VZCZCXRO6269
RR RUEHKN RUEHPB
DE RUEHSV #0123/01 0881959
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 291959Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY SUVA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2994
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0177
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 1176
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS 0001
RUEHKN/AMEMBASSY KOLONIA 0128
RUEHPB/AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY 0796
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0085
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 0972
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI 0143
RHHJJAA/JICPAC HONOLULU HI
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SUVA 000123 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/29/2016 
TAGS: PREL EAID ETRD ECIN CH FJ PP TW
SUBJECT: PRC PREMIER'S EARLY APRIL VISIT TO FIJI MAKING A 
BIG SPLASH IN THE PACIFIC 
 
REF: A. SUVA 0055 
     ¶B. BEIJING 5362 
     ¶C. PORT MORESBY 0073 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR LARRY M. DINGER.  SECTIONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). 
 
 
(C O R R E C T E D C O P Y - ADD ADDRESSEES) 
 
 ¶1.  (SBU)  Summary:  Heads of government from eight Pacific 
Island countries will be attending the PRC-sponsored 
China-Pacific Island economic cooperation conference in Nadi, 
Fiji April 5-6.  Each leader will hold a bilateral with 
Premier Wen Jiabao April 5.  All eight countries will 
reportedly sign a PRC-drafted "Guiding Framework" for 
regional cooperation.  Australia and New Zealand will not 
sign the "Guiding Framework" but will send Deputy 
Minister-level representatives to the conference.  None of 
the Pacific Island states that recognize Taiwan will attend. 
Ambassador Dinger will attend the conference's opening as an 
observer and invited guest.  End Summary 
 
Heads of Government to Nadi 
--------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  According to contacts at the Pacific Island Forum 
(PIF), the PRC has convinced governnment leaders of all of 
the Pacific Island states with which it has diplomatic 
relations to attend the the conference (reftels), with the 
exception of Australia and New Zealand.   Heads of government 
attending include Prime Minister Qarase of Fiji, PM Somare of 
Papua New Guinea, Acting PM Fred Sevile of Tonga, and the 
leaders of Vanuatu, Samoa, Cook Islands, Federated States of 
Micronesia, and Niue.  Each of these leaders will hold 
bilateral sessions with Premier Wen on April 5.  Fiji Foreign 
Ministry officials have told us that President Iloilo is also 
scheduled to make the trip to Nadi to meet with Wen. 
 
"Guiding Framework," Bilateral Documents to Be Signed 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶3.  (C)  PIF contacts said each of the eight countries noted 
above had already initialed the PRC-drafted "Guiding 
Framework" on China-Pacific cooperation (described in detail 
in Ref A).  That document will be signed by ministers of 
commerce or trade on the morning of April 5.  A number of 
bilateral agreements will also be signed during the 
conference.  PNG High Commissioner to Fiji Peter Eafare told 
us PNG and the PRC would be signing four bilateral agreements 
on various aspects of economic cooperation.  Eafare noted 
that he had advised Port Moresby against signing the "Guiding 
Framework" but had been overruled. 
 
Australia, New Zealand Sending Deputy Minister-level Reps 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
¶4.  (C)  Theresa Gambaro, Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign 
Affairs, will represent Australia at the conference. 
Luamanuvau Winnie Laban, Associate Minister of Pacific Island 
Affairs, will represent New Zealand.  Andrew Martin, 
Australia's Deputy High Commissioner to Fiji, told us 
Australia had originally planned to send a lower level 
person, but had decided to send Gambaro after urgings from 
New Zealand to increase the level of representation.  Neither 
Australia nor New Zealand will sign the "Guiding Framework" 
document. 
 
No Countries That Recognize Taiwan Attending 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  According to the PIF, none of the Pacific Island 
countries that recognize Taiwan will attend the conference 
(Kiribati, Nauru, Tuvalu, the Solomon Islands, Palau, and the 
Marshall Islands). Representives from the Marshalls, Nauru 
and Kiribati had previously told us (Ref A) that they had 
received clear instructions not to consider accepting 
invitations to the conference.  Nauru's High Commissioner to 
Fiji reiterated that stance to us March 28. 
 
Taiwan Rep Says Conference Exhibits Expanding PRC Influence 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
 
 
SUVA 00000123  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶6.  (C)  Sherman Kuo, Taiwan's Representive in Fiji, told us 
earlier this month that the PRC hopes to use the conference 
and the "Guiding Framework" to isolate countries that 
recognize Taiwan.  This, he said, is standard operating 
procedure for the PRC in the region.  But the PRC has a 
larger goal in sight.  The conference, he said, represents 
the beginning of a significant effort by the PRC to expand 
its economic and political influence in the region.  The 
PRC's spats with Taiwan, he said, are only one aspect of 
this. 
 
Comment:  A Big Splash, But Will There be Follow-Up? 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶7.  (C)  Wen's visit is already generating a large amount of 
press play in Fiji.  We expect coverage to increase 
dramatically in the run-up to the visit.  Despite the 
high-profile, a number of Fiji officials we have talked to 
have expressed skepticism that the visit, and the documents 
to be signed in conjunction with it, will have much lasting 
impact.  They point, for example, to the fact that the 
"Guiding Framework" is non-binding.  Ultimately, the impact 
of Wen's visit will be judged by whether an already-active 
PRC uses these meetings to further ratchet up its level of 
activity in the region. 
 
 
 
DINGER