CODEL MCCAIN MEETING WITH CHINESE DEFENSE MINISTER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 000992

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP AND EAP/CM, DESK PLEASE PASS TO SENATE ARMED
SERVICES COMMITTEE/DEPUTY MINORITY STAFF DIRECTOR RICHARD
FONTAINE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/15/2034
TAGS: PREL MARR MOPS PARM MNUC PBTS PTER PGOV CH
KN, AF, PK, SO
SUBJECT: CODEL MCCAIN MEETING WITH CHINESE DEFENSE MINISTER
LIANG GUANGLIE

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i.,
William Weinstein. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: In an April 8 meeting with CODEL
McCain, Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie
observed that military-to-military ties lagged
behind other aspects of the bilateral relationship.
Liang attributed the shortcoming to three
"barriers": U.S. arms sales to Taiwan; the National
Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2000, which
limits mil-mil cooperation; and U.S. intelligence
gathering activities in China's Exclusive Economic
Zone (EEZ). To overcome these barriers, China would
like to negotiate guiding principles for mil-mil
relations based on mutual respect, mutual trust,
equality and mutual benefit. While the recent DPRK
rocket launch "had an impact on China's national
security," China viewed the Six-Party Talks as the
best mechanism to handle the situation. Liang
agreed with Senator McCain that the PLA Navy anti-
piracy deployment presented an opportunity to
improve mil-mil ties and said China "looked
positively at closer cooperation with the United
States Navy and others." Liang suggested that the
PLA would be willing to explore cooperation in
humanitarian assistance activities with U.S.
counterparts. End Summary.


2. (U) Participants:

U.S.
--------------
Senator John McCain (R-AZ)
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Senator Amy Klobachar (D-MN)
Charge William Weinstein
DATT BG Charles Hooper
Richard Fontaine, Senate Armed Services Committee
Deputy Minority Staff Director
Brooke Buchanan, SEN McCain staff
Laura Bauld, SEN Graham staff
Tom Sullivan, SEN Klobuchar staff
CAPT John Nowell, Mil Escort
Jim Brown, interpreter
Mark Lambert, notetaker

Chinese Participants
--------------
Defense Minister Liang Guanglie
MG Qian Lihua, Director of Foreign Affairs Office
(FAO),Ministry of National Defense (MND)
Chen Yonglong, Vice President, Chinese People's
Institute for Foreign Affairs (CPIFA)
Li Ji, Director of North American and Oceanian
Affairs, FAO/MND
Shen Jun, Deputy Director of North American and
Oceanian Affairs, MND
Other MND and PLA officials

Military Relationship Lags Behind
--------------


3. (C) In an April 8 meeting with CODEL McCain at
the Ministry of National Defense, Chinese Defense
Minister Liang Guanglie noted the successful April 1
meeting in London between President Obama and
President Hu Jintao and their joint commitment to
improve Sino-American relations. "Our relations
have entered into an historic, new phase," Liang
told the visiting Senators. Liang noted that the
two leaders had agreed on the importance of a
positive, cooperative and comprehensive relationship
and assured Senator McCain that China was committed
to improved bilateral relations. However, Liang
maintained, Sino-U.S. military-to-military relations
lagged behind other aspects of the relationship due
to "the American side putting up political, cultural
and legal barriers."

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Three Barriers to Better Relations
--------------


4. (C) Defense Minister Liang said that three
barriers prevented improved mil-mil relations: U.S.
arms sales to Taiwan; the National Defense
Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2000, which limits mil-
mil cooperation; and U.S. intelligence gathering
activities in China's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Liang said that the successful Presidential meeting
in London had established the "political
preconditions" necessary for improved mil-mil
relations and that the PLA valued bilateral
relations and was willing to work with the United
States to push mil-mil relations forward. As an
example, Liang suggested that CNO ADM Roughead's
planned attendance at April ceremonies commemorating
the 60th anniversary of the founding of the PLA Navy
(PLAN) would be successful and would "play a
positive role in improving mil-mil ties."

PLA Wants "Guiding Principles"
--------------


5. (C) To overcome these three barriers, Liang said,
China and the United States had to do two things.
First, China proposed negotiating a set of guiding
principles for mil-mil relations. Liang noted that
in recent years bilateral military relations had
been "trapped in a circle of mil-mil making progress
for a few years then suspension of ties...making
progress again, then suspension," in which some
incident or arms sale would require one side or the
other to suspend military exchanges and dialogue.
Liang said that a set of guiding principles making
clear that bilateral military cooperation would be
based on mutual respect, mutual trust, equality and
mutual benefit might help break out of the circle.
Secondly, Liang said, "all obstacles and barriers,"
such as arms sales to Taiwan, the NDAA and
surveillance activity in China's EEZ, had to be
removed. Liang said that, absent the removal of
these "barriers," he "doubted where the mil-mil
relationship might go." Liang asked for the CODEL's
assistance in improving mil-mil relations.

Senator McCain Responds
--------------


6. (C) Noting our fundamental differences over
freedom of navigation and our responsibilities to
Taiwan, Senator McCain told Liang that more dialogue
was needed. He urged Liang to visit Washington to
meet with Secretary Gates and to meet with Senators
to discuss mil-mil issues.

DPRK Rocket Launch
--------------


7. (C) In response to Senator McCain's query about
the recent DPRK rocket launch, Liang acknowledged
China's concern over the launch but urged caution
and the need to verify whether the North Korean
rocket launched a satellite or not. Liang said that
China sought stability on the Korean Peninsula and
admitted the launch had "had an impact on China's
national security." Nonetheless, he said, China was
committed to the Six-Party Talks as the best
mechanism to handle the situation.

PLA Navy Deployment
--------------


8. (C) Turning to the PLAN anti-piracy deployment to
the Gulf of Aden, Liang agreed with Senator McCain
that the deployment presented an opportunity to
improve mil-mil ties and said China "looked

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positively at closer cooperation with the U.S. Navy
and others." Liang suggested that the PLA would be
willing to explore cooperation in humanitarian
assistance activities with U.S. counterparts.

Afghanistan and Pakistan
--------------


9. (C) While noting the "complex and destabilized"
situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan and
underscoring China's opposition to all forms of
terrorist attacks, Liang urged the international
community to not only address terrorist acts but
their root causes.


10. (U) The delegation did not have an opportunity
to clear this cable.
WEINSTEIN