US embassy cable - 03MONTREAL543

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MONTREAL 000543 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FROM USMISSION ICAO 
 
DEPT FOR IO/T, EB/TRA/OTP/AVP 
DOT FOR OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL AVIATION 
FAA FOR AIA-100 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EAIR, ATRN, ICAO, Transportation 
SUBJECT: MEETING OF MALIAT PARTIES AT ICAO 
 
 
THIS IS A CORRECTED VERSION OF MONTREAL 463 (NOTAL) ADDING 
INFO ADDRESSEES THAT WOULD BENEFIT FROM THE CABEL AS 
BACKGROUND. 
 
1. SUMMARY:  AT A BRIEF LUNCHTIME MEETING ON THE SIDES OF 
THE ICAO 5TH WORLDWIDE AIR TRANSPORT CONFERENCE, 
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE MULTILATERAL AGREEMENT ON 
LIBERALIZATION OF INTERNATIONAL AIR TRANSPORT (MALIAT) 
MEMBER COUNTRIES MET TO DISCUSS WAYS TO INCREASE THE 
AGREEMENT'S MEMBERSHIP.  CURRENT PROSPECTS ARE SLIM, THE 
GROUP AGREED, WITH TONGA THE ONLY LIKELY CANDIDATE. 
PURSUIT, THEREFORE, OF A CARGO-ONLY ACCESSION OPTION WAS 
AGREED TO BE DESIRABLE, AND THE U.S. COMMITTED TO PROVIDE TO 
THE PARTNER COUNTRIES TEXT OF AN AMENDMENT TO THE MALIAT 
THAT WOULD ALLOW SUCH ACCESSION. IN DISCUSSION OF 
TRANSITIONAL ARRANGEMENTS, PARTIES AGREED THAT SUCH 
ARRANGEMENTS SHOULD BE OF LIMITED DURATION LEADING TO FULL 
MEMBERSHIP, AND ARE MOST PRACTICALLY PURSUED ON AN AD HOC, 
BILATERAL BASIS.  END SUMMARY. 
 
CURRENT PROSPECTS FEW 
--------------------- 
 
2. AT A MEETING HELD ON THE SIDELINES OF THE INTERNATIONAL 
CIVIL AVIATION ORGANIZATION'S (ICAO) 5TH WORLDWIDE AIR 
TRANSPORT CONFERENCE IN MONTREAL, THE MEMBERS OF THE 
MULTILATERAL AGREEMENT ON LIBERALIZATION OF INTERNATIONAL 
AIR TRANSPORT (MALIAT) REVIEWED THEIR OUTREACH TO VARIOUS 
POTENTIAL CANDIDATES FOR ACCESSION TO THE MALIAT.  SOME 
CANDIDATES - U.A.E., OMAN, SRI LANKA, THE COOK ISLANDS, AND 
TONGA WERE MENTIONED - BUT OF THIS GROUP, IT APPEARED THAT 
ONLY TONGA HAD EXPRESSED SERIOUS INTEREST. NOTE: IN A 
SEPARATE DISCUSSION WITH THE U.S. HEAD OF DELEGATION, THE 
CHIEF REPRESENTATIVE FROM TONGA, WHO WAS ALSO THE CHAIRMAN 
OF THE ICAO MEETING, INDICATED THAT HIS COUNTRY WOULD BE 
TAKING A SERIOUS LOOK AT MALIAT MEMBERSHIP. END NOTE. 
 
3. AS THE GROUP BRAINSTORMED, CONSIDERATION WAS GIVEN TO 
POTENTIAL CANDIDATES IN CENTRAL AMERICA.  PERU AND CHILE, 
HOWEVER, NOTED THAT THEY HAVE FEW OPEN SKIES AGREEMENTS IN 
THIS REGION AND THAT MOST CENTRAL AMERICAN NATIONS ARE 
AFRAID OF THEIR NEIGHBORS TO THE SOUTH, PARTICULARLY CHILE. 
THEY ARE THEREFORE UNLIKELY TO GIVE SERIOUS CONSIDERATION TO 
MALIAT ACCESSION. 
 
CARGO-ONLY PROSPECTS MORE PROMISING 
----------------------------------- 
 
4.  THE LIST OF POTENTIAL CANDIDATES GREW LONGER WHEN 
DISCUSSION OF A CARGO-ONLY ACCESSION WAS RAISED.  ALL 
MEMBERS SUPPORTED IN PRINCIPLE THE CONCEPT OF AMENDING THE 
MALIAT TO ALLOW SUCH ACCESSION, AND ALL EXPRESSED INTEREST 
IN REVIEWING AMENDMENT LANGUAGE PROMISED BY THE UNITED 
STATES.  THE U.S. EXPLAINED THAT THE USG INTERNALLY HAD BEEN 
WRESTLING WITH WHETHER TO INCLUDE BELLY CARGO IN THE 
AMENDMENT, AND HAD FINALLY DECIDED TO DO SO.  THERE WAS SOME 
DISCUSSION OF THE RELATIVE MERITS OF THIS APPROACH, AND ALSO 
OF THE IMPORTANCE OF MAKING CLEAR HOW A CARGO-ONLY MALIAT 
WOULD APPLY IN PARALLEL TO PASSENGER BILATERALS, BUT MOST 
WISHED TO RESERVE COMMENT UNTIL SEEING THE U.S. DRAFT. 
 
5.  THE CANDIDATES FOR FULL ACCESSION LISTED ABOVE WERE 
VIEWED AS MORE LIKELY CANDIDATES FOR A CARGO-ONLY ACCESSION. 
OTHER POTENTIAL CANDIDATES INCLUDED PAKISTAN, WITH WHOM THE 
U.S. HAS OPEN SKIES, THAILAND, WHICH HAS EXPRESSED INTEREST 
IN ESTABLISHING A REGIONAL CARGO HUB, AND AUSTRALIA, WHICH 
HAS NO SIGNIFICANT CARGO CARRIERS OF ITS OWN AND WITH WHOM 
MOST MALIAT MEMBERS ALREADY HAVE CARGO OPEN SKIES.  IN 
ADDITION, CHILE AND PERU NOTED THAT THEY BOTH HAVE OPEN 
CARGO AGREEMENTS WITH ARGENTINA, AS DOES THE UNITED STATES. 
TAIWAN, DUE TO ITS UNIQUE POLITICAL STATUS, WAS ALSO 
MENTIONED AS A POTENTIAL CANDIDATE. 
 
6. IT WAS ALSO CONCLUDED THAT BEFORE A FINAL APPROVAL OF ANY 
CARGO-ONLY AMENDMENT, THAT AMENDMENT SHOULD BE SHARED WITH 
POTENTIAL PARTNERS TO ENSURE THAT IT MIGHT BE ATTRACTIVE TO 
THEM.  SOME MEMBERS EXPRESSED A DISINCLINATION TO AMEND THE 
MALIAT WITHOUT THE HIGH PROBABILITY OF AN ACCESSION 
CANDIDATE. 
 
TRANSITIONAL AGREEMENTS 
----------------------- 
 
7. IT WAS GENERALLY AGREED THAT ANY TRANSITIONAL MEASURES 
SHOULD BE JUST THAT - LEADING ULTIMATELY TO FULL MEMBERSHIP 
- AND THAT THERE SHOULD BE NO PERMANENT "LEVELS" OR 
"CATEGORIES" OF MEMBERSHIP WITHIN THE MALIAT (OTHER THAN THE 
CARGO-ONLY OPTION DISCUSSED ABOVE).  FOR THAT REASON, IT WAS 
LARGELY FELT THAT TRANSITIONAL ARRANGEMENTS SHOULD BE ON AN 
AD HOC, BILATERAL BASIS WHERE THE SPECIFIC CONCERNS OF A 
POTENTIAL ENTRANT COULD BE ADDRESSED. 
 
PERU AND CHILE 
-------------- 
 
8.  THERE WAS NO DISCUSSION OF THE CURRENT THREAT BY PERU TO 
WITHDRAW FROM THE MALIAT.  BOTH DELEGATIONS WERE RELATIVELY 
SILENT DURING THE MEETING, ALTHOUGH CHILE'S REMARKS ON THE 
UNDESIRABILITY OF TRANSITIONS SEEMED AIMED AT THEIR PERUVIAN 
COUNTERPARTS.  DURING THE CONFERENCE, U.S. DELEGATION 
MEMBERS SPOKE SEPARATELY WITH PERU AND CHILE ABOUT THEIR 
RELATIONSHIP IN THE MALIAT, AND BOTH EXPRESSED THE HOPE THAT 
THE U.S. WOULD INVOLVE ITSELF IN HELPING THEM TO RESOLVE 
THEIR DIFFERENCES.  FOR ITS SIDE, CHILE WAS CONCERNED THAT 
ANY SEPARATE, TRANSITIONAL AGREEMENT WITH PERU BE OPEN TO 
THE SCRUTINY OF OTHER MALIAT MEMBERS, SO THAT PERU FEELS 
GREATER PRESSURE TO MAKE THE EVENTUAL TRANSITION TO FULL 
MEMBERSHIP.  PERU FOR ITS PART EXPRESSED SOME CONCERN ABOUT 
WHETHER THE APPROVAL OF OTHER MALIAT MEMBERS WAS REQUIRED 
BEFORE ANY AD HOC BILATERAL AGREEMENTS COULD HAVE FORCE.  IN 
BOTH CASES, U.S. DELEGATION MEMBERS MADE CLEAR THAT, WHILE 
THE U.S. WAS HAPPY TO OFFER ASSISTANCE, ANY SOLUTION LIES 
WITH PERU AND CHILE TO RESOLVE BILATERALLY. 
PRICE KANTER