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