VZCZCXYZ0005
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDG #1953/01 3571411
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 221411Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2002
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 0118
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 1713
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 0957
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0067
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 0083
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 0233
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0223
RUEHPU/AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE 4896
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0086

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANTO DOMINGO 001953 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PLEASE PASS TO ASHLEY ROACH IN L/OES AND ELIZABETH KIM 
IN OES/OA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/16/2018 
TAGS: SENV ECON EFTA PBTS PREL DR
SUBJECT: (C) GODR BLAMES 'EXPLOSIVE' LEGISLATOR FOR SEA 
BOUNDARY CLAIMS 
 
REF: 07 SANTO DOMINGO 2364 
 
Classified By: Ambassador P.R. Fannin for Reasons 1.4(b), (d) 
 
 ¶1. (C) Summary: On December 15, the Ambassadors from the 
United Kingdom, United States and Japan demarched Deputy 
Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Trullols regarding concerns 
about the Dominican Republic's expanded sea boundary claims 
under a 2007 law.  Trullols said the Foreign Ministry opposed 
this law and is trying to take action without the knowledge 
of Congress because of the "explosive nature" of the 
archipelagic state bill's sponsor, Representative Pelegrin 
Castillo.  He noted that he had met with a Canadian firm to 
discuss a proposed study of the factual claims made in the 
2007 law, which the United Kingdom and United States dispute. 
However, the Foreign Ministry is seeking external funding 
that would not need to be approved by the legislature.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Law 66-07, signed by President Fernandez in May 
2007, declares that the Dominican Republic is an archipelagic 
state and therefore has territorial sea rights in excess of 
those previously claimed by the country.  These claims 
infringe on British and American territorial sea rights as 
relate to the Turks and Caicos Islands and Puerto Rico, 
respectively.  OES and the UK Hydrographic Office studied the 
claim in 2007 and concurred that the claim is factually 
inaccurate based on the definition of an archipelagic state 
under Part IV of the Convention on the Law of the Sea.  In 
October 2007, UK Ambassador Ian Worthington and then-Charge 
d'Affaires Roland Bullen demarched Trullols on the matter. 
The United States and United Kingdom also both sent 
diplomatic notes on this issue to the Foreign Minister 
(Reftel).  Neither mission received a response from the GoDR. 
 
¶3. (SBU) On December 16, Ambassador Fannin joined Ambassador 
Worthington and Japanese Charge d'Affaires Sudo Norio, all 
three nations parties to the Major Maritime Powers (MMP), to 
demarche Trullols on MMP concerns about the Dominican 
Republic's self-declaration in 2007 as an archipelagic state. 
 Ambassador Worthington led the demarche and also left a 
diplomatic note on the matter along with a list of 
transgressions by Dominican vessels in British waters 
pertaining to Turks and Caicos Islands.  Ambassador Fannin 
also left a description of the single incident where a 
Dominican fishing vessel was found in U.S. waters pertaining 
to Puerto Rico.  Ambassador Worthington stated that the three 
nations sought a response to the points raised in October 
¶2007.  He also noted that the United Kingdom views this issue 
as the biggest thorn in its bilateral relationship with the 
Dominican Republic and that it had the potential to hold up 
other advantageous agreements between the two countries. 
(Note: The other three MMPs did not participate because 
Germany found legal reasons it could not join the demarche, 
France did not want to distract its bilateral relations from 
other key issues and Russia does not have a presence in the 
Dominican Republic.  End note.) 
 
¶4. (C) Trullols responded that Foreign Minister Carlos 
Morales Troncoso, currently in Brazil, opposes this law but 
is worried about upsetting Congressman Pelegrin Castillo, who 
sponsored the bill.  He said he believes President Fernandez 
shares this view but signed the bill in order to placate 
Castillo.  Trullols described Castillo as having an 
"explosive nature" and said that Morales Troncoso is very 
worried about inflaming Castillo's wrath.  Trullols said that 
when the bill was under debate, Morales Troncoso invited 
Castillo and other legislators to discuss the matter, but 
Castillo had become angry during the meeting and began to 
shout. 
 
¶5. (C) Trullols took the note and lists of transgressions and 
said he would share them with Navy officers and other 
high-level members of the country's security force.  Trullols 
told the Ambassadors and Charge that the Foreign Ministry is 
seeking to study the factual basis of the claims upon which 
the 2007 law bases the archipelagic state declaration, which 
have been disputed by the United States and United Kingdom. 
He said that Morales Troncoso has given him the green light 
 
to perform this study, presumably, he noted, with the 
approval of President Fernandez, but that he must complete 
the study without Castillo's knowledge, lest the legislator 
"explode".  He explained that the condition of secrecy makes 
the possibility of completing the assessment very difficult. 
He said that the Canadian Embassy had also expressed concerns 
about the issue and had facilitated a meeting with a Canadian 
company that could perform an objective review of the factual 
basis of the claim, but would charge close to USD 40,000.  He 
asked whether the three nations might be able to assist with 
funding, as the condition of secrecy prohibits the Foreign 
Ministry from seeking congressional funding. 
 
¶6. (C) Following the meeting, UK Ambassador Worthington 
expressed skepticism about Trullols' depiction of the 
situation, and said he wondered whether the expressed fear of 
Castillo was any more than a delay tactic.  He said he 
expected that, if the GoDR continued to offer no response, 
London would ask him to follow up yet again around March.  He 
also said he did not expect his government to support or fund 
the Foreign Ministry's clandestine study. 
 
¶7. (C) Comment: Regardless of whether Ambassador 
Worthington's skepticism is accurate, the end result is the 
same: the GoDR is not moving toward a resolution of the 
matter.  Post does not believe U.S. assistance to support the 
study would be prudent; it is unlikely that such efforts 
would remain secret forever and U.S. involvement in the 
secret study would eventually elicit accusations of 
interventionism.  Furthermore, OES has already studied the 
matter and reached a sound conclusion.  Post requests 
Department concurrence on continuing to follow the United 
Kingdom's lead should this issue persist. End Comment. 
FANNIN