THAILAND: ARF ISM DISCUSSES DOCUMENT SECURITY AND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 002575

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EAP, S/CT, CA
PACOM FOR FPA (HUSO)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ASEC PREL PTER TH ARF
SUBJECT: THAILAND: ARF ISM DISCUSSES DOCUMENT SECURITY AND
LAW ENFORCEMENT COOPERATION


1. (U) Summary: Thailand and Canada co-chaired the third
ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Inter-Sessional Meeting (ISM) on
Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime April 6-8 in
Bangkok, which focused on intelligence and information
sharing, document security and integrity, and police and law
enforcement cooperation. Participants agreed with the
co-chair's suggestion not to institutionalize the ISM by
transforming the ad hoc ISM into a permanent Inter-sessional
Group at this time. Recommendations from the ISM (which was
attended by all ARF members except the DPRK) will be sent for
approval to the ARF Senior Officials Meeting in Laos in May.
The draft Chairman's Statement, which is open for comment
from capitals, follows in para 5. China and Brunei announced
that they will co-host the next ARF ISM. End Summary.


2. (U) S/CT Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism Amb. John
Dinger led the U.S. delegation, which included Chris Marut
(EAP/RSP),Karen Chandler (S/CT),and Brian Vaillancourt
(DHS/ICE Assistant Attach, Embassy Bangkok). The U.S.
presentation to the plenary on Document Integrity and
Security encouraged consideration of two key recommendations:
1) ARF members should contribute actively to INTERPOL's Lost
and Stolen Passport Database; and, 2) ARF should commit to
adopting the travel document standards established by the
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO),with a
commitment by ARF member states to implement the standards.


3. (U) Breakout sessions focused on Information Sharing
Policies and Practices, Combating Document Fraud, and Police
and Law Enforcement Cooperation. Based on discussion and
presentations in the breakout sessions, participants agreed
on recommendations to the Senior Officials which included
establishing national points of contact for information
exchange, actively participating in implementation of ICAO
standards, utilizing the INTERPOL lost and stolen passport
database, and strengthening capacity building by utilizing
the regional training centers such as the International Law
Enforcement Academy (ILEA) Bangkok, the Jakarta Center for
Law Enforcement Cooperation (JCLEC) and the Southeast Asia
Regional Center for Counterterrorism (SEARCCT).


4. (U) In the final plenary discussion of the draft
Chairman's Statement, the Indian delegation raised the issue
of institutionalizing the ISM, which currently meets annually
on an ad hoc basis, by transforming it into a standing
Inter-Sessional Group (ISG). The Thai co-chair commented
that ARF participants have mixed feelings about creating a
permanent ISG but noted that all participants currently agree
on the benefit of continuing to meet annually. Consequently,
the co-chair recommended that there was no need to raise the
issue further at this time by including it in the Chairman's
statement.


5. (U) Begin text of Draft Chairman's Statement:

(DRAFT) ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM (ARF) STATEMENT ON INFORMATION
SHARING AND INTELLIGENCE EXCHANGE AND DOCUMENT INTEGRITY AND
SECURITY IN ENHANCING COOPERATION TO COMBAT TERRORISM AND
OTHER TRANSNATIONAL CRIMES

The Chairman of the ASEAN Regional Forum, on behalf of the
ARF participating states and organization, issues the
following statement:

Recognizing that:

Terrorism and other transnational crimes, such as money
laundering, arms smuggling, people trafficking and smuggling,
the production of and trafficking in illicit drugs, sea
piracy, international economic crime, and cyber crime all
pose significant threats to the peace, order, and security of
our countries and our peoples;

Effective regional and global action requires a comprehensive
approach and unprecedented international cooperation built
upon agreed common norms, standards, institutions, and
international agreements;

Effective information and intelligence exchange among states
is an essential contribution to these efforts and that
information must be exchanged in a managed, responsible and
systematic manner, including appropriate protections for
sensitive and national security information obtained from
others and adequate respect for and protection of personal
privacy and other human rights;

The integrity and security of national identity, travel and
other documents is a vital contribution to ensuring the
security of our citizens and to identifying, apprehending and
prosecuting terrorist and other offenders.

Committed to:

Further improving effective cooperation among ARF
participants in these efforts.

The ARF notes the progress that has already been made in
strengthening cooperation and encourages ARF governments to
further enhance their efforts and commitment to combat
terrorism and transnational crime in a more comprehensive
manner on a voluntary basis, taking into account resources
and capacity of ARF participants and in accordance with their
respective national laws, in particular through efforts:

--to better exchange relevant information and intelligence in
a timely, effective and systematic manner on the basis of
bilateral, regional or other information-sharing agreements,
bearing in mind that such information and intelligence shall
not be further disclosed or disseminated without the official
authorization of the originator;
--to ensure that adequate national protections for sensitive
and other information obtained from foreign partners are in
place and effective;
--to ensure that the privacy and other rights of individuals
about whom personal information is exchanged between states
are respected and protected;
--to implement more secure and fraud-resistant documents
based upon internationally agreed standards and containing
appropriate biometric identifiers and to foster cooperation
on adoption of Machine Readable Travel Document (MRTD),with
biometrics if possible;
--to criminalize, investigate, and prosecute the possession
or creation of fraudulent national identity, travel and other
documents from any country;
--to actively contribute on an ongoing basis to the INTERPOL
database of lost and stolen travel documents, bearing in mind
other effective channels of cooperation that exist;
--to actively participate in the elaboration and
implementation of new international document standards
through ICAO and other international, regional and functional
organizations;
--to strengthen ARF law enforcement cooperation on the basis
of bilateral and multilateral agreements and through the use
of existing mechanisms, in particular INTERPOL and its I 24/7
communications network for the exchange of information;
--to further strengthen international capacity building
cooperation and assistance including through existing
regional centers such as, inter alia, the International law
Enforcement Academy (ILEA),the Jakarta Centre for Law
Enforcement Cooperation (JCLEC),and the Southeast Asia
Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT).

ARF participating states and organizations are to review the
progress of these and other efforts to further strengthen
cooperation against terrorism and transnational crime at the
13th ARF Ministerial Meeting in 2006.

End text.


6. (U) Amb. John Dinger has cleared this cable.
BOYCE