THE DEPUTY SECRETARY'S MEETING WITH AUSTRALIAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L STATE 070835 E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/29/2018 TAGS: AORC PREL AS SUBJECT: THE DEPUTY SECRETARY'S MEETING WITH AUSTRALIAN SPECIAL ENVOY RICHARD WOOLCOTT REF: Canberra 585 Classified By: Acting EAP A/S Glyn T. Davies, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). Attendees: United States: The Deputy Secretary Kaye Lee, D Staff Glyn Davies, EAP PDAS Aleisha Woodward, EAP/ANP, notetaker Australia: Richard Woolcott, Special Envoy for Asia Pacific Community Dennis Richardson, Ambassador to the United States Mark Pierce, Political Minister-Counselor ¶1. (C) Summary: In a June 25 meeting, the Deputy Secretary discussed Australian PM Rudd's proposed Asia Pacific Community (APC) with Special Envoy Richard Woolcott. Woolcott emphasized his consultations on the proposed APC would be exploratory in nature, with no predetermined outcome, and likely would result in a more formal proposal by the end of the year. The Deputy told Woolcott the United States was not "skeptical" about the initiative, but had many questions. End summary. ¶2. (C) According to Woolcott, PM Rudd sees the plethora of current regional organizations in Asia each focusing on slightly different issues. Rudd is not set on creating an APC and may be satisfied with strengthening existing institutions and improving coordination, as long as the final result includes at least Australia, India, Indonesia, China, Japan, and the United States and improves handling of the full range of regional issues, including security and trade. Woolcott clarified Rudd appreciates the differences between Europe and Asia, especially in terms of the diversity of religions, values, and political systems, and is not looking for a common currency. ¶3. (C) Ambassador Richardson and Woolcott outlined the problems with the existing structures: APEC does well on economic issues, but can't address security concerns due to the presence of Taiwan, and has become too large with Russia and Latin American countries -- but lacks India; the East Asia Summit is inadequate as the United States is not a member. ¶4. (C) The Deputy agreed Rudd's initiative addresses a historical need that hasn't been adequately fulfilled, but expressed concern that part of the issue with Asian regional architecture was semantic, arguing he would have difficulty pointing to an Asian forum that has any operational consequence. When Woolcott protested, the Deputy acknowledged APEC had some impact on business, but added that the real regional architecture in Asia is the U.S. alliance relationships. He noted the European Union had started out as a much smaller organization with a specific role (European Coal and Steel Community) and developed over time into a broader, more complex institution. ¶5. (C) The Deputy told Woolcott we are exploring identifying a set of principles for a Northeast Asian Peace and Security Mechanism (NEAPSM) coming out of the Six-Party Talks. While initial or core members would be limited to the Six Parties, additional members could be added over time. Over time, the Deputy said, the NEAPSM and APC ideas could converge. The Deputy also expressed concern that leaders would not be able to participate in every forum we create and some existing fora may be eliminated by natural selection. Woolcott agreed, noting many smaller countries simply cannot service all the meetings currently held. ¶6. (C) In an aside, Woolcott speculated on the origin of Rudd's initiative, saying the PM was scheduled to speak at the June 4 annual Asia Society dinner and needed a deliverable. While the idea had been percolating in Rudd's head for some time, it had not been vetted with other elements of the Australian government or any other country. Woolcott admitted he had not yet been briefed fully on the initiative or in fact spoken personally with Rudd about it, and did not anticipate being briefed by the PM or starting his job as special envoy until mid- to late-July. ¶7. (C) Ambassador Richardson asked if the next U.S. administration may consider joining the East Asia Summit. PDAS Davies responded that, if asked, EAP might recommend exploring a more robust approach, noting Australia had been able to finesse signing the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation -- that is, Australia was careful about its commitments under the TAC. RICE