Peru: Chile Military Purchases Rankle

C O N F I D E N T I A L LIMA 001647

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/11/13
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM MARR MASS PE
SUBJECT: Peru: Chile Military Purchases Rankle

REF: LIMA 1635

CLASSIFIED BY: P. Michael McKinley, Ambassador, STATE, AMB; REASON:
1.4(B),(D)


1. (C) Summary: Reports that Chile is poised to make
significant arms purchases from the U.S. have caused rankles in
Peru, and are being connected in the media to the capture of a
Peruvian Air Force officer alleged to have been spying for Chile.
The Ambassador spoke with Foreign Minister Garcia Belaunde November
6 and met with Defense Minister Rey November 10 to explain the
context of the arms purchases and emphasize USG interest in
maintaining transparency. Rey lamented the timing of the arms
sales, noting that President Garcia's peace initiative (ref) was
intended to prevent precisely this kind of situation. MFA
officials and political analysts have echoed criticism of the
unfortunate timing, while some observers have noted it could again
distract Peru from focusing on the real and present threat within
its own borders. As the Chile arms sale lands with a predictable
thud here, we are facing some questions about Peru's importance to
U.S. strategic interests in the region. End Summary.




2. (C) Reports of Chile's imminent arms purchase from the
U.S. have hit the front pages November 13. Most media outlets have
cited information found on the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation
Agency (DSCA) website to the effect that the U.S. Congress has been
notified of Chile's interest in purchasing Air to Air Missiles
(AMRAAM) for its recently expanded F-16 fleet; a replacement
"Sentinel" radar system; and a land to air missile platform
(Avenger) with stinger missiles. While details have varied, most
reports suggest that these purchases could total up to USD 665
Million. Many media outlets have linked Chile's prospective arms
purchases from the U.S. to the November 12 arrest of a Peruvian Air
Force NCO who was allegedly caught spying on behalf of Chile.
According to news reports, the NCO, Victor Ariza Mendoza, had been
selling classified information to the Chileans for up to USD 9
thousand dollars a month since he served in Peru's Embassy in
Santiago several years ago. The predictable tone of the media
coverage regarding this commingled "spies and arms" story is one of
outraged surprise.




3. (C) In the days prior, the Ambassador alerted GOP
counterparts about the coming announcement of the Chile military
sale. The Ambassador spoke with Foreign Minister Garcia Belaunde
November 6, emphasizing our desire to maintain transparency, noting
USG interest in President Garcia's peace initiative and observing
that the announcement was the culmination of a prolonged Foreign
Military Sales (FMS) process in the context of the U.S.
longstanding security relationship with Chile. (FM Garcia Belaunde
departed November 7 to Asia for APEC and related meetings.) On
November 10, the Ambassador met with Defense Minister Rafael Rey to
discuss the details of the sale, explaining that the Sentinel radar
system and land to air (Avenger) air defense system were intended
to replace obsolete systems already in place and that the 100
AMRAAM missiles would equip the 18 F-16s that Chile had recently
purchased from Holland. Minister Rey expressed appreciation for
the information but acknowledged that its timing was unfortunate,
coming in the thick of the Peruvian government's energetic regional
outreach on President Garcia's peace and arms expenditure reduction
initiative. (A number of Peruvian government Ministers have been
dispatched to different South American capitals to solicit support
for the initiative -- Ref.) Rey said that Garcia's initiative was
intended to obviate the need for precisely these kinds of arms
sales, which could complicate efforts at regional confidence
building.




4. (C) Following the Minister of Defense meeting, Pol/C
contacted MFA DG for North America Jorge Felix Rubio to convey
details of the coming announcement. On November 12, political
officers met with MFA DG for South America Francisco Rivarola to
reiterate the message. The MFA officials acknowledged that the
news would cause local consternation and echoed criticism of its
unfortunate timing. Rivarola stated that the GOP's top regional
priority had become Garcia's peace initiative, which he described
as a serious effort to nip a potential regional arms race in the
bud but which faced persistent political obstacles such as
Venezuela's anti-Colombian saber-rattling and Chile's continuing
arms build-up. Rivarola said Minister of Justice Pastor had met
with President Uribe in Colombia and received strong support for
the peace initiative, Minister of Production Araoz was scheduled to
visit Chile next week, but the Venezuelan Government had not yet
responded to Peru's request to meet on the issue. Also November
12, Ambassador spoke to acting-FM Nestor Popolizzio who noted there
would be a public reaction which the Ministry would seek to
mitigate, but expressed regret about the sale and timing.




5. (C) Media analysts have underscored the unfortunate timing
of the announcement, speculating about its significance to Garcia's
disarmament initiative and asking the perennial question about
"which country" Chile was arming itself against. Some observers
have noted that the announcement could again distract Peru from
focusing on the real and present threat of drug trafficking and
re-emerging terrorism within its own borders and harden the
long-standing consensus within security and some political circles
that the country's primary threat lies to the south. As the Chile
arms sale lands with a predictable public thud in Peru, we are
facing some looming questions about U.S. strategic interests in the
region.
MCKINLEY