RESULTS OF THE APEC TELMIN 7, APRIL 20-25, IN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 STATE 050680 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ECPS EINT APECO SUBJECT: RESULTS OF THE APEC TELMIN 7, APRIL 20-25, IN BANGKOK, THAILAND This message is Sensitive but Unclassified. Please handle accordingly. ¶1. (U) Summary: The seventh Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Telecommunications Ministerial (TELMIN 7) took place April 20-25 in Bangkok, Thailand. The main output of the ministerial was the Bangkok Declaration, which included key USG concepts related to WTO Doha Round commitments, IPR protections and technology neutrality. In addition, the U.S. was able to gain commitment by the APEC delegates to a goal of universal broadband access by 2015. Finally, the U.S. delegation held bilateral meetings with many of the economies that attended the TELMIN. End Summary. ¶2. (U) Ambassador David Gross, U.S. Coordinator for International Telecommunications and Information Policy led the delegation to the TELMIN. Other delegates for the USG were: - Richard Beaird, EEB/CIP/MA - John Rodgers, EEB/CIP/MA - Meredith Attwell Baker, Acting Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information / NTIA Administrator - Fiona Alexander, NTIA - Ashley Heineman, NTIA - Deborah Tate, FCC Commissioner - Anita Dey, FCC - Nicolas Fetchko (Private Sector / TIA) - Leslie Martinkovic (Private Sector / Verizon) - Molly Gavin (Private Sector / Qualcomm) ¶3. (U) The main output of the ministerial was the Bangkok Declaration, which included important mentions of APEC's commitment to the multilateral trade process (WTO Doha Round),protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) and technology neutrality. Importantly, the U.S. was able to push for an inclusion in the declaration for a commitment to universal broadband service access in the APEC region by 2015. The text of the Declaration can be found at the APEC TELMIN website: www.apectelmin7.com. The declaration, as well as the texts of the U.S. delegation's remarks, can be accessed by logging in with the following information: USERID - usadel20, Password: usatelmin7 . ¶4. (SBU) In addition to U.S. delegation remarks and interaction with other delegations during the ministerial's plenary sessions, the delegation also held a large number of bilateral meetings with the APEC region's ministers and other high-level representatives. Among the meetings were: - Australia: The USG delegates met formally for an hour with Senator Stephen Conroy, Australia's new Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, and his senior team. The discussions primarily focused on ICANN and Internet governance issues, the upcoming OECD ministerial, the Digital TV transitions taking place both in the U.S. and Australia (Australia recently announced a transition date for 2013),as well as child protection on the Internet. (Comment: The relationship between the U.S. and Australia regarding ICT policies has been strong, but with our newly established relationship with Minister Conroy it will undoubtedly grow even stronger.) - South Korea: The USG delegates held both formal and informal meetings with See jong Choi, the Chairman of Korea's newly-created Broadcasting and Communications Commission, (combining the previous Ministry of Information and Communication and the Korean Broadcasting Commission). The delegation discussed in great depth the upcoming OECD Ministerial and recent developments regarding Korea telecoms. - China: The U.S. delegation's met with Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information (MII) Vice Minister Xi and his senior staff. Topics included the recently announced restructuring of the new MII "super" ministry, the agenda for the upcoming US-China ICT Dialogue meetings in Beijing this June, Internet Freedom, ITU cooperation, an invitation for Amb. Gross, FCC Chairman Martin and Acting Asst. Secretary Baker to visit Tibet, the WTO Doha Round, CNN coverage of Chinese events (they are still upset with CNN's comments about China and the Chinese), Chinese telecoms industry restructuring, ICANN and Internet governance, and other related issues. - Thailand: The U.S. delegates met often, both formally and STATE 00050680 002 OF 002 informally, during the ministerial with Dr. Mun Patanotai, Thailand's new Minister of Information and Communication Technology, and the senior telecoms regulator (the hosts of this APEC Ministerial) for discussions about opportunities to deepen cooperation between the two countries both bilaterally and at international institutions such as the ITU and WTO. The U.S. delegates also discussed in depth Internet Freedom issues involving Google and others. (Note: Issues involving adverse depictions of the revered King are very sensitive for the Thais. Since the APEC Ministerial, we have continued to work with both Google and the Thai government on these issues). - Indonesia: On the final day of the APEC TELMIN, the U.S. delegation met with Mohammad Nuh, Indonesia's Minister of Communications and Information. During the meeting, Ambassador Gross raised the issue of Al-Manar Television (a terrorist-financed broadcast network associated with Hezbollah) using an Indonesian satellite and the USG's desire for Indonesia to take the satellite-based television station off the Indonesion satellite. Minister Nuh asked for additional information, although he was clearly familiar with the situation. Helpfully, he indicated that Al-Manar may not have the necessary government license to operate and that GOI was looking into the matter. Ambassador Gross indicated that there is likely to be a formal demarche regarding this matter from the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta. The meeting also included discussions about future work together, especially regarding capacity building opportunities. - ASEAN: Finally, the U.S. delegation met with the ASEAN Secretary General Surin for a wide-ranging discussion about telecommunications, the Internet, and opportunities for working together. ¶5. (U) Comment: The results of the TELMIN 7 in Bangkok, in particular the Declaration, will help the USG press forward with its APEC telecommunications agenda that includes advancing liberalization, ensuring security of systems and increasing the use of the current APEC Mutual Recognition Arrangement for Conformity Assessment (MRA), which reduces the burden on manufacturers to market equipment in multiple economies. In addition, there are possible new areas for cooperation that have emerged through the discussions in the APEC Telecommunications Working Group, including using ICT for monitoring climate change and for disaster response. RICE