participants at the Lima meeting, according to Shimbo. Even the Peruvians indicated that the CCW and Oslo processes were not mutually exclusive and could be merged at some future date. The Irish, Norwegian and a few other delegations did not speak out against the CCW while in Lima. He observed, however, that while European support for CCW is "widespread" it is, in his view, "thin.8 -------------- U.S. Co-Sponsor -------------- ¶4. (C) Shimbo nevertheless expressed concern about what the Japanese saw as momentum building in the Oslo process for a CM treaty or agreement that Japan might be compelled to support if public opinion in Japan forced the issue. He urged the U.S. to consider proposing and/or co-sponsoring (along with possibly the UK, Germany, and/or Australia) a negotiating mandate at both the Geneva CCW June expert,s and November plenary meetings. -------------- Block by Proxy -------------- ¶5. (C) Shimbo warned that Japan has heard from the German delegation that supporters of the Oslo-process, frustrated by what they view as unacceptable compromises that may arise in the Geneva process, may try to block progress in the June/November CCW negotiations in order to maintain momentum in the Oslo-process discussions. Oslo-process supporters might use proxies to block the proceedings; according to Shimbo, the Mexican delegation, in particular, &can,t wait for the moment to block8 the CCW talks. He opined that the UK, Germany, and Australia are considering TOKYO 00002483 002 OF 002 modernization/upgrades to their CM stockpiles that would allow them to accept some provisions being considered in the Oslo discussions ) a move, Shimbo claimed, that would allow each of the three countries to maintain its CM stockpile while simultaneously gaining credit for addressing humanitarian concerns. SCHIEFFER