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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 WELLINGTON 000264 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/ANP; OSD FOR JESSICA POWERS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/05/2018 
TAGS: MARR PREL MOPS NZ
SUBJECT: DASD CLAD/MAJOR GENERAL CONANT'S AUGUST 4-6 VISIT 
TO NEW ZEALAND 
 
Classified By: Pol/Econ Counselor Margaret McKean; Reason 1.4 (b) and ( 
d) 
 
¶1.  (C)  Summary.  During a joint visit by DASD  James Clad 
and PACOM J-5 Major General Conant to New Zealand, both met 
with Minister of Defense Phil Goff, Secretary of Defense John 
McKinnon, and Vice Chief of the Defense Force Jack Steer. 
Senior MOD officials welcomed enhanced bilateral military 
engagement and urged USG to support New Zealand's proposed 
A-4 sale.  DASD Clad presented a letter from Deputy Under 
Secretary of the Navy Billingslea offering increased 
engagement on Maritime Domain Awareness, which was welcomed 
by the GNZ.  An MOD roundtable led by Paul Sinclair, head of 
the GNZ International Defense Relations, reviewed GNZ-USG 
collaboration in the eight areas of bilateral engagement 
agreed to earlier this year; they agreed they would proceed 
cautiously and methodically.  The GNZ expressed renewed 
interest in the Global Peacekeeping Operation Initiative 
(GPOI) but made no commitments.  MOD officials stressed that 
expanded cooperation would be constrained by staffing and 
resource limitations including upcoming replacement costs for 
naval support vessels, the army's vehicle fleet, and the 
aging Hercules and P-3 planes in the New Zealand Air Force. 
DASD Clad summarized USG policy interests in the region and 
suggested that New Zealand might participate in the upcoming 
Kokoda Foundation dialogue in Australia.  He promised U.S. 
military support for assisting the NZDF in realizing the full 
capabilities of its equipment.  Clad underscored USG interest 
in GNZ support within the NSG for the US-India civilian 
nuclear deal and a long-term GNZ contribution in Afghanistan. 
 End Summary. 
 
Meeting with MOD: A4s and PICs 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (C)  Discussions at the MOD began with Defense Minister 
Phil Goff and Secretary of Defense John McKinnon on the 
topics of Burma and Afghanistan; Major General Conant 
expressed condolences for the loss of Goff's nephew in 
Afghanistan last year.  Goff then moved onto the new 
amphibious ship HMS Canterbury and its problems, but the MOD 
noted they were all fixable.  He stated the vessel would open 
opportunities for working with the US Coast Guard, in 
addition to current fisheries efforts, while also affording 
other opportunities with this new large vessel and amphibious 
capability, possibly with the Pacific Partnership.  DASD Clad 
then presented a letter from Deputy Under Secretary of the 
Navy Billingslea, offering increased participation in 
Maritime Domain Awareness.  Goff welcomed this and stated the 
interaction with DOD is positive and the streamlined waiver 
process is "first-rate."  He further indicated that MDA is 
good news and fulfillment of Washington decisions, tying this 
to results of the informal DOD talks.  Goff said he was 
looking forward to a visit by the Admiral either to or from 
Antarctica in January, 2009.  In particular, he advised there 
are some huge challenges in the Pacific and they are keen to 
see the US fulfilling its role.  He further stated that the 
relationship between NZ and CENTCOM is close due to their 
role in Afghanistan, but the relationship with PACOM is still 
continuing to develop. 
 
¶3.  (C)  The A-4 sale topic was briefly discussed with Goff 
saying it looked promising, but there appeared to be a slight 
concern with the rules and that the NZDF was seeking legal 
advice.  This concern revolves around a requirement to have 
the assets to support the contract, but that the company 
(ATAC) needed the contract in order to acquire the assets. 
DASD Clad stated he would like to liaise with NZ Embassy DCM 
Ian Hill on a weekly basis to which Goff responded with 
appreciation, further expressing appreciation for Deputy 
Secretary of Defense England having spoken to Deputy 
Secretary Negroponte on this topic previously and hoping that 
it could be resolved before NZ's November elections.  He also 
stated that this sale would help the NZDF pay for their new 
 
WELLINGTON 00000264  002 OF 005 
 
 
NH-90 and AU-109 helicopters.  NZ Air Force pilots will be 
trained by Germany in these new helicopters, and both can be 
operated off of the Canterbury. 
 
¶4.  (C)  Discussions turned to Tonga, with Minister Goff 
stating the reform process was getting underway, but he 
cautioned that although the Prime Minister was part of the 
democracy movement, he may also be linked to some of the 2006 
riots.  Goff advised that a Cabinet paper was coming out on 
the Solomon Islands, extending NZ's troop commitment (about 
platoon size) for another five years.  He also stated that 
the Solomon government was quietly cooperating with RAMSI, 
but the growing food and oil crisis could create popular 
pressure for government change.  The discussion on Timor 
Leste focused on Chinese influence, highlighting that the 
presidential palace, Ministry of Foreign Affairs building, 
and Defense HQ were all built by the Chinese.  Goff stated 
that the Chinese have also provided money for patrol vessels, 
but they had no made no provision for follow-on maintenance 
or training.  Goff then stated that the Asia-Pacific would 
have a heightened Chinese presence over the next several 
years and that it would be a good chance to discuss China 
with ADM Keating when he transits to or from the Antarctic. 
 
¶5.  (C) Secretary of Defense John McKinnon expressed pleasure 
with the recent visit of Secretary Rice.  He then discussed 
the NZDF's upcoming participation in "Cooperative Spirit," an 
ABCA (five eyes ground forces organization) exercise to be 
held in Germany in September.  This will be the first time in 
many years that the NZDF is able to participate in a 
substantial ground exercise, and they intend to send 
approximately 170 army personnel.  McKinnon emphasized their 
key challenge is managing resources and often must determine 
whether to participate in such events on a case-by-case 
basis.  He welcomed USG visits, noting Major General Conant's 
presence, and stated that increased PACOM visits to NZ will 
enhance visibility on possible engagement opportunities.  The 
SecDef concluded with comments regarding the upcoming visit 
of Lt. General Mataparea, NZ Chief of Defence (CDF), to the 
US and indicated that the NZDF desired in-depth roundtables 
during his visit. 
 
New Zealand Defense Force Challenges 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶6.  (C)  At an MOD roundtable chaired by Paul Sinclair, MOD 
Policy Planning Director Andrew Wierzbicki explained that New 
Zealand is seven years into its reinvestment program for New 
Zealand's Defense Forces (NZDF).  The GNZ has spent roughly 
4.5 billion NZ dollars over the past decade, which is the 
most significant expenditure since World War II, he added. 
The MOD is working on an updated 
reinvestment/refurbishment/replacement schedule that is 
scheduled to go to Cabinet in the next few weeks.  Much of 
the reinvestment has a U.S. component, said Wierzbecki, who 
cited GNZ purchases of the Javelin anti-tank weapon system, 
the modifications to the Boeing 757 aircraft, the lightly 
armored vehicles, the P-3 Orion upgrade being done in Texas, 
and the Hercules upgrade being done in Canada.  On the naval 
side, the GNZ has contracted with Raytheon to upgrade 
equipment.  Wierzbicki noted that a key issue for the MOD is 
that, despite the ongoing reinvestment program, the GNZ 
expects the operations tempo in Timor Leste, the Solomons, 
and Afghanistan to continue unabated.  Sinclair added that 
some military officers have been on overseas deployments six 
times, making retention and recruitment an issue. 
 
¶7.  (C)  Wierzbicki said that the next 10-15 years will see 
the most significant upgrade of the NZDF self-defense and 
war-fighting capability in the form of proposed upgrades to 
the NZDF frigate systems at a projected cost of NZD 800 
million, as well as the replacement of naval support vessels, 
the army's vehicle fleet, the P-3 Orions and the Hercules 
aircraft in the NZ Air Force.  DASD Clad asked whether the 
 
WELLINGTON 00000264  003 OF 005 
 
 
opposition National Party, if elected, might look at defense 
procurement differently.  Wierzbicki responded that National 
has indicated that it would commission a white paper but not 
made any firm commitment on priorities.  The Policy chief for 
the MOD added that defense, including decisions on equipment 
replacement, will have to take their place among the 
competing priorities within other social sectors such as 
health, education, and social welfare.  In discussing GNZ 
efforts to get the maximum from the HMS Canterbury, DASD Clad 
urged the GNZ to be creative in seeking USG assistance to 
fully realize Canterbury's capabilities. 
 
Military Intelligence Sharing Still an Issue 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (C)  NZDF Colonel Kevin Arledge noted that in the past 
two years, defense intelligence cooperation has grown and 
relevant agencies from both countries are moving forward on 
image sharing.  He commended the linkages between New Zealand 
and CENTCOM vis-a-vis Afghanistan, saying that there is not 
the equivalent relationship with PACOM at the J-2 level.  The 
military-to-military intel relationship remains a work in 
progress, continued Arledge.  New Zealand cooperation with 
DIA is fine but OSD policy issues remain, he added.  Arledge 
said that New Zealand could do more with the United States 
but much depends on IT connectivity.  As an example, he cited 
the 2006 Fiji crisis and the intelligence collection and 
sharing that tracked the coup and its aftermath.  He said 
that it worked through the NSA but was "cumbersome and slow." 
 Arledge cautioned that he worries what would happen if a 
security crisis emerged again in the Pacific and current 
limitations are not addressed.  DASD Clad acknowledged that 
connectivity remains an issue, and we have also discussed it 
with Australia.  There may be opportunities to discuss the 
issue further when the NZDF Chief visits Washington in 
September; MG Conant and Colonel Arledge agreed that a 
planned meeting between PACOM, either Admiral Keating or Adm. 
Willard, and the NZDF Chief of Navy in Singapore in February 
will also be a chance to discuss these issues.  Conant also 
suggested that this could be discussed when the NZDF Chief 
visits PACOM in September.  DASD Clad informed the MOD 
officials that the USG had agreed to invite New Zealand to 
participate with Japan, Singapore and Australia in the 
cooperative Maritime Domain Awareness program. 
 
Eight Areas of Cooperation 
-------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (C)   Paul Sinclair detailed US-NZ progress in the eight 
areas of mil-to-mil cooperation approved by the USG 
interagency in 2007.  He reiterated New Zealand's commitment 
to proceed cautiously and methodically.  The Proliferation 
Security Initiative (PSI) is an area where both countries are 
working multilaterally in a positive way, said Sinclair, who 
pointed to the upcoming New Zealand-hosted PSI exercise 
(Operation Maru) in September.  He welcomed the robust USG 
participation, noting that Maru has received a good regional 
response as well as from countries outside the southern 
Pacific.  On North Korea and UNSCR 1718, New Zealand has 
offered strong support to the US, noted Sinclair, citing FM 
Peters interest in nonproliferation efforts in the Korean 
peninsula.  Within the ASEAN Regional Forum, the US and NZ 
work closely.  New Zealand, along with Indonesia and Japan, 
serves as co-chair of the maritime security group where New 
Zealand is focused on enhancing its bilateral relationship 
with Indonesia, added Sinclair who offered that the GOI's new 
naval commander is a significant improvement over the former, 
highly nationalistic, commander.  Sinclair said that New 
Zealand supports the Philippines/USG initiative in the ARF. 
 
¶10.  (C)  Within PKO, New Zealand remains a participant in 
Afghanistan, and Sinclair noted that the GNZ has signed off 
on continued NZDF support to Afghanistan through to September 
2009, at which point the Cabinet will review the matter. 
 
WELLINGTON 00000264  004 OF 005 
 
 
MFAT's Justin Fepuleai added that MFAT CEO Simon Murdoch had 
passed the same message to Secretary Rice during the latter's 
July 26 visit to New Zealand.  Sinclair asked for an update 
on the Global Peacekeeping Operation Initiative (GPOI), 
adding that New Zealand lacks information on GPOI.  DASD Clad 
responded that GPOI enhances professionalism of participating 
militaries; MG Conant urged New Zealand to join, adding that 
Mongolia, Indonesia, and the Philippines have signed on.  He 
explained that the purpose of GPOI is to ensure that 
contributing nations to UN PKOs understand UN standards for 
participating in UN peacekeeping operations and are trained 
to meet them.  Clad pressed New Zealand to look at GPOI 
multilaterally and offered that PNG is interested in joining. 
 Air Commodore Peter Stockwell said that New Zealand's 
capacity to attend is an issue.  He downplayed the ability of 
Pacific Island countries to make a strong contribution to 
international PKOs, saying that the PICs see it as a cash 
generating exercise (citing Bangladesh as an example of a 
contributor more interested in the UN salaries than the 
actual work of peacekeeping) as opposed to a capacity 
building one. MG Conant stressed that the program is a UN 
activity but there is USG funding for it.  Within PACOM, GPOI 
is growing, added Conant. 
 
¶11.  (C)  For the NATO Global Partnership, Paul Sinclair 
observed that NATO/EUCOM head General Craddock is coming to 
New Zealand soon.  New Zealand, he continued, is pleased with 
the consultative process within NATO, and New Zealand's Chief 
of Defense Force attended the May 12 CDF conference in 
Brussels, which was well done and a good follow-on from the 
NATO Bucharest Summit in April.  Relations with NATO in 
Afghanistan are "working well," said Sinclair, with New 
Zealand looking more at the NATO intelligence network.  NATO 
has concerns about their lack of intelligence connectivity 
with PACOM and other partners, and they are taking any 
opportunity available to explore options and discuss the 
issue.  Sinclair offered that the Singaporean Defense 
Minister would be visiting New Zealand and said the GNZ would 
push the GOS to do more in Afghanistan; Clad welcomed the 
initiative.  DASD Clad said that the Australians had said 
they are more satisfied than before with NATO operations in 
Afghanistan.  Clad proposed the New Zealand be represented at 
the upcoming Kokoda Foundation security meetings in 
Australia.  For Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), Sinclair 
said that US-NZ cooperation was good during the current 
three-month period of the NZ frigate HMS Te Mana in the Gulf. 
 No deployment, however, is scheduled for 2009 at the moment. 
 
 
¶12.  (C)  On the subject of humanitarian relief operations, 
New Zealand is pleased to be able contribute to these 
exercises and welcomes participation in the upcoming 
Operation Mercy exercise in PNG.  MG Conant said that the US 
military is considering further "angel teams," in which 
military medical personnel are air dropped onto various 
Pacific islands; previous teams have had very positive 
experiences with local populations who had not seen a US 
service member since World War II.  Conant asked if New 
Zealand would like to join such teams; Stockwell responded 
that it would depend on availability of personnel.  Clad 
offered to provide the GNZ with a copy of the after action 
report on the USG response to the cyclone in Bangladesh. 
Wellington DATT asked whether the HMS Canterbury would be 
available to play a role in a Pacific Partnership activity. 
Stockwell said that the Canterbury was scheduled to do a 
similar activity in Tokelau but has had too many technical 
problems this year; next year could be a possibility, he 
added, possibly as part of a Quads process. 
 
Japan, PIC Issues 
---------------- 
 
¶13.  (C)  Related to greater Singaporean involvement in 
Afghanistan, Sinclair informed the USG officials that the GNZ 
 
WELLINGTON 00000264  005 OF 005 
 
 
has tried over the past nine months to engage the Japanese on 
participation in the New Zealand PRT in Bamiyan.  MG Conant 
downplayed GNZ expectations, noting that the Japanese defense 
establishment has gone through tough times.  Sinclair 
observed that the GOJ is sending some planes to participate 
in Operation Maru (September 15-19), but GNZ efforts to build 
a defense relationship with Japan have been less than 
successful; NZ feels that Japanese forces lack self 
confidence in overseas deployments.  DASD Clad urged the GNZ 
to continue to engage with the Japanese. 
 
¶14.  (C)  On East Timor, Sinclair noted that New Zealand is 
trying to get involved in the reform of the security sector 
since there will be no prospect of an international 
withdrawal of forces until the Timorese can manage their own 
security forces.  New Zealand and Australia do not want to be 
security guarantors indefinitely, he underscored, but 
cautioned that a return to insecurity is "one shot away." 
Although the GNZ welcomes the current stability, Sinclair 
noted that New Zealand knows well that the underlying 
problems remain.  UNPOL, continued Sinclair, is completely 
ineffective with no real mentoring capacity.  DASD Clad 
responded that the Australians recognize that they may be 
there indefinitely; within the USG, Timor is viewed as a 
largely an issue for Australia and New Zealand.  MG Conant 
noted that PACOM's Admiral Keating has offered more ship 
visits to East Timor.  Clad added that at Australian behest, 
the Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS) has had 
two meetings on a national security strategy for Timor Leste, 
with a third meeting scheduled.  Sinclair complained that 
some of the international training programs are working at 
cross purposes, noting that the Brazilian military police are 
teaching the Timorese civilian police in military police 
tactics, which are not appropriate to civilian policing. 
 
Atmospherics 
------------ 
 
¶15.  (C)  Throughout the discussion, DASD Clad commented on 
how positive the mil-to-mil environment had become and the 
excellent cooperation and dialogue.  He urged continued 
collaboration and engagement within the expanded boundaries 
of military cooperation, and promised to remain focused on 
the A-4 issue.  Both GNZ and USG officials agreed that each 
country's upcoming elections will have no negative impact on 
the extremely cooperative mil-to-mil relationships between 
the US and New Zealand.  End Comment. 
McCORMICK