JAPAN AGREES WITH USG POSITION ON TAIWAN OECD

C O N F I D E N T I A L TOKYO 000574 SIPDIS SIPDIS PARIS PASS USOECD E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/04/2028 TAGS: PREL ECON JA CM TW OECD SUBJECT: JAPAN AGREES WITH USG POSITION ON TAIWAN OECD PARTICIPATION REF: STATE 20058 Classified By: Amb. J. Thomas Schieffer. Reason: 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (C) Japan agrees with the U.S. position that the OECD should continue to adhere to the guidelines for Taiwan's participation in the OECD as laid out in the 1995 letter to the Chinese from then-OECD Secretary General Paye, according to Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) OECD Office Deputy Director Yasushi Nakamura. Meeting with econoffs March 3 to receive reftel demarche, Nakamura said Japan believes there is no reason to comply with China's request for a new memorandum of understanding between the OECD and China regarding Taiwan's participation in the organization. He urged that USOECD follow up with the Japanese Mission to discuss this question further in Paris. ¶2. (C) Nakamura indicated the Japanese see China as unenthusiastic about cooperation with the OECD. He cited as an example the relatively low-level reception given OECD Deputy Secretary-General Thelma Askey during the latter's December visit to Beijing. (Note: According to the website of the Chinese State Council's Development Research Center (DRC),Askey met December 7 with DRC International Cooperation Department Director-General Sun Lanlan. End note.) ¶3. (C) Comment: Although the Japanese accept the U.S. argument on Taiwan participation in the OECD, they will probably need to see a clear consensus within the organization behind this position before joining any effort to press the Secretariat to resist China's demands for a new memorandum of understanding. The Japanese will particularly want to avoid being caught in a situation which will put them in direct opposition to China on a point related to the hypersensitive issue of Taiwan in advance of a visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao later in the spring. End comment. SCHIEFFER