TNAG-2241-FCO40-3222-Asia-Pacific-Economic-Cooperation-(APEC)-1991 — Page 6

RESDTRICTED

FM TOKYO

TO TELELETTER FCO

TELELETTER NFR

OF 090243Z DECEMBER 91

| M. Marti

RESTRICTED

The light

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M. Faress

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FRID to me Am 19/12 WkJune 22

MARY309012

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071105

MDTTAN 8314

HW3090/2

AND TO TELELETTER SEOUL, PEKING, WASHINGTON, CANBERRA, WELLINGTON AND TO TELELETTER WELLINGTON, OTTAWA, SINGAPORE, KUALA LUMPUR AND TO TELELETTER BANGKOK, MANILA, BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

fr

W

FROM DH POWELL, CHANCERY, TOKYO

NFR

ΤΟ

CC

DATED 09 DECEMBER 1991

R CUMMINS ESQ, FED, FCO SEAD, FCO

HONG KONG DEPT, FCO

CHANCERIES:

SEOUL, PEKING, WASHINGTON, CANBERRA, JAKARTA, SINGAPORE WELLINGTON, OTTAWA, KUALA LUMPUR, BANGKOK, MANILA BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

APEC MINISTERIAL MEETING 12-14 NOVEMBER

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THERE ARE A COUPLE OF FOOTNOTES THAT MIGHT BE ADDED ON THE JAPANESE PERSPECTIVE ON THE RECENT APEC MINISTERIAL MEETING.

=

2. FIRST OF ALL ON THE EAST ASIA ECONOMIC CAUCUS. AS YOU (BUT NOT COPY ADDRESSEES) WILL HAVE SEEN FROM THE AMBASSADOR'S RECORD OF A RECENT BRIEFING OF EC AMBASSADORS BY THE JAPANESE PUS-EQUIVALENT, OWADA HAD BEEN SOMEWHAT CRITICAL IF NOT DISMISSIVE OF DR MAHATHIR. HE THOUGHT THAT IT WAS NOT CLEAR EXACTLY WHAT MAHATHIR WAS AFTER, SINCE HE FREQUENTLY CHANGED THE TONE IF NOT THE CONTENT OF HIS REMARKS. BUT MAHATHIR SEEMED GENUINELY TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT HE SAW AS DEVELOPMENTS TOWARDS BLOCISATION IN EUROPE AND THE UNITED STATES. THE JAPANESE THOUGHT THAT MAHATHIR WAS 'MISGUIDED IN HIS CONCERN'. MAHATHIR TOOK THE VIEW THAT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO SENSITIZE OTHER ASIAN COUNTRIES TO THESE DEVELOPMENTS. TO WHICH OWADA WAS INCLINED TO RESPOND THAT ALL SOUTH EAST ASIAN COUNTRIES, WITH THE POSSIBLE EXCEPTION OF INDONESIA, 'HAD TO SURVIVE ON THE GLOBAL MARKET' AND THEREFORE HAD NO INTEREST IN FORMING AN

ECONOMIC BLOC.

3

I HAVE ALSO SPOKEN TO YAMAGAMI (MFA SPECIAL ASSISTANT FOR ASIA PACIFIC COOPERATION) ABOUT THE JAPANESE REACTION GENERALLY TO THE

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