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S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 005709 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/02/2026 
TAGS: MARR MCAP PREL CH JA
SUBJECT: PDUSD HENRY AND JDA'S MORIYA DISCUSS CHINA 
 
Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRS, A.I. JOSEPH DONOVAN, REASONS 1.4 B/D 
 
¶1. (S) SUMMARY: Japan is concerned about China's lack of 
transparency in its military modernization, its campaign to 
end the EU arms embargo on Beijing, and its recent efforts to 
downgrade exchanges with the Japan Defense Agency (JDA), 
Administrative Vice-Minister Takemasa Moriya told visiting 
Principal Deputy Under-Secretary of Defense for Policy Ryan 
Henry September 25. On North Korea, Moriya said it was time 
for the U.S. and Japan to develop clear plans on what the 
bilateral security response would be to future provocations 
by North Korea. END SUMMARY. 
 
China: Lack of Military Transparency 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (C) JDA was grateful for the decision to consult with 
Japanese counterparts before visiting China to discuss the 
Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), JDA Administrative 
Vice-Minister Takemasa Moriya told visiting PDUSD for Policy 
Henry in a meeting September 25.  Japan shares many of the 
same concerns about China held by the U.S., he said.  JDA 
would be "very curious" to hear a read-out later on how PDUSD 
Henry's visit to China is received, he said. 
 
¶3. (C) The lack of transparency in China's military build-up, 
particularly in its air and maritime capabilities, was a 
serious concern for Japan, said Moriya.  He had pressed PLA 
Chief of Staff General Xiong Guangkai on the transparency 
issue in three meetings, he said, but got little response. 
Xiong finally acknowledged in their last meeting that China 
would not be transparent while it was still in the process of 
developing its military capabilities, said Moriya. 
Transparency was a "luxury" only rich countries like the U.S. 
and Japan could afford, Xiong had said. 
 
¶4. (C) There were other indicators of a lack of military 
transparency by China, said Moriya.  Visiting PLA general 
officers had ignored his request to explain the 2004 
incursion of a Han-class PLAN submarine into Japanese 
territorial waters, and what measures had been taken to 
prevent a recurrence, he said.  The PRC's only response was 
to say the incident had been "a mistake", he said.  When PLA 
visitors come to Japan, added Moriya, JDA always accommodates 
their requests to see Self-Defense Force (SDF) facilities. 
When JDA officials visit China, however, there was no such 
reciprocity, he said. 
 
¶5. (C) PDUSD Henry replied that China's lack of transparency 
on its military modernization likely stemmed both from a 
desire not to reveal weaknesses, and a calculation that 
opacity was a source of strength.  The U.S. was concerned, 
however, that China's lack of transparency, and the PLA's 
lack of interaction with foreign military counterparts, could 
lead to miscalculation on the part of the PRC.  There was a 
risk that the Chinese might mistakenly assume they could 
leverage the U.S., or that the U.S. has vulnerabilities that 
China could exploit. 
 
¶6. (C) This concern, said PDUSD Henry, had led the U.S. 
government to invite PLA representatives to observe the 
recent three-carrier exercise Valiant Shield off Guam, and 
PLA vessels to join the U.S. Navy in a search-and-rescue 
exercise off Hawaii and San Diego.  Establishing 
international standards on search-and-rescue with the Chinese 
military was a basic first step, he explained; broader 
mil-mil interaction could then follow. 
 
EU Arms Embargo Worries 
----------------------- 
 
¶7. (C) Growing Chinese pressure on the EU to lift its arms 
embargo on Beijing was also a cause of concern for Japan, 
said Moriya.  He had returned recently from a visit to France 
with the conclusion that Europeans "do not understand Asia 
very well."  As China's international profile rises, European 
countries appear increasingly susceptible to pressure to drop 
the arms export ban because of economic opportunities in 
China, he said.  Beijing was dispatching three delegations a 
year to European capitals to lobby on this point, he said. 
 
TOKYO 00005709  002 OF 002 
 
 
If the EU drops its arms embargo, predicted Moriya, Russia is 
likely to remove any and all constraints it places on arms 
sales to China in order to compete.  Absent European 
restrictions, Russia may overcome their practice of 
refraining from selling China certain sensitive military 
technologies "because they are neighboring countries." 
 
¶8. (C) Moriya voiced frustration with a recent PLA decision 
to downgrade its dialogue with JDA.  For some years, the JDA 
Administrative Vice-Minister had held an occasional dialogue 
with the Deputy Chief of Staff of the PLA, he said. 
Recently, the PLA had indicated they intended to downgrade 
the rank of Moriya's Chinese counterpart to the Assistant 
Chief of Staff level.  This was unacceptable to JDA.  Given 
the importance of rank in China, said Moriya, a lower level 
dialogue would make the talks less substantive. 
 
Responding to North Korea's next provocation 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (S) Turning to North Korea, Moriya emphasized that 
Pyongyang needed to be convinced that any future provocations 
would lead to "a sufficiently harsh response."  It was time 
for the U.S. and Japan to plan out what the bilateral 
security response would be to future North Korean actions, 
such as a nuclear test or more missile launches.  North Korea 
is already well aware of the U.S. military's capability to 
conduct punitive strikes on other countries, said PDUSD 
Henry.  It was important for the U.S. and Japan to go beyond 
that to show Pyongyang that the threat posed by their 
ballistic missiles could be neutralized, by enhancing 
combined U.S. and Japan missile defense capabilities. 
 
¶10. (U) PDUSD Henry has cleared this message. 
DONOVAN