VZCZCXRO0052
OO RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHGH RUEHPB RUEHVC
DE RUEHBJ #1886 0791054
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 201054Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5960
INFO RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE
RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHHE/AMEMBASSY HELSINKI 0792

C O N F I D E N T I A L BEIJING 001886 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/RSP (SHEIVES), EAP/CM AND ISN/RA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2017 
TAGS: PREL KNNP ARF APEC CH
SUBJECT: CO-SPONSORHIP OF ARF INTERSESSIONAL SIGNALS 
BEIJING'S DESIRE TO TALK SECURITY IN ARF, NOT APEC 
 
REF: A. STATE 33907 
 
     ¶B. BEIJING 1314 
 
Classified By: Daniel Shields, Political Minister 
Counselor.  Reasons 1.4 (b/d). 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  (C) China's agreement to co-sponsor with the 
United States an ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) 
Intersessional Meeting (ISM) on Nonproliferation 
exemplifies China's desire to increase its emphasis on 
security cooperation through ARF, rather than APEC, 
MFA Asia Department Regional Security Division Deputy 
Director He Xiangqi told poloff in response to ref A 
demarche.  China supports the United States' call for 
an ISM and will advise promptly of any objection to 
the proposed Working Groups, about which she had some 
questions.  China's new MFA Asia Department DDG for 
Multilateral Affairs would like to have an informal 
discussion with the United States' head of delegation 
on the margins of the March 28 Support Group meeting 
in Helsinki to learn details about the United States' 
future plans for ARF.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (C) China is pleased that the United States is 
conducting outreach to ARF members to build consensus 
on the proposal to hold a regular nonproliferation ISM 
within ARF, MFA Asia Department Regional Security 
Division Deputy Director He Xiangqi told poloff March 
20 in response to ref A demarche.  As noted ref B, 
China will co-sponsor the ARF ISM and a proposed 
statement on UNSCR 1540 Implementation, she said. 
Poloff asked for China's support and advocacy in favor 
of the intersessional working groups identified ref A. 
Ms. He asked whether the three proposed working groups 
would all cover nonproliferation, or whether the 
United States was proposing one working group for each 
of the three intersessional topics that would exist 
within ARF. 
 
¶3. (C) Building on points made ref B, He emphasized 
that China's interest in focusing on more security 
cooperation with ARF is the result of a strategic 
decision that China would prefer Asia-Pacific security 
themes be discussed in ARF and not in APEC.  Beijing 
has some problem with discussing security issues in 
APEC because of Taiwan's membership in APEC, He 
stated.  But Beijing values Asia-Pacific security 
cooperation, especially cooperation that includes the 
United States.  These were significant factors behind 
China's decision to co-sponsor the United States' 
initiative for a non-proliferation ISM, she said. 
 
New DDG Would Like Informal Bilat In Helsinki 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) China's lead official for ARF, newly arrived 
MFA Asia Department Deputy Director General Yang 
Yanyi, would like to have an informal discussion with 
the United States' head of delegation on the margins 
of the March 28 ARF Intersessional Support Group 
meeting in Helsinki, He noted.  China would like to 
hear more from the United States about American 
thinking on the formation of Working Groups and plans 
for security cooperation in ARF and the Asia-Pacific 
region in general. 
 
¶5. (C) Bio Note: DDG Yang took up her post in March 
after returning from Brunei, where she served as 
China's Ambassador.  She previously served in China's 
Asia Department Multilateral Security Affairs Division 
in the mid-1990s and is familiar with ARF, He said. 
RANDT