GPOI UPDATE - JAPAN EXPLORING ASSISTANCE TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 001940

SIPDIS

STATE FOR PM/PPA/GPOI - SMITH/POTTER; EAP/J - RICHHART/
SCHLAEFER
OSD FOR APSA - SEDNEY/HILL/BASALLA
JOINT STAFF FOR J-5
PACOM FOR J-5
USFJ FOR J-5

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/11/2018
TAGS: PREL PARM MARR MASS JA
SUBJECT: GPOI UPDATE - JAPAN EXPLORING ASSISTANCE TO
MALAYSIAN PKO CENTER AND OTHER PKO CENTERS IN ASIA

REF: 07 TOKYO 3259

Classified By: Ambassador J. Thomas Schieffer; Reasons: 1.4 (b, d)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) Working-level officials at the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs (MOFA) believe Japan's contributions to
peacekeeping/peacebuilding activities related to the Global
Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI) can increase beyond
current levels. MOFA will seek approval from the Ministry of
Finance (MOF) to use some of the assistance funds for
peacekeeping operation (PKO) centers in Africa to support
similar PKO centers in Asia, beginning with Malaysia's. As
the Japanese government needs to request a supplemental
budget to increase its contributions to other Asian PKO
centers, expert-level consultations with U.S. officials from
State, AID, and PACOM is critical for strengthening MOFA's
position in its deliberations. Japan is not yet prepared to
commit to the Transportation and Logistics Support
Arrangement (TLSA) in support of peacekeeping forces from
developing countries, according to MOFA interlocutors. End
Summary.


2. (U) On July 9, Embassy political officer met with MOFA
Foreign Policy Bureau Policy Coordination Division Principal
Deputy Director Keiichi Ichikawa and Deputy Director Kunihiko
Higashi for an update on Japan's contributions to capacity
building activities for peacekeeping forces and other
activities related to the Global Peace Operations Initiative
(GPOI).

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USD 15.5 MILLION ALLOTTED FOR PKO CENTERS IN AFRICA
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3. (C) Ichikawa stated that the Japanese government, as
chair of the G-8 Summit, remains committed to playing a
bigger role in the field of peacekeeping/peacebuilding. As a
first step, MOFA has obtained from the Ministry of Finance
(MOF) approval for USD 15.5 million in assistance money for
five PKO centers in Africa. The Japanese government provides
the assistance through the Japan-UNDP Partnership Fund in
order to overcome MOF's and MOFA's own Economic Cooperation
Bureau's bias against using Overseas Development Assistance
(ODA) funds to support directly activities with military
implications (reftel). The breakdown of Japanese assistance
to the five PKO centers in Africa is as follows:

- USD 2 million for nine courses on small arms management for
400 members of peacekeeping forces at the Kofi Annan
International Peacekeeping Training Center (KAIPTC) in Ghana;

- USD 4 million for training courses on Disarmament,
Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) and other
peacebuilding activities for personnel from member countries
of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) at
the Peacekeeping School of Bamako in Mali;

- USD 3.56 million for training courses on international
peace operations, DDR, small arms collection, and demining at
the Peace Support Training Center (PSTC) and its subordinate
International Mine Action Training Center (IMATC) in Kenya;

- USD 3.5 million for repairs to training facilities,
equipment, new training courses and workshops at Rwanda
Military Academy's Africa Center for Conflict Management
(RMACCM) in Rwanda; and,

- USD 2.44 million for improving operations and providing
workshops at the Cairo Regional Center for Training on
Conflict Resolution and Peacekeeping in Africa (CCCPA) in
Egypt.

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NEXT STEP: AID TO MALAYSIA USING PART OF AFRICA MONEY
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4. (C) MOFA plans to move beyond Africa and begin providing

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assistance to PKO centers in Asia as its next step.
According to Higashi, MOFA agrees with the U.S. position that
Japan should contribute more to peacekeeping capacity
building in the region and plans to provide USD 1 million to
support the Malaysian Peacekeeping Training Center (MPTC),
pending approval from MOF. MOFA will reprogram the money
from the USD 15.5 million appropriated for the African PKO
centers. MOFA officials had agreed to the plan with
Malaysian officials shortly before Prime Minister Fukuda's
June 30 meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in
Tokyo, Higashi added.


5. (C) Ichikawa noted, however, that two challenges remain.
First, MOFA must begin coordination with the Malaysian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. To date, all discussions have
taken place between MOFA officials and the Malaysian Ministry
of Defense, which controls the MPTC. Inter-ministry
rivalries can potentially affect discussions, as Malaysian
Foreign Ministry officials appear slighted that MOFA had not
approached them first. Second, MOFA needs to justify to MOF
why it intends to use part of the funding for the Africa PKO
centers to support MPTC. To obtain MOF approval, MOFA will
limit funding to training programs tailored for African
peacekeeping forces at MPTC, as well as other Africa-specific
programs, Ichikawa explained.

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SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET FOR OTHER ASIA PROJECTS
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6. (C) Additionally, Higashi underscored that MOFA will seek
approval for a supplemental budget in late August to fund
other PKO centers in Asia, including those in Thailand,
Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. Depending on its
successes in Asia, MOFA will also try to contribute to the
NATO Trust Fund for projects such as small arms management
courses for peacekeeping forces in Afghanistan. To bolster
its supplemental budget request, however, MOFA must be able
to demonstrate positive results with the MPTC program. Both
Ichikawa and Higashi agreed that Japanese officials should
liaise and coordinate with U.S. Embassy officials and PACOM
representatives to ensure that U.S. and Japanese projects in
Malaysia and other locations complement each other.
Moreover, detailed consultations on the Malaysia projects
with relevant officials from State, AID and PACOM at either
capitol or at PACOM headquarters will greatly strengthen
MOFA's position during the deliberations on the supplemental
budget. As the budget deliberations will likely last into
December, an expert-level meeting in late September will be
timely, Ichikawa said.

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GOJ STUDYING TLSA, BUT CAN'T COMMIT YET
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7. (C) Embassy political officer urged the Japanese
government to commit to the Transportation and Logistics
Support Arrangement (TLSA),a G-8 initiative allowing
developing countries deploying their peacekeeping forces to
seek assistance on transportation and logistics from the G-8
collectively rather than making individual requests to each
G-8 member. As G-8 chair, Japan needs to be more proactively
engaged on the issue. Higashi responded that, while Japan
cannot yet commit to the initiative, the Japanese government
is studying the issue carefully and that rapid progress on
the issue is possible.

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COMMENT
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8. (C) The current plan to assist Malaysia's PKO center and
the focus beyond Africa amount to the most substantial,
forward movement in Japan's contributions to GPOI-related
initiatives to date. The embassy will continue to engage key
interlocutors to explore how best the U.S. Government can
help them persuade naysayers in the Japanese government to
allow Japan's assistance to regional peacekeeping centers to
rise to levels commensurate with its economic and diplomatic
clout.
SCHIEFFER