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OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHFK RUEHHM RUEHKSO RUEHNAG RUEHPB
DE RUEHWL #0276/01 2452027
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 012027Z SEP 08
FM AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5389
INFO RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHZU/ASIAN PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION PRIORITY
RUEHKR/AMEMBASSY KOROR PRIORITY 0011
RUEHMJ/AMEMBASSY MAJURO PRIORITY 0127
RUEHSV/AMEMBASSY SUVA PRIORITY 0760
RUEHBN/AMCONSUL MELBOURNE PRIORITY 0128
RUEHPT/AMCONSUL PERTH PRIORITY 0035
RUEHDN/AMCONSUL SYDNEY PRIORITY 0705
RHMFISS/COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 WELLINGTON 000276 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/ANP, DOE PLEASE PASS TO DAS CHALK 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL ENRG EAGR EAID NZ
SUBJECT: PACIFIC ISLAND FORUM 2008:  POST FORUM DIALOGUE 
WRAP-UP 
 
WELLINGTON 00000276  001.2 OF 005 
 
 
 ¶1.  (SBU)  Summary.  During the August 21 Post Forum 
Dialogue, dialogue partner nations outlined ongoing and 
projected assistance projects with the Pacific island nations 
and generally lauded the Forum's Communique issued a day 
earlier.  Most countries associated themselves with the 
Forum's strong statement on Fiji, which Niue Prime Minister 
Talagi noted represented the sentiments of all Forum nations. 
 China, Thailand, Indonesia, India, and the Philippines 
avoided any mention of Fiji in their interventions and 
focused on development issues; Malaysia urged continued 
"ASEAN-style" dialogue with Fiji's Interim Government.  The 
four main topics of discussion (climate change, energy 
security, food security, and fisheries) were welcomed by 
dialogue partners, who renewed their pledge to assist the 
Pacific Island Countries (PICs) meet their Millennium 
Development Goals.  All countries also welcomed the news of 
Samoan candidate Tuiloma Neroni Slade as the new PIF 
Secretary General.  The PIF agreed to support Canada's bid 
for the UNSC in 2010-2012.  PDAS Davies informed participants 
about the Energy Development for Island Nations project; 
Nauru and Cook Islands officials made a plea for USG 
technical assistance on renewable energy issues.  PDAS Davies 
emphasized in his bilateral discussions the continued need to 
support the PIF in promoting a return to democracy in Fiji. 
During Davies' bilateral meeting with the European 
Commission, the EC urged enhanced trade capacity within the 
PIF Secretariat.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U)  The Post Forum Dialogue partners which participated 
in Niue were China (PRC), Canada, the European Commission, 
France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the 
Philippines, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United 
States.  Taiwan reportedly held concurrent meetings with its 
diplomatic partners during the day on August 21 at the resort 
where PIF leaders stayed. 
 
Post Forum Dialogue (Mostly) Supports PIF Action on Fiji 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
¶3.  (U)  Niue Prime Minister Take Talagi opened the August 21 
Post Forum Dialogue partners meeting by briefing donors on 
the highlights of the Forum Communique, issued on August 20. 
As the PIF nears the end of the third year of implementing 
the Pacific Plan, progress has been made but challenges 
remain for the four pillars (economic growth, sustainable 
development, good governance, security).  Talagi welcomed New 
Zealand's offer to fund a regional experts meeting in October 
2008 that will examine the purchase of bulk fuel oil as a 
means of reducing energy costs.  The Pacific region has had 
mixed results in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDG) 
but there are synergies between the large (Australia, New 
Zealand) and smaller island states that may help -- 
particularly the financial boost for island economies as a a 
result of the employment schemes in Australia and New 
Zealand, which are "welcomed and valued," added Talagi.  The 
Forum has adopted a declaration on climate change, which 
affects PICs through sea level rises, coastal erosion and 
increased severe weather incidents. 
 
¶4.  (U)  On Fiji, PM Talagi noted that the Forum is the 
supreme political body in the region and must retain its 
credibility and integrity.  It was important to send a strong 
message to Fiji, consistent with the Bitekawa Declaration 
process, that Fiji must honor the principles of democracy, 
continued the Niue PM, and return to democracy as quickly as 
possible.  Talagi said that it is a political threat to the 
other countries in the Forum if they appear to condone the 
coup in Fiji.  The Communique's language on Fiji makes clear 
that the PIF does not accept the situation in Fiji and that 
decision was taken by all Forum countries, Talagi stressed. 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  Most dialogue partners associated themselves with 
the Forum's strong statement on Fiji.  PDAS Davies observed 
that, considering Fiji's actions, the Communique was 
balanced, thoughtful, and if anything, restrained.  He noted 
USG support for the PIF's lead on Fiji.  China, Thailand, 
Indonesia, India, and the Philippines avoided any mention of 
Fiji in their interventions and focused on development 
 
WELLINGTON 00000276  002.2 OF 005 
 
 
issues; Malaysia urged continued "ASEAN-style" dialogue with 
Fiji's Interim Government.  Concerning the Millennium 
Development Goals, the UK urged the PICs to be present at the 
September 25, 2008 MDG meeting in New York at the UN.  Canada 
noted its continuing technical assistance program in helping 
the PICs maintain secure identity documents.  France offered 
to do more in the region on infrastructure, but noted its 
disappointment in the Forum decision to maintain two of its 
dependent territories (Wallis and Futuna) as observers rather 
than grant them associate member status like French Polynesia 
and New Caledonia.  As EU President, France promised to use 
the European Development Fund for increased environmental 
assistance in the Pacific. 
 
¶6.  (U)  Indonesia referenced its scholarship programs for 
PIF students (66 since 2003) and said that there would be 
cultural and media opportunities in 2009 through new Asia 
Pacific Partnership programs.  India emphasized its training 
programs in the region as part of its "look east" strategy 
underway since the early 1990s.  Future emphasis will be 
placed on science/technology cooperation, capacity building 
and economic engagement.  Korea intends to focus on economic 
growth within the region through a newly established 
Korean-PIF Cooperation Fund, which will include an 
e-government workshop in Korea as part of a three-year pilot 
project.  China welcomed the socio-economic progress of the 
PICs and stated its commitment to assist countries on their 
chosen development paths.  China offered to step up economic 
cooperation and trade links, and use the China-PIF 
Cooperation Development Fund to improve human resource 
capacity, Pacific Plan activities, and the South Pacific 
Regional Environmental Program (SPREP).  China promised help 
on climate change projects and enhanced support for 
sustainable development.  PDAS Davies applauded the Forum for 
focusing on the right themes in its agenda and welcomed the 
opportunity to follow up on Secretary Rice's historic meeting 
in Samoa.  The European Commission representative noted that 
the EC had recently tripled financial support to the region. 
In their statements, all countries welcomed the announcement 
of Samoan candidate Neroni Slade as the new PIF Secretary 
General. 
 
Climate Change 
-------------- 
 
¶7.  (U)  Tuvalu Special Envoy Enele Sopoaga outlined PIF 
concerns regarding climate change, noting that the region was 
tackling its emissions output despite member states being low 
emitters.  The region hopes to reduce overall emissions by 
33% by 2015, but Sopoaga noted that the total carbon 
eliminated would only account for a single Clean Development 
Mechanism (CDM) project in China.  Adaptation remains a key 
concern for PICs, which are increasingly formalizing national 
action plans for adaptation and successfully seeking 
international donor support for mitigation projects.  Sopoaga 
urged developed nations and large developing economies to 
commit to comprehensive greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions.  He 
singled out the United States, as the world's largest 
emitter, for a special plea to implement a legal mechanism 
for addressing GHG emissions.  The Tuvalu representative 
gently chided the international community for continuing to 
debate climate change and fund studies when the time has come 
for concrete action in the highly vulnerable Pacific region. 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  France noted that as the chair of the EU, the 
Union wants to be the voice of reason and compromise on 
climate change.  The EU will try to reorient its development 
policies to align with climate change, balance mitigation 
measures, promote the rapid development of renewable 
technologies, ensure financing is available and assist the 
marketplace to disburse those technologies.  The European 
Commission mentioned that on climate change, the EC would 
have deeper dialogue with small island developing states 
through the Global Climate Change Alliance.  The EC has 
provided an additional 3.5 million Euros as budget support to 
the Government of Vanuatu, and that money could be used to 
support climate change projects.  The second area for EC 
support is through the National Indicative Cooperation 
 
WELLINGTON 00000276  003.2 OF 005 
 
 
Programs, where the EC has 80 million Euros budgeted for 
climate change work.  China said that at the international 
level, its government has urged more financial support on 
climate change for LDCs from the developed world. 
Bilaterally, China will share its own progress in increasing 
the mix of renewable energy with PICs as well as help with 
capacity building in this area. 
 
¶9.  (U)  Indonesia and India mentioned national climate 
change programs and tax incentives that their countries have 
adopted and that could be shared with the PICs.  The UK is 
helping Caribbean countries assess the economic impact of 
climate change and would like to extend this work to the 
Pacific.  The UK also proposed more public-private 
partnerships for the region.  Japan is promoting its Cool 
Earth policy and plans to reduce GHG for Hokkaido by 50% by 
¶2050.  Canada noted that it will co-sponsor the draft UNGA 
resolution of small island states regarding climate change as 
a global threat, will support regional projects through 
SPREP, and examine a possible adaptation contribution either 
through Kyoto or the World Bank.  PDAS Davies associated the 
USG with the Tuvalu statement and noted US commitment to 
addressing this issue within the UN framework and the major 
economies initiative of President Bush.  He outlined the 
Energy Development for Island Nations (EDIN) initiative of 
the U.S. and New Zealand.  PM Clark applauded the Australian 
government under PM Rudd for signing the Kyoto Protocol, 
which allowed the PIF to proceed on climate change in 
unanimity. 
 
Energy Security 
--------------- 
 
¶10.  (U)  Marshall Islands President Litokwa Tomeing read the 
Forum statement on energy security, noting that energy is 
critical for economic growth.  He urged donor assistance in 
increasing the usage of renewable energy as a means of 
cutting the crippling costs of imported petroleum products to 
PICs.  The President welcomed the New Zealand proposal to 
consider bulk fuel puchasing.  He noted the potential for use 
of local crops (coconut, cassava) for biofuel production but 
warned that such production would have implications for food 
security.  A number of donors offered that their economies 
had also been affected by the surge in global fuel prices. 
China noted that energy security is imperative for economic 
growth, sustainable development and social stability.  China 
is therefore placing greater emphasis on renewables and clean 
energy research, not only for China's domestic energy needs, 
but also for other developing nations.  Some small-scale 
projects in China may be relevant to the PICs and China would 
look to expand its efforts to the Pacific.  Indonesia added 
that some its community-based projects may be useful models 
for the PICs and offered to share information.  New Zealand 
emphasized that bulk fuel procurement could help trim PIC 
energy budgets, but only by a minor percentage.  PM Clark 
said that some countries, e.g., Kiribati, will have to 
increase domestic fuel storage capacity if bulk procurement 
goes forward, and the international financial institutions 
may have a role to play vis-a-vis funding necessary 
infrastructure. 
 
Food Security 
------------- 
 
¶11.  (U)  PNG Foreign Minister Samuel Abal briefed the 
dialogue partners on food security issues facing the PICs, 
noting that the islands are not self-sufficient producers of 
food and increased energy costs translate into increased food 
costs due to higher price for food transportation.  He noted 
that people were reverting to cheaper, less nutritious foods 
as a result, and that was compounding already existing health 
issues in the Pacific.  Food export restrictions by some rice 
producing countries had further exacerbated the problem for 
the Pacific islands.  More support for the agricultural 
sector is needed; farmers need access to capital/credit and 
technical support.  Abal encouraged the PFD partners to work 
with regional PIF agencies on food security issues. 
 
 
WELLINGTON 00000276  004.2 OF 005 
 
 
¶12.  (U)  The EC and PDAS Davies noted that food security was 
an issue worldwide and outlined some of the assistance 
programs aimed to help developing countries, including the 
PICs, address this issue.  Davies commented on USG efforts to 
support a Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) seed 
bank of indigenous PIC plants.  Japan offered that it was the 
only G-8 country not self-sufficient in food production, 
adding that Japan is helping PNG rice farmers.  Thailand, 
Indonesia, New Zealand, China, and Italy stressed that the 
PICS should focus on increasing local food productivity. 
 
Fisheries 
--------- 
 
¶13.  (U)  Alik Alik, the Vice President of the Federated 
States of Micronesia outlined the challenges facing the 
Pacific in maintaining fish stocks for future generations. 
He lamented the lack of effective conservation and management 
measures to sustain tuna stocks, noting that the annual 
catches have increased from 1.5 million metric tonnes (MT) in 
the 1990s to 2.1 million MT in 2006 with an estimated value 
of USD 3 billion.  Illegal fishing and the refusal of some 
fishing nations to agree to strong monitoring and 
surveillance measures threatens the long-term sustainability 
of the region's tuna resources.  France called for tougher 
monitoring and surveillance efforts and highlighted 
under-reported catches as an issue.  Canada, Korea and the US 
underscored their support for the West Central Pacific 
Fishing Commission's suggested controls and also urged better 
law enforcement and surveillance.  Japan questioned the 
legality of a recent decision by some PICs to prohibit 
foreign fishing vessels from fishing in the international 
waters between their EEZs (so-called "donut holes").  PDAS 
Davies mentioned the U.S. commitment to pursuing further 
shiprider agreements to strengthen enforcement capabilities. 
 
¶14.  (U)  Niue PM Talagi closed the session by underscoring 
the importance of fisheries to the Pacific.  He noted that 
all the monitoring mechanisms implemented for other oceans 
have ultimately failed, and warned that the Pacific is 
approaching a tipping point that could lead to 
unsustainability.  The PM said that estimates (USD 6 billion) 
of the illegal fishing catch are double that of the legal, 
reported catch and pointedly observed that some of the 
companies conducting illegal fishing in the region are based 
in dialogue partner countries.  He expressed his hope that 
all countries would "be serious" about this issue and not 
wait until the Pacific was emptied of its marine resources 
similar to the Atlantic or Indian Oceans. 
 
PDAS Davies Bilateral Meetings 
------------------------------ 
 
¶15.  (SBU)  PDAS Davies met separately with the UK, NZ and EC 
delegations on the margins of the PFD meeting.  He stressed 
strong USG support for the Forum Communique and continued US 
backing of the PIF in dealing with Fiji.  Representatives 
from the UK and EC delegations based in Fiji provided Davies 
with their assessment of the current internal political 
dynamics in Fiji.  The EC mentioned the need for enhanced 
trade capacity within the PIF Secretariat.  In a meeting with 
Cook Island and Nauru officials, National Renewable Energy 
Laboratory Executive Manager of Integrated Deployment Mary 
Werner explained the Energy Development for Island Nation 
initiative of the DOE and opportunities for small island 
nations in the Pacific to learn more about renewable energy. 
PDAS Davies urged the officials to be creative and forwarding 
leaning on addressing energy issues, and pledged that the USG 
would remain engaged and seek ways to be helpful. 
 
¶16.  (SBU)  Davies met in Auckland with New Zealand MFAT CEO 
Simon Murdoch on bilateral subjects (septel).  He exchanged 
views on Fiji with the Australian delegation in an informal 
meeting in Niue after the PIF concluded.  In a sidebar 
conversation with Tongan PM Fred Sevele, Davies urged that 
Tonga remain on track toward more open, democratic 
parliamentary elections in 2010. 
 
 
WELLINGTON 00000276  005.2 OF 005 
 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶17.  (SBU)  Given the infrastructure constraints imposed by 
holding such a meeting in Niue, the meeting probably went as 
well as expected.  However, most interventions comprised "set 
piece" lists of assistance programs rather than genuine 
dialogue designed to collectively address the serious issues 
facing the Pacific.  At best, most countries offered promises 
to do more but there was little tangible that came out of the 
PFD.  As the USG delegation departed, a senior New Zealand 
MFAT official spoke for a number of other attendees by 
observing that the PFD format usefully could be changed for 
the next meeting in Australia.  End Comment. 
McCORMICK