ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL'S MEETING WITH JAPANESE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TOKYO 000475 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/20/2018 TAGS: PREL MARR EAID XA XE CH AS KS KN IN JA SUBJECT: ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL'S MEETING WITH JAPANESE DIRECTOR GENERAL FOR NORTH AMERICAN AFFAIRS Classified By: Ambassador J.T. Schieffer for reasons 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Japan is very much looking forward to the Secretary's visit to Asia the week of February 25 and is SIPDIS anticipating fruitful discussions on strengthening the U.S.-Japan alliance, MOFA Director General for North American Affairs Nishimiya told EAP Assistant Secretary Christopher R. Hill February 21. However, given the recent events in Okinawa, the Japanese also expect the Secretary to publicly express regret for the misconduct of American servicemen and to emphasize our willingness to cooperate in formulating an effective plan to prevent further occurrences. A/S Hill also assured Nishimiya of the unchanging primacy of the U.S.-Japan alliance, underlining that any Northeast Asia peace and security mechanism stemming from the Six-Party Talks could not supplant or harm our relations. During the Secretary's upcoming visit, the Japanese will signal their willingness to discuss Asian economic architecture, as this was a topic discussed by the President and Prime Minister Fukuda during their most recent meeting in Washington. Japan is interested in the changing dynamics that will follow the inauguration of a new government in South Korea, and will ease back on pushing for a quadrilateral dialogue between the U.S., Japan, Australia, and India. Japan would also like to have discussions about Africa, given the Secretary's recent visit there, and would like to explore the possibility of future cooperation with regard to development assistance, primarily in Asia, but also in the Middle East and Africa. Nishimiya assured A/S Hill that Japan will eventually recognize Kosovo, but it will take time for the government to complete the steps necessary to make this move official (reported septel). END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) EAP Assistant Secretary Christopher R. Hill, accompanied by Ambassador, met February 21 with MOFA Director General for North American Affairs Shinichi Nishimiya to discuss the Secretary's upcoming visit to Asia and Japan. -------------- OKINAWA -------------- ¶3. (C) Nishimiya said Japan is looking forward very much to the Secretary's visit and is anxious to have wide-ranging conversations concerning strengthening the bilateral relationship and issues of common interest. However, given the recent incidents involving misconduct by American servicemen in Okinawa, the Japanese will expect the Secretary to publicly express regret for what has taken place and a willingness to work closely with the Japanese to formulate a plan to prevent future incidents. Nishimiya said the current atmosphere is not a good one, and that the Japanese hope to adjust the spin to emphasize cooperation. The Secretary's visit will present a good opportunity to change the mood and return to the high ground of preparing for the G-8 Summit and further strengthening our critical alliance. A/S Hill assured Nishimiya that the Secretary will address this matter in a forthright and constructive manner, that we regret what took place, and that we wish to work together with the Japanese to do whatever can be done to reduce the likelihood of further such incidents. -------------- REGIONAL ARCHITECTURE ISSUES -------------- ¶4. (C) Nishimiya shared a copy of the proposed agenda for the Secretary's bilateral meeting with Foreign Minister Koumura SIPDIS (scanned copy e-mailed to EAP-J). A/S Hill noted the first item under Asia was "economic architecture" and asked whether the Japanese had any new thinking on this issue and why they were planning to discuss this ahead of other issues such as the Koreas and China. Nishimiya replied the item was placed at the top because it had been discussed by the President and TOKYO 00000475 002 OF 003 Prime Minister during their meeting in Washington, and Tokyo therefore wishes to reaffirm their willingness to engage on this. Tokyo has no new major proposal to make. ¶5. (C) Nishimiya then produced an excerpt from the Deputy Secretary's January 31 speech to the Japan Society which SIPDIS discussed the possibility of establishing a "more lasting multilateral structure for peace and security in Northeast Asia" from a foundation provided by the Six-Party Talks. He wondered whether this meant we are considering ultimately replacing the U.S.-Japan security alliance with a multilateral security arrangement of some sort. A/S Hill unequivocally assured Nishimiya of the continued primacy of the U.S.-Japan alliance, saying there is no way any arrangement that follows on the Six-Party Talks will replace or supplant the alliance. ¶6. (C) The Ambassador reinforced A/S Hill's assurances, noting that he has said the same thing in many speeches. What the U.S. would like to see is its bilateral friends in Asia talking more to each other about security issues, rather than only to the United States. The current "hub and spoke" arrangement needs to be supplemented by multilateral communications, but any forum that makes this possible will always remain of secondary importance to the U.S.-Japan security alliance. Nishimiya replied he was glad to receive such a clear response to his concerns, and said he thought it would be helpful if the Secretary could address this in her talks. -------------- CHINA, KOREA, INDIA -------------- ¶7. (C) Continuing on the theme of multilateral relations, Nishimiya raised the topic of developing other small groupings, particularly given the upcoming change in government in Seoul. A/S Hill replied that the emergence of a new government in South Korea will certainly change the dynamics of the existing relationships in the region. The Roh government tended to swing toward Beijing and created a bit of an imbalance in previously existing relations. We expect things to revert back. How to manage relations with China will continue to be the issue that will dominate this region long into the future, and it is important that any multilateral arrangements made are managed in such a way to assure they do not raise suspicions in China that they are aimed at containing or encircling them. At the same time, a U.S.-Japan-China trilateral arrangement would make South Korea very nervous. ¶8. (C) With regard to India, A/S Hill pointed out that India's reemergence in East Asia is an extremely interesting development with wide ranging effects which will require both the United States and China to review and further their relations with New Delhi. However, this is an extremely complex dynamic, and whatever steps we take to work with India on common objectives, we must be mindful of the view from Beijing. Accordingly, we remain hesitant about constructing a quadrilateral relationship that includes Australia, India, and Japan. In addition, A/S Hill emphasized our desire to see the Trilateral Security Dialogue (TSD) with Australia flourish first, and we're concerned that if we try to do too much at one time, the TSD relationship will suffer from lack of adequate attention. Nishimiya replied that Japan understands our concerns about the quad, and while it doesn't necessarily agree with us one hundred percent, Tokyo will agree not to press this issue. Japan is sensitive to doing anything that might put stress on our alliance, he said. ¶9. (C) Concluding with a remark about China, Nishimiya said Japan has a number of ongoing problems with China, including territorial disputes and food safety issues, and hopes that TOKYO 00000475 003 OF 003 the Secretary's talks can address ways in which we can mutually encourage more transparency from Beijing on issues such as military developments, aid to Africa, and other areas of concern. -------------- AFRICA -------------- ¶10. (C) A/S Hill pointed to the President's trip to Africa as evidence that the United States is doing just fine there and is not threatened by growing Chinese influence on the continent. Nishimiya pointed out Japan will be hosting the fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) in May, and suggested that although the United States is not a major partner in this process, the Secretary's meeting with Foreign Minister Koumura would serve SIPDIS as a good backdrop to discuss Africa, particularly given the Secretary's recent visit there. A/S Hill responded by noting SIPDIS he was glad to see an item on the proposed agenda covering U.S.-Japan development cooperation including global health and said he views a discussion on Africa as a very timely one that will be of great interest to the Secretary. Nishimiya noted that Foreign Minister Koumura hopes to travel to Africa in March to chair a preparatory meeting for TICAD IV, but may be thwarted by the Diet schedule. ¶11. (C) On the topic of development assistance cooperation more generally, Nishimiya said Japan realizes it is bureaucratically difficult to coordinate assistance programs, but nevertheless believes it is important to discuss together what each of us is doing in order to coordinate to the greatest extent possible. He hopes the Secretary will be able to address these issues, with a primary focus on development in Asia, followed by mention of programs Japan is engaging in to support international efforts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and in the Middle East Peace Process. -------------- KOSOVO -------------- ¶12. (C) A/S Hill asked Nishimiya where Japan stands on the recognition of Kosovo, which is an issue of great importance to the Secretary and the United States. Nishimiya assured him the political will to extend recognition exists, but that certain procedures must be followed before Japan can make its decision official and public. The direction is clear, but it will just take some time, he said. ¶13. (U) Assistant Secretary Hill has cleared this message. SCHIEFFER