PHILIPPINES LAUDS SECRETARY CLINTON'S SPEECH ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 000090 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/RSP - RODRIGUEZ AND ANDERSON E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/15/2020 TAGS: ECIN PREL XC XE XU ASEAN APECO ARF RP SUBJECT: PHILIPPINES LAUDS SECRETARY CLINTON'S SPEECH ON ASIA-PACIFIC MULTILATERALISM REF: A. STATE 4128 (EXPEDITED REQUEST) ¶B. MANILA 70 (DINNER WITH FOREIGN MINISTER) ¶C. MANILA 60 (BREAKFAST WITH TEODORO) Classified By: DCM Leslie A. Bassett, reason: 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: A senior Department of Foreign Affairs official lauded Secretary Clinton's January 12 speech on regional architecture, calling it another welcome sign of U.S. re-engagement with East Asia. The government continues to formulate its response, and Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo will present his views on regional architecture when he speaks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington February 4. The humanitarian disaster in Haiti, as well as developments connected to upcoming Philippine elections, resulted in limited press coverage of the speech. Nevertheless, policymakers and the general public remain very favorably impressed by the Secretary's November visit to Manila. End Summary. ¶2. (C) A senior Department of Foreign Affairs official was highly laudatory of the Secretary's January 12 speech on regional architecture, calling it another welcome sign of the United States' re-engagement with Asia, and especially Southeast Asia. Assistant Secretary for American Affairs Lourdes Yparraguirre told us that in the past several years, ASEAN diplomats had voiced concerns about the strength and depth of U.S. ties to ASEAN, the ASEAN Regional Forum and Asia more broadly. With Secretary Clinton's recent visits to Southeast Asia - including ASEAN-related meetings in Singapore and Bangkok -- and her East-West Center speech, the Philippine government and other key ASEAN partners felt they were receiving "full attention" from Washington and were optimistic about improved cooQration on a range of vital issues, including regional security, counterterrorism, nonproliferation and democracy and human rights. ¶3. (C) A/S Yparraguirre said that the Philippine consulate general in Honolulu had immediately provided the text of the speech to DFA, and she and other senior Department officials were weighing the Philippine response. She noted that Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alberto Romulo planned to be in Washington February 3-5 and was scheduled to speak at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) 
February 4. Secretary Romulo's remarks would cover a variety of key topics, and following Secretary Clinton's example he would be giving views on regional architecture and cooperation as well. ¶4. (C) Yparraguirre stressed that the Philippines took very seriously its role as a dialogue partner for the U.S. in enhancing cooperation with ASEAN and the ASEAN Regional Forum. She underscored Manila's shared commitment with the U.S. to press for democracy and human rights in Burma and throughout ASEAN, and to support even stronger bilateral and regional cooperation on other crucial concerns - including counterterrorism, nonproliferation, the Six-Party Talks with North Korea. Yparraguirre praised the Secretary's reaffirmation of the central importance of U.S. bilateral alliances in Asia, saying that our mutual defense treaty was a cornerstone of Philippine security and enabled excellent cooperation on counterterrorism as well as robust disaster relief efforts and military exercises. The Philippines was committed to close coordination with the U.S. in its role as chair of the Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference this spring, and President Arroyo had accepted President Obama's invitation to attend the nuclear security summit in April. ¶5. (U) The Philippine media has focused its recent coverage on the tragic humanitarian crisis in Haiti (affecting also Philippine peacekeepers there),as well as on developments related to upcoming national Philippine elections. The Philippine Star, one of the country's top three national dailies, reported on the speech on January 14. A leading columnist for the top-circulation Manila Bulletin has told us she is writing an op-ed that should appear in the next several days. We have posted the transcript on the Embassy website's home page, and we also have distributed transcripts to the 13 American Corners in the Philippines, which had been alerted in advance about the speech and its live internet webcast. ¶6. (U) Philippine policymakers and the general public remain highly impressed by the Secretary's November visit to Manila. MANILA 00000090 002 OF 002 Her highly successful "townterview" continues to have an impact, having been rebroadcast by local television numerous times, most recently on December 31. Both Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo and ruling party presidential candidate Gilberto Teodoro continue to tell the Ambassador how impressed they were with the Secretary's visit (ref B, C). We expect that the January 12 speech will continue to percolate through government and academia here, generating further thoughtful responses in the coming weeks. KENNEY