(C) GODR BLAMES 'EXPLOSIVE' LEGISLATOR FOR SEA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANTO DOMINGO 001953

SIPDIS

DEPT PLEASE PASS TO ASHLEY ROACH IN L/OES AND ELIZABETH KIM
IN OES/OA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/16/2018
TAGS: SENV ECON EFTA PBTS PREL DR
SUBJECT: (C) GODR BLAMES 'EXPLOSIVE' LEGISLATOR FOR SEA
BOUNDARY CLAIMS

REF: 07 SANTO DOMINGO 2364

Classified By: Ambassador P.R. Fannin for Reasons 1.4(b),(d)


1. (C) Summary: On December 15, the Ambassadors from the
United Kingdom, United States and Japan demarched Deputy
Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Trullols regarding concerns
about the Dominican Republic's expanded sea boundary claims
under a 2007 law. Trullols said the Foreign Ministry opposed
this law and is trying to take action without the knowledge
of Congress because of the "explosive nature" of the
archipelagic state bill's sponsor, Representative Pelegrin
Castillo. He noted that he had met with a Canadian firm to
discuss a proposed study of the factual claims made in the
2007 law, which the United Kingdom and United States dispute.
However, the Foreign Ministry is seeking external funding
that would not need to be approved by the legislature. End
Summary.


2. (SBU) Law 66-07, signed by President Fernandez in May
2007, declares that the Dominican Republic is an archipelagic
state and therefore has territorial sea rights in excess of
those previously claimed by the country. These claims
infringe on British and American territorial sea rights as
relate to the Turks and Caicos Islands and Puerto Rico,
respectively. OES and the UK Hydrographic Office studied the
claim in 2007 and concurred that the claim is factually
inaccurate based on the definition of an archipelagic state
under Part IV of the Convention on the Law of the Sea. In
October 2007, UK Ambassador Ian Worthington and then-Charge
d'Affaires Roland Bullen demarched Trullols on the matter.
The United States and United Kingdom also both sent
diplomatic notes on this issue to the Foreign Minister
(Reftel). Neither mission received a response from the GoDR.


3. (SBU) On December 16, Ambassador Fannin joined Ambassador
Worthington and Japanese Charge d'Affaires Sudo Norio, all
three nations parties to the Major Maritime Powers (MMP),to
demarche Trullols on MMP concerns about the Dominican
Republic's self-declaration in 2007 as an archipelagic state.
Ambassador Worthington led the demarche and also left a
diplomatic note on the matter along with a list of
transgressions by Dominican vessels in British waters
pertaining to Turks and Caicos Islands. Ambassador Fannin
also left a description of the single incident where a
Dominican fishing vessel was found in U.S. waters pertaining
to Puerto Rico. Ambassador Worthington stated that the three
nations sought a response to the points raised in October

2007. He also noted that the United Kingdom views this issue
as the biggest thorn in its bilateral relationship with the
Dominican Republic and that it had the potential to hold up
other advantageous agreements between the two countries.
(Note: The other three MMPs did not participate because
Germany found legal reasons it could not join the demarche,
France did not want to distract its bilateral relations from
other key issues and Russia does not have a presence in the
Dominican Republic. End note.)


4. (C) Trullols responded that Foreign Minister Carlos
Morales Troncoso, currently in Brazil, opposes this law but
is worried about upsetting Congressman Pelegrin Castillo, who
sponsored the bill. He said he believes President Fernandez
shares this view but signed the bill in order to placate
Castillo. Trullols described Castillo as having an
"explosive nature" and said that Morales Troncoso is very
worried about inflaming Castillo's wrath. Trullols said that
when the bill was under debate, Morales Troncoso invited
Castillo and other legislators to discuss the matter, but
Castillo had become angry during the meeting and began to
shout.


5. (C) Trullols took the note and lists of transgressions and
said he would share them with Navy officers and other
high-level members of the country's security force. Trullols
told the Ambassadors and Charge that the Foreign Ministry is
seeking to study the factual basis of the claims upon which
the 2007 law bases the archipelagic state declaration, which
have been disputed by the United States and United Kingdom.
He said that Morales Troncoso has given him the green light

to perform this study, presumably, he noted, with the
approval of President Fernandez, but that he must complete
the study without Castillo's knowledge, lest the legislator
"explode". He explained that the condition of secrecy makes
the possibility of completing the assessment very difficult.
He said that the Canadian Embassy had also expressed concerns
about the issue and had facilitated a meeting with a Canadian
company that could perform an objective review of the factual
basis of the claim, but would charge close to USD 40,000. He
asked whether the three nations might be able to assist with
funding, as the condition of secrecy prohibits the Foreign
Ministry from seeking congressional funding.


6. (C) Following the meeting, UK Ambassador Worthington
expressed skepticism about Trullols' depiction of the
situation, and said he wondered whether the expressed fear of
Castillo was any more than a delay tactic. He said he
expected that, if the GoDR continued to offer no response,
London would ask him to follow up yet again around March. He
also said he did not expect his government to support or fund
the Foreign Ministry's clandestine study.


7. (C) Comment: Regardless of whether Ambassador
Worthington's skepticism is accurate, the end result is the
same: the GoDR is not moving toward a resolution of the
matter. Post does not believe U.S. assistance to support the
study would be prudent; it is unlikely that such efforts
would remain secret forever and U.S. involvement in the
secret study would eventually elicit accusations of
interventionism. Furthermore, OES has already studied the
matter and reached a sound conclusion. Post requests
Department concurrence on continuing to follow the United
Kingdom's lead should this issue persist. End Comment.
FANNIN