(U) Secretary Clinton's November 12, 2009

C O N F I D E N T I A L STATE 117492 E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/12/2019 TAGS: OVIP CLINTON HILLARY PREL PGOV PTER PHUM PARM, MOPS, ECON, EAID, KMCA, KNNP, MCC, RP SUBJECT: (U) Secretary Clinton's November 12, 2009 conversation with Philippine Foreign Secretary Romulo ¶1. (U) Classified by: Virginia Bennett, Deputy Executive Secretary, S/ES, Department of State. Reason 1.4 (d). ¶2. (U) November 12, 2009; 1:30 p.m.; Manila, Philippines. ¶3. (U) Participants: U.S. The Secretary Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney Ambassador Scot Marciel, EAP DAS Deputy Chief of Staff Jake Sullivan Deputy Chief of Staff Huma Abedin DAS Philippe Reines, PA LTGEN Paul Selva, JCS David Greenberg (Embassy Notetaker) PHILIPPINES Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Office of the President Undersecretary Enrique Manalo, DFA Undersecretary Rafael Seguis, DFA Ambassador to the United States Willy Gaa Ambassador Libran Cabactulan Assistant Secretary Evan Garcia, DFA Assistant Secretary Lourdes Yparraguirre, DFA Deena Amatong (DFA Notetaker) ¶4. (C) SUMMARY. Foreign Secretary Romulo and Defense Secretary Teodoro briefed Secretary Clinton on damage from recent storms, described their work toward concluding by June a comprehensive peace agreement with the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), and urged Millennium Challenge Corporation flexibility with respect to the Philippines' candidacy. The Secretary outlined USG non-proliferation goals and U.S. steps to address climate change, and encouraged the GRP to take further steps to prevent extrajudicial killings. The Secretary also urged the GRP to continue to press the Burmese government to hold a credible dialogue with the Burmese opposition. END SUMMARY. -------------- DISASTER RELIEF -------------- ¶5. (C) Foreign Secretary Romulo invited Secretary Teodoro, who headed Philippine disaster relief efforts, to brief on damage from storms in September and October. Teodoro explained that the storms had affected over 1.1 million families and caused damage amounting to 38 billion Pesos (approximately 808 million USD),26 billion of which was in the form of damage to crops. The GRP continued to operate 400 evacuation centers and provide air relief services to isolated areas. Portions of the country remained flooded, and further rains could still have a severe impact. ¶6. (C) Teodoro explained the GRP was working with the UN to expand the scope of its earlier international flash appeal for assistance. Both Teodoro and Romulo thanked the Secretary for relief assistance provided by the USG. ¶7. (C) The Secretary commended the GRP's response to the flooding and said the USG would continue to consult with the GRP on challenges it would face in reconstruction. -------------- SOUTHERN PEACE PROCESS -------------- ¶8. (C) DFA Undersecretary Seguis explained progress in the GRP's peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Seguis, who chairs the GRP's peace panel, cited the GRP's July agreement to a cease-fire with the MILF, the September agreement on a framework agreement for the formation of an International Contact Group (ICG),and the October agreement on mechanisms to protect civilian populations. Seguis expected to travel to Kuala Lumpur for further informal talks with the MILF on November 16. He hoped those talks would allow the two sides to finalize their list of state participants in the ICG, and that subsequent discussions in December would include an exchange of drafts of a comprehensive peace agreement. The GRP and MILF were expediting their efforts with the goal of concluding a peace agreement before the June 2010 end of President Arroyo's term. ¶9. (C) The Secretary asked whether the MILF would agree to provisions for sufficient monitoring and verification. Seguis replied that he would need to see the MILF's draft before he could feel confident about such issues. While having rejected prior MILF demands for secession, the GRP was willing to provide expanded autonomy to areas currently under MILF control, but the MILF was pushing for more concessions, such as the designation of territorial waters and allocation of a greater share of natural resources. The GRP was willing to make concessions, but only within constitutional parameters. -------------- MILENIUM CHALLENGE -------------- ¶10. (C) Executive Secretary Ermita reviewed the status of the GRP's efforts to become a Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact partner. He emphasized the Philippines had become eligible in 2008, but then, having risen in classification from a Low Income Country (LIC) to a Lower Medium Income Country (LMIC),it had failed by an extremely narrow margin to meet the higher standards applied to LMICs. Ermita urged that the Philippines be judged according to LIC standards. The GRP was currently working with an MCC team to assess projects for road development, information systems for government revenue collection, and the delivery of social services to poor areas. ¶11. (C) The Secretary welcomed the progress that had led to the Philippines' rise to the LMIC category. She hoped the MCC's board would decide that the Philippines could remain Compact-eligible, especially given that the devastation of recent storms would have a serious negative effect on national income. -------------- NON-PROLIFERATION -------------- ¶12. (C) Secretary Romulo praised the Obama administration's leadership on non-proliferation and said he looked forward to the Philippines chairing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference in May. Romulo asked the Secretary's advice on GRP preparations, both for the NPT Review Conference and for the April nuclear security summit in Washington. ¶13. (C) The Secretary welcomed Philippine efforts to date. It would be important to strengthen the NPT and broaden the international non-proliferation regime. She especially hoped the GRP would use its leadership to keep the NPT Review Conference focused on global issues. Some governments would likely try to direct the Conference's attention toward the Middle East, and specifically on Israel. The USG was also concerned about the Middle East, and on the significant threats posed by Iran and, to a lesser extent, Syria; North Korea has been a major proliferator of nuclear technology. But the Conference should consider broad issues not specific to particular countries, including the need for greater safeguards of nuclear materials, the need to prevent covert nuclear programs, and ways to enable countries to become peaceful generators of nuclear power. ¶14. (C) Secretary Clinton noted that the USG stood ready to provide the GRP with technical assistance in the run- up to the Review Conference, and the USG's top non- proliferation officials stood ready to assist in any way necessary. -------------- CLIMATE CHANGE -------------- ¶15. (C) Taking note of the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December, Romulo invited the Secretary to share her thoughts on climate change, an important issue for President Arroyo. The Secretary explained that the U.S. Congress continued to work on a climate change bill, and, while this would not become law by the time of the Conference, its progress would demonstrate the United States' seriousness. The USG had already taken action in the regulatory arena, limiting car and utility emissions, and economic stimulus legislation included 89 billion USD for clean energy technology and environmentally- helpful retrofitting projects. ¶16. (C) The Secretary said the Copenhagen Conference appeared likely to move not toward a legally-binding treaty, but rather toward a framework agreement, which could include countries voluntarily establishing obligations under their domestic laws. Developed countries had an interest in establishing financial mechanisms to assist developing countries with projects that would benefit the environment. The USG could provide other governments with ideas and technical assistance to help inform their efforts; many environmental initiatives would provide an economic boost, rather than interfering with economic growth. -------------- COUNTERTERRORISM AND HUMAN RIGHTS -------------- ¶17. (C) Turning to counterterrorism (CT),Executive Secretary Ermita noted the Abu Sayyaf Group's (ASG) connections to Al Qaeda and interest in undertaking terrorist acts throughout the country. The GRP had responded successfully to terrorist threats and had killed or captured many ASG leaders. The GRP was working to upgrade the capabilities of its lead CT unit. ¶18. (C) The Secretary acknowledged the threat posed by the ASG and other transnational terrorist groups. The USG wanted to continue and deepen intelligence-sharing and military-to-military cooperation with the GRP. It was important, though, that CT efforts not take on a repressive character. The USG has been concerned with extrajudicial killings in the Philippines, although the GRP has made progress in this area. She urged that the GRP give special attention to strengthening prosecution efforts against those accused of extrajudicial killings. She also commended the GRP on the successful visit to the Philippines of an International Labour Organization delegation in September; previous killings of Philippine labor activists had raised concerns. -------------- BURMA -------------- ¶19. (C) The Secretary thanked Secretary Romulo for the GRP's leadership within ASEAN, and for the GRP's support for Aung San Suu Kyi (ASSK). The USG was adjusting its approach toward Burma in order that democracy might be able to take hold there, and would appreciate ASEAN taking on a greater role in Burma, perhaps observing the 2010 elections. Secretary Romulo said the USG could count on Philippine support on Burma; President Arroyo had been very firm on this issue. Romulo also welcomed the USG decision not to lift existing sanctions on Burma. CHILD ABDUCTION -------------- ¶20. (C) The Secretary raised the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Explaining the USG was a party to the Convention and had championed it for years, the Secretary stressed the importance of resolving custody issues in the best interest of the children. She urged that the GRP consider the merits of the Convention; Romulo said the GRP would do so. CLINTON