ITALY RECEPTIVE TO CHINA ANTI-SATELLITE TEST

S E C R E T ROME 000034 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/11/2018 TAGS: PREL PARM MNUC MARR TSPA CH IT SUBJECT: ITALY RECEPTIVE TO CHINA ANTI-SATELLITE TEST DEMARCHE REF: STATE 1265 Classified By: Acting Political Minister-Counselor Jonathan Cohen for R easons 1.4 (B) and (D) ¶1. (S) Poloffs delivered reftel demarche to Italian MFA Acting Director for Nonproliferation and Arms Control Emanuele Farruggia on January 7 and to East Asia Office Director Giuseppe Mistretta on January 10. Separately, Scioff delivered the demarche to MFA Director for Energy, Space, High Technology and Multinational Weapons Programs Giovanni Manfredi on January 8. Farruggia and Mistretta agreed that a coordinated effort on the part of concerned countries was necessary to convince the Chinese to be more forthcoming in their explanations of the January 2007 Anti-Satellite Test, but stressed that those efforts would be more effective if the EU were included. Farruggia said the GOI made a public declaration of concern shortly after the launch and delivered its own demarche in Beijing, but had never received a substantive response. The Italian impression at the time was that the Chinese MFA probably had not been informed by the MOD before the launch and was therefore at a loss as to how to respond. Farruggia, Mistretta, and Manfredi said they would coordinate a recommendation within the MFA and provide us with a response. ¶2. (S) Farruggia expressed interest in the proposal to initiate a bilateral strategic space dialogue and said that the GOI could assemble a team of legal, scientific and military experts to meet with U.S. counterparts. (Note: Italy authored the Code of Conduct on Space Objects recently proposed by the EU at the UN. End Note.) Manfredi noted that Farruggia's office likely would have the lead on such a dialogue, but acknowledged the serious problems for peaceful uses of space posed by low-earth-orbit debris. BORG