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DE RUEHWL #0286/01 1030326
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P 130326Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 WELLINGTON 000286 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR D (FRITZ), EAP/FO, AND EAP/ANP 
NSC FOR VICTOR CHA 
SECDEF FOR OSD/ISA LIZ PHU 
PACOM FOR JO1E/J2/J233/J5/SJFHQ 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/13/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PREL XB NZ
SUBJECT: A/S HILL'S MEETINGS WITH PM CLARK AND FM PETERS 
 
REF: WELLINGTON 167 
 
Classified By: Acting DCM Katherine Hadda, 
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary:  During separate March 20 meetings with 
Prime Minister Clark and Foreign Minister Peters in 
Wellington, EAP Assistant Secretary Christopher R. Hill 
encouraged the United States and New Zealand to work together 
in areas such as the Pacific Islands and Afghanistan.  Prime 
Minister Clark shared her pessimism about the Philippines and 
frustration with UN criticism on New Zealand's Foreshore 
and Seabed legislation, and said she believes Russia should 
not participate in the East Asian Summit unless the U.S. 
does as well.  Minister Peters said he welcomed the chance 
for US-New Zealand cooperation in the Pacific, particularly 
given China's negative role there.  Peters hinted New 
Zealand would soon announce an extension of its Provincial 
Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan (they did so on April 10), 
and said he hopes to visit Washington in early July.  End 
Summary. 
 
-------------------- 
Prime Minister Clark 
-------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) Ambassador Hill opened by conveying the Secretary's 
greetings.  PM Clark said she was glad to have had the 
chance to meet with the Secretary on the margins of 
President Bachelet's inauguration in Santiago.  Discussing 
the other part of her recent travels, PM Clark said she had 
been discouraged to see the Philippines is much as it was 
when she visited there nineteen years ago.  She questioned 
President Arroyo's claim of an attempted "rebellion," as 
well as the quality of the country's judicial process.  The 
Philippines is, however, New Zealand's eighth largest 
market, and as its population is doubling every 20 years so 
will its food and drinks imports. 
 
¶3.  (C) A/S Hill said that soon after the alleged coup 
attempt, he had met with Arroyo and told her Washington 
would closely look at any crackdown.  She lifted the state 
of emergency soon after.  At least Mindinao is looking like 
a success, as a joint US-Philippines team should be able to 
drive JI terrorists out of the Philippines. 
 
¶4.  (C) A/S Hill summarized the Secretary's recent meetings 
in Australia, noting in particular her explanations 
concerning the recent U.S.-India civilian nuclear agreement. 
He 
recognized that New Zealand might have questions, as do 
Australia and Japan, about the agreement's implications for 
the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Prime Minister Clark 
acknowledged New Zealand has concerns, but said the 
question is how best to draw India into disciplines they've 
resisted until now.  A/S Hill said that the negotiations 
had been difficult.  While it was a tough call, the U.S. 
believes it is best to work on keeping India's nuclear energy 
technology separate from its weapons program, and to 
provide India with the safest energy technology available. 
A/S Hill added that IAEA DG El Baradei supports the US-India 
agreement. 
 
¶5.  (C) The Prime Minister said she appreciates U.S. 
support (with Australia) for New Zealand's position on the 
UN Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 
She disparaged the role of both the UN Human Rights regime 
and the NGOs that had influenced it in writing the UN's 
"silly" report on New Zealand's Foreshore and Seabed 
Legislation.  It's possible the creation of the new Human 
Rights Council will bury the issue, she added hopefully. 
 
¶6.  (C) The Cartagena Protocol is another area in which we 
are cooperating closely, Clark said, explaining that, unlike 
the 
United States and Australia, New Zealand had decided to 
accede to the Protocol to prevent the EU from using it to 
 
WELLINGTON 00000286  002 OF 003 
 
 
initiate trade distorting restrictions.  New Zealand's 
position has not been popular with environmental NGOs, she 
added, but Brazilian President Lula has been a close ally. 
 
¶7.  (C) PM Clark said while in Manila she had been 
unsuccessful in eliciting the Philippine's goals as host of 
both the ASEAN and East Asian Summits, and guessed this 
might be because the GOP had not yet worked its strategy 
out.  She described ASEAN as being in "a bit of a corner" 
about the EAS, and said it was not clear whether Russia was 
invited or not.  President Putin had not been pleased, she 
said, to have been only allowed to stay for 20 minutes at 
the first EAS.  Clark said New Zealand believed it would be 
hard to admit Russia without also admitting the United 
States.  She also said that ASEAN must drive the process. 
However now that ASEAN has chosen to expand the EAS, China 
seems to want to make it insignificant by pushing for the 
doors to be opened as wide as possible.  New Zealand is 
watching all this very closely. 
 
¶8.  (C) A/S Hill said that it would be difficult for the 
United States to participate in both the APEC and EAS summit 
meetings.  It might be better for us to consider EAS observer 
status, he said.  A/S Hill noted that the Secretary has 
agreed to attend the ASEAN Post-ministerial meeting in KL 
in July.  Clark said that it was sometimes important to 
follow form, even if relatively meaningless on the surface. 
New Zealand had for this reason agreed to ratify the Treaty 
of Amity and Cooperation, she said.  It made no real 
difference to 
relations with ASEAN, but a failure to sign likely would 
have.  ASEAN is important, Clark said, and with 500 million 
people and a large Muslim population it offers a strong 
counter 
to China and India.  A/S Hill agreed, noting that there is 
little understanding of ASEAN among Americans.  When for 
example the President meets with the seven ASEAN members of 
APEC, the U.S. press mistakenly calls it a meeting with 
ASEAN.  PM Clark joked that it might be best to call the 
seven "ASEAN minus three."  She added that it was the 
"minus three" who had most pushed for Russian participation 
in the East Asian Summit. 
 
----------------------- 
Foreign Minister Peters 
----------------------- 
 
¶9.  (C) Joking that the "Pacific" is inaccurately named, 
Peters said the Solomons, Fiji, and PNG are all "points of 
anxiety" for New Zealand.  He said he is trying to get 
Pacific Island leaders to understand that they need to look 
after their entire countries and not just their families. 
A/S Hill said the United States is looking for ways to help 
the Pacific Islands, but our resources are limited.  After 
seeing how much work was needed to get a Millenium 
Challenge compact for Vanuatu, with a population of two 
hundred 
thousand, the U.S. is now looking at regional programs as a 
better means of assistance.  A/S Hill said he had earlier 
discussed with Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) 
officials possible joint US-NZ work in the Islands (septel). 
Peters agreed we'd get more mileage from working together, 
including with China. 
 
¶10.  (C)  The Chinese are working at cross purposes with 
the U.S. and New Zealand in the Pacific Islands, said Hill: 
they are after raw materials, not good governance. 
Competition with Taiwan for regional diplomatic recognition 
is another complicating factor. Peters agreed China is 
playing a negative role.  "They can make small nations 
feel important," he said.  He asked whether China is being 
a helpful partner in the Six Party 
Talks.  A/S Hill said that he has been urging the Chinese 
to lay down a strong line with the DPRK.  So far, however, 
they seem to believe friendly persuasion will work.  It 
won't, Hill concluded. 
 
 
WELLINGTON 00000286  003 OF 003 
 
 
¶11. (C) Peters said he hopes the United States and New 
Zealand can do more together, adding he and the Ambassador 
have established a good working relationship.  A/S Hill 
said that he and MFAT staff had agreed we should seek more 
areas of cooperation, even given the parameters created by 
New Zealand's anti-nuclear legislation.  Afghanistan is 
just one example.  Peters said New Zealand is proud of its 
Provincial Reconstruction team in Bamiyan, and he indicated 
GNZ would soon announce the team's extension. 
 
¶12.  (C) Peters noted the irony of New Zealand's 
anti-nuclear position, as the atom was first split by Kiwi 
Sir Ernest Rutherford.  A/S Hill said he understood New 
Zealand's policy, but wondered if the country's energy 
needs would eventually force a rethink.  Peters said he was 
closely following the efforts of the United States and 
others to develop safe nuclear technology.  "If you 
succeed, the whole world will cheer," he said. 
We must put the past behind us, said Peters, noting that 
former Ambassador Swindell's call for a new dialogue "was 
key to us."  New Zealand does not want to export its 
nuclear policy, and over time science may change New 
Zealand's anti-nuclear views.  For now, however, the policy 
is a political reality. 
 
¶13.  (C) The Ambassador said the lack of Kiwi reporters in 
Washington has a negative impact on the way U.S. issues are 
covered in the New Zealand media.  Peters agreed, adding 
that the local press generally takes a "dog in the manger" 
approach to reporting.  There's no investment in high 
quality journalists, he complained, and they are paid too 
little. 
 
¶14.  (C) Peters said he hopes to visit the United States 
around July 10.  He and Ambassador Hill agreed both 
countries' embassies would work together to ensure a 
successful visit. 
 
McCormick