CHINESE SEE UNAMID "INEFFICIENCY AND INCAPACITY"

C O N F I D E N T I A L KHARTOUM 000702

SIPDIS

FOR AF/SPG

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/06/2018
TAGS: KPKO PGOV PREL SU
SUBJECT: CHINESE SEE UNAMID "INEFFICIENCY AND INCAPACITY"
DELAYING DEPLOYMENT

REF: A. KHARTOUM 471

B. KHARTOUM 85

Classified By: CDA Alberto M. Fernandez, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) CDA Fernandez welcomed Chinese Ambassador to Sudan Li
Cheng Wen to Embassy chancery on May 7 to discuss Chinese
perspectives on UNAMID deployment. A clearly frustrated Wen
noted that the remaining Chinese engineers should have been
in place in February, but UNAMID's clear "inefficiency and
incapacity" means that it is May and the remainder of their
unit is not quite ready to arrive. "We informed them six
months ahead of time but they clearly were not ready," he
noted.


2. (C) The Chinese have 80 pieces of heavy engineering
equipment scattered between the high seas, Port Sudan, and
the road to Darfur and the UN's limited capacity to track and
move materiel hampers the work of the Chinese engineers. "We
ask them where our equipment is and what is in each load and
they cannot answer." Because of UNAMID's lack of
preparation, they rely on UNMIS (the UN Mission to South
Sudan in support of the CPA) for much of their logistical
work, especially in Port Sudan, and both UNMIS and local-!.3Q%hDhits Darfur and many
roads will be blocked. He remarked that JSR Adada had
praised the quality and speed of the Chinese engin!y-Qzn. The Ambassador summed up
the basic challenges confronting deployment as
"transportation, camps and water," all of which he alleged to
have been significantly mismanaged by DPKO and UNAMID. Both
air and land transportation assets were problems. He noted
that it is easy to blame an unpopular Sudanese regime for
many things but the international community is less
comfortable in admiting that the UN is at fault.


4. (C) Wen asked about US-Sudanese discussions in Rome which
have elicited relatively positive media coverage in the
Sudanese press (Wen is a fluent Arabic speaker). CDA
Fernandez responded that these talks had been serious but
many issues are still inconclusive. He noted that the USG had
only yesterday condemned SAF bombing of civilian targets, "we
can understand, but not agree with, why they would bomb the
rebels, but bombing a school and killing children is either
outright stupidity or brutality, or both." Wen agreed that
the Sudanese are difficult to deal with but suggested that
the rebels need to be pressured as much as the regime. CDA
agreed and referred to SE Williamson's recent testimony
before the Senate where he criticized the rebels, the
Embassy's statement criticizing the rebel theft of a UNICEF
water drill, and the Department's condemnation of rebel
threats and actions against census enumerators and US
criticism of rebel threats against the Chinese engineers.


5. (C) CDA Fernandez suggested to Wen that the Chinese might
want to align their humanitarian efforts in Darfur with
UN/OCHA's donor coordination. He noted that China doesn't get
as much credit as it should for its many humanitarian good
works in Darfur and joining the biweekly OCHA donor
coordination process is one way to do so. Charge suggested
that while China has every right to channel this assistance
bilaterally, mostly through the HAC, the Chinese might want
to ensure that they, and not the National Congress Party
(NCP),are seen as helping the people of Darfur. Wen
enthusiastically agreed with the OCHA idea and will follow up
with OCHA head McDonough and Deputy SRSG for Humanitarian
Affairs Amira Haqq.


6. (C) Comment: The usually stolid Ambassador Wen was much
more open 9Q[|Qrray is
negatively impacting their work, their ability to move and to
survive in Darfur's inhospitable terrain. He was also less
aggressively protective of the Khartoum regime than in past
meetings although extremely laudatory of SE Williamson's
outreach to the Sudanese regime in the recent talks. End
comment.
FERNANDEZ