TAKING THE MARITIME DISPUTE TO THE HAGUE: PERU'S

C O N F I D E N T I A L LIMA 000177 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/30/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR CI PE SUBJECT: TAKING THE MARITIME DISPUTE TO THE HAGUE: PERU'S PERSPECTIVE REF: A. LIMA 072 ¶B. SANTIAGO 077 Classified B... id: 139497 date: 1/31/2008 15:32 refid: 08LIMA177 origin: Embassy Lima classification: CONFIDENTIAL destination: 08LIMA72|08SANTIAGO77 header: VZCZCXYZ0000 PP RUEHWEB DE RUEHPE #0177/01 0311532 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 311532Z JAN 08 FM AMEMBASSY LIMA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7790 INFO RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION PRIORITY 1905 RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA PRIORITY 5461 RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 7744 RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES PRIORITY 3261 RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS PRIORITY 1025 RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ JAN 4720 RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO PRIORITY 9424 RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO PRIORITY 1717 RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO PRIORITY 1718 RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RUMIAAA/USCINCSO MIAMI FL PRIORITY -------------- header ends -------------- C O N F I D E N T I A L LIMA 000177 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/30/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR CI PE SUBJECT: TAKING THE MARITIME DISPUTE TO THE HAGUE: PERU'S PERSPECTIVE REF: A. LIMA 072 ¶B. SANTIAGO 077 Classified By: POL/C ALEXIS LUDWIG FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) ¶1. (C) Summary: The GOP continues to emphasize that its decision to take Peru's maritime border dispute with Chile to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague should be seen not as an unfriendly act but rather as an effort to resolve an impediment to broader integration. A prominent local analyst explained that the Hague process was initiated by former President Toledo's government and could not have been easily derailed by Garcia. Chilean Political Counselor told us his government knew the Hague submission was coming but that it contradicted President Garcia's earlier assurances to President Bachelet that pursuing the maritime dispute would not be a priority. While confident about its legal position, the GOC was concerned the ICJ could rule, at least partially, in Peru's favor. For its part, the GOP hopes that Chile and Peru can get back to building better relations once the noise dies down. End Summary. Peru Hopes To Continue Improving Relations -------------- ¶2. (C) What the GOP has told us privately mirrors the message government officials have repeatedly stated in public: Peru hopes to leave its maritime dispute with Chile in the apolitical channel of the International Court of Justice in The Hague while the two countries continue to build bilateral confidence and cooperation. Foreign Minister Jose Garcia Belaunde has publicly reiterated that Chile should not view submission of the case as an unfriendly act, but rather as an effort to amicably resolve a longstanding bilateral irritant. Jaime Sparks, Chile desk officer at Peru's Foreign Ministry, commented to Poloff that the loud media reaction of both countries was expected but would probably soon fade, just as it did after the GOP published the new maritime border map in August 2007. He also hoped the tit-for-tat rhetoric -- including Vice President Gampietri's criticism of Chile's decision to delay fast-track consideration of their bilateral trade agreement -- would not escalate. ¶3. (C) A prominent local foreign policy analyst, Alejandro Deustua, told poloffs that Peru's maritime claim was long-standing, legally justified, and broadly supported. (A recent El Comercio poll stated that 99% of Peruvians supported taking the claim to the Hague.) Deustua underscored that Peru's repeated requests to discuss the maritime border, dating back to 1986, have been routinely ignored because Chile believed the issue was settled by agreements in 1952 and 1954. Deustua added that the decision to prepare a legal case for submission to the ICJ in The Hague was taken in 2005 by President Toledo and that, since taking office, President Garcia had striven to lower the temperature of what has been a hugely sensitive and volatile issue in Peru. Ironically, given the heated reaction from Chile, many Peruvian political actors had criticized President Garcia for deemphasizing and slowing down the process instead of publicly championing it. Perspective From the Chilean Embassy -------------- ¶4. (C) Chile's XXXXXXXXXXXX Counselor in Lima XXXXXXXXXXXX confirmed to us that the Peruvians had informed his Embassy and his government at every level and at every stage in the process about their plans to submit the case to the ICJ. In that sense, the GOC was not surprised or blindsided by Peru's submission. At the same time, however, during a visit to Chile as president-elect, Garcia had assured Bachelet that pursuing the maritime dispute would not be a priority issue for his government, and that the GOC felt "betrayed" by the apparent shift. XXXXXXXXXXXX said that his government had to publicly voice its opposition to the GOP's actions, but predicted that the furor would soon die down. (Note: Chile's Ambassador to Peru Christian Barros, who was called back to Santiago for consultations after the GOP submitted its paperwork in The Hague, has since returned to Lima. End Comment.) ¶5. (C) XXXXXXXXXXXX added that his government had become more concerned that the Hague could grant concessions to Peru after a unanimous Court decision in December to adjudicate a similar maritime dispute between Colombia and Nicaragua. That decision could effectively invalidate a bilateral agreement demarcating the territory, according to XXXXXXXXXXXX , on the grounds that only a full treaty can make such demarcations. XXXXXXXXXXXX feared this argument would provide a small window for Peru's contention that the 1952 and 1954 fishing accords were not legally sufficient to settle the boundary. XXXXXXXXXXXX said they were less concerned about an October ruling regarding a Honduras-Nicaragua boundary dispute (ref A). Comment: -------------- ¶6. (C) The Garcia Government has placed a high priority on improving its relations with Chile. But this necessarily means overcoming (or sidestepping) a series of emotionally and politically charged issues and focusing on pragmatic interests such as broader commercial and security integration. One of the thorniest obstacles to this larger goal, in terms of its potential effect on domestic politics, is Peru's maritime border claim with Chile. Whatever its legal merits (there appear to be compelling arguments on both sides),in submitting its legal brief to the ICJ the GOP hopes to let the process play itself out quietly, impartially and without reference to internal (Peruvian or Chilean) politics. Once the predictable bilateral uproar subsides, the hope here is that Peru and Chile can get on with their real business. NEALON =======================CABLE ENDS============================