This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS OTTAWA 000386
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TSPA CA
SUBJECT: GALILEO DEMARCHE - CANADIAN GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS U.S.
POSITION ON M-CODE OVERLAY
REF: A) STATE 259165 B) Ottawa 00374
1. This is a sensitive but unclassified cable and should be treated
accordingly.
2. (SBU) In response to reftel A request for a high-level demarche
on EU plans for Galileo Public Regulated Service (PRS) to overlay
the radio frequencies used by the GPS M-code, Ambassador Cellucci
wrote letters to the Ministers of Defense, Foreign Affairs,
Transportation and Industry. Minister of Foreign Affairs Graham
provided a coordinated response from the Government of Canada in
his letter of January 27, 2003 to the Ambassador. The text of the
letter, provided in paragraph 2 below, provides assurances that
Canada will "continue to fully support the United States in urging
the European Commission to agree to adopt different frequencies
from the M-code." Ambassador Cellucci also discussed this issue
with Minister of Transportation Collenette on January 31.
Collenette echoed the supportive position expressed in Graham's
letter.
3. Text of Minister Graham's letter.
Dear Ambassador:
Thank you for your letter of December 19, 2002, regarding the
proposed European Galileo satellite navigation system and the
implications for NATO members.
Canada has always publicly maintained the position that
Galileo and the Global Positioning System (GPS) of the United
States should be compatible and interoperable for the benefit of
all potential users.
As noted in your letter, the European Commission (EC) has
recommended that Galileo's Public Regulated Service" (or PRS), use
the same frequencies that are used by the military service (M-code)
of the GPS. During discussions at NATO, Canada has publicly stated
its concern that, by sharing the same frequencies, the ability of
the Alliance to jam enemy forces employing the Galileo system could
be impeded. Canada's position is that Galileo should not use the
same frequencies at the GPS M-code signal unless it can
conclusively be proven that there will be no interference with the
military use of the GPS.
To that end, Canada has urged the European Commission to
conduct a thorough testing of the system design to prove its claim
that overlaying the Galileo PRS code on the GPS M-code would not in
any way interfere with the military use of the GPS. The EC has yet
to conclusively prove its claim. Until the EC can do so, Canada
will continue to fully support the United States in urging the
European Commission to agree to adopt different frequencies from
the M-code. With the assistance of the European Union members in
NATO, we will support efforts to generate a consensus to drop the M-
code overlay option for the Galileo system.
I look forward to discussing this issue with you in the coming
months with a view to seeking a resolution in favour of an
effective global civil navigation satellite system architecture.
Sincerely