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) -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶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). -------------- -------------- USD 15.5 MILLION ALLOTTED FOR PKO CENTERS IN AFRICA -------------- -------------- ¶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. -------------- -------------- NEXT STEP: AID TO MALAYSIA USING PART OF AFRICA MONEY -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C) MOFA plans to move beyond Africa and begin providing TOKYO 00001940 002 OF 002 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. -------------- SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET FOR OTHER ASIA PROJECTS -------------- ¶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. -------------- GOJ STUDYING TLSA, BUT CAN'T COMMIT YET -------------- ¶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. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶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