SINGAPORE-AUSTRALIA MINISTERIAL HIGHLIGHTS DEPTH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CANBERRA 001471

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/ANP AND S/CT

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/30/2015
TAGS: PREL PTER ETRD EINV EAIR MARR MOPS ECPS AS SN
SUBJECT: SINGAPORE-AUSTRALIA MINISTERIAL HIGHLIGHTS DEPTH
OF RELATIONSHIP, COMMENTS ON EAST ASIAN ARCHITECTURE

REF: SINGAPORE 2580

Classified By: Political Counselor Woo Lee for reasons 1.4 b/d.


1. (C) Summary: Australian and Singaporean foreign,
defense, and trade ministers exchanged views on security
issues, counterterrorism, East Asian regional architecture,
defense cooperation, and economic integration during the
fifth biennial Singapore-Australia Joint Ministerial
Committee (SAJMC) meeting August 22-23. Both governments
expressed concern about Indonesia, southern Thailand, and the
Philippines as havens for terrorists. GOA and GOS ministers
believed the East Asia Summit was an important development,
but that it should not be allowed to eclipse the ARF and
APEC. The ministers signed an extension of the Shoalwater
Bay Training Area Agreement for continued access by Singapore
armed forces, but disagreed on the future of an aviation
access Open Skies Agreement. Singapore suggested improving
economic "triangulation" with the U.S. and both sides agreed
on the importance of a continued strong U.S. presence in the
Asia Pacific region. End Summary.


2. (C) The fifth Singapore-Australia Joint Ministerial
Committee (SAJMC) meeting, hosted by the GOA in Perth August
22-23, covered a wide range of security issues. Australian
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, Trade Minister Mark Vaile,
and Defense Minister Robert Hill hosted Singaporean Foreign
Minister George Yong-Boon Yeo, Trade and Industry Minister
Lim Hng Kiang, and Defense Minister Teo Chee Hean.
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) Malaysia,
Brunei, and Singapore Director Graeme Lade told us on August
29 that the GOA's relationship with Singapore formed one of
its two strongest defense links in the region, along with
Malaysia (under the Five Power Defense Arrangements).
Singapore and Australia cooperated closely on
counterterrorism and they used the ministerial to share
assessments of evolving terrorist and transnational crime
threats in the region. They also discussed their strong
bilateral economic relationship and highlighted the success
of the Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA).
Australian ministers accepted the Singapore government's
offer to host the sixth SAJMC in Singapore in 2007.

CT DISCUSSIONS
--------------

3. (C) Australia and Singapore discussed regional terrorism
challenges, including instability in Indonesia, southern
Thailand, and the Philippines. Downer and Yeo emphasized in
a joint press conference the importance of supporting
moderate Muslim leaders to combat extremism. They also
stressed the need to increase international cooperation on
maritime security to prevent terrorism and transnational
crime in the region. The ministers welcomed recent maritime
security initiatives such as the Trilateral Foreign
Ministers' Meeting of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore in
Batam and the Defense Chiefs' Meeting in Kuala Lumpur August
1-2. (Note: Asked why Australia did not have a
counterterrorism memorandum of understanding (CT MOU) with
Singapore, as it did with eleven other countries, Lade
responded that both parties felt existing cooperation was
good enough and that there was no need for an MOU, which was
usually a "symbolic" gesture, to formalize the relationship.
End Note.)


4. (C) According to Lade, the Singaporeans told the
Australian ministers that Indonesian President Yudhoyono was
committed to invigorating counterterrorism (CT) efforts, but
there were limitations for what he could achieve. One
problem was that the state intelligence agency BIN was not
very effective. FM Downer reiterated his concern about Abu
Bakar Ba'asyir's sentence reduction and stated that Yudhoyono
seemed "surprised himself" at the decision. GOS officials
were more skeptical, stating Yudhoyono must have known about
the decision beforehand.


5. (C) GOA and GOS officials ministers agreed that southern
Thailand was an area "wide open" for Islamic extremists and
lamented that the Philippines had "a long way to go" in
grappling with domestic terrorism. The Singaporeans also
highlighted Bangladesh and Cambodia as two countries to watch
more closely -- their local governments were ill-equipped to
combat terrorism and terrorists might turn to these locations
for safe haven.

EAS & ASEAN
--------------

6. (C) Australian ministers welcomed the Singapore
government's support for Australian participation in the
inaugural East Asia Summit (EAS) to be held in Kuala Lumpur
in December. According to Lade, GOA and GOS ministers agreed
that the EAS should be a cohesive regional body not dominated
by China or any other power. FM Downer stated in the SAJMC
August 23 press conference that Australia was "delighted" to
participate in the EAS and that the EAS had the potential to
oversee an "emerging East Asia community" and could be
"enormously important" to the region over the next ten or
twenty years. While both sides saw the EAS as a key
development in regional architecture, they recognized the
importance of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) as the
pre-eminent regional security forum and reaffirmed their
commitment to ensuring that the ARF continued to develop as
an effective and responsive mechanism for addressing regional
security challenges. Australia's hosting of APEC in 2007,
followed by Singapore's hosting in 2009, would also provide
an important opportunity for the two to work together to
strengthen and shape APEC as a key element of regional
architecture, the two sides agreed.

7. (C) Singaporean ministers thought it best for ASEAN
countries to maintain leadership of the EAS because ASEAN was
perceived as "less threatening." Singapore will chair ASEAN
in two years and said it would likely host the second EAS
during its chairmanship. Australia and Singapore also agreed
that it would be inappropriate to have Russia as an EAS
member, especially given that the U.S. and the EU were not
participants. The GOS asked Canberra to convey this view to
other ASEAN nations.

EAST ASIAN RELATIONS
--------------

8. (C) Lade told us that Singaporean ministers lamented
renewed nationalist sentiment in Japan that served to
heighten tension between Japan and its neighbors. The GOS
observed, however, that this development did have the
positive effect of moving Japan closer to the U.S. Lade said
GOS officials believed a certain amount of tension between
China and Japan was good to "keep (both) honest." Australian
and Singaporean ministers also agreed on the importance for
stability and prosperity of a continuing strong U.S. presence
in the region.

DEFENSE RELATIONSHIP: SHOALWATER BAY AGREEMENT EXTENDED
-------------- --------------

9. (U) GOS and GOA ministers signed an extension of the
Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA) Agreement through 2009.
The SWBTA allows 6,500 Singaporean troops to train annually
in the high-tech facility, providing valuable assistance to
the Singapore Armed Forces. (Note: Australian Defense
Forces also train Singaporean pilots at Pearce RAAF Base in
Western Australia.) Australia and Singapore reaffirmed the
importance and relevance of the Five Power Defense
Arrangements to regional security, and Singapore agreed to
host the Regional Special Forces Conference in 2005.

ECONOMIC RELATIONS POSITIVE BUT DIVERGENCE ON OPEN SKIES
-------------- --------------

10. (U) Australian and Singaporean ministers noted the
success of the Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement
(SAFTA) in promoting closer economic integration and were
pleased with the outcomes of the first SAFTA Ministerial
review in July 2004. Since the implementation of SAFTA in
July 2003, over 450 Australian companies have, with
Austrade's assistance, won business in Singapore to a total
exports sale value of A$319.7 million (US$239.8 million). Of
these companies, 208 were new exporters. In 2004, total
trade reached a new high of A$14.4 billion (US$10.8 billion),
up from A$12.4 billion (US$9.3 billion) in 2003. The next
Ministerial review is scheduled to take place in mid-2006.


11. (C) Singaporean officials also discussed the possibility
of "triangulation" with Australia and the U.S., Lade said, to
obtain further trade and investment benefits from neighboring
countries. Lade noted that Singapore might approach the U.S.
on its own to propose an idea for deeper economic cooperation
among the three countries.


12. (C) GOA and GOS officials encountered a stumbling block
on the issue of an Open Skies Air Services Agreement. Lade
told us that Singapore wanted access to Australia's
trans-Pacific route as well as domestic routes, but it was
unlikely to achieve this goal in the near future. The GOA
said it could not make a commitment on the Open Skies
Agreement until its major aviation review was complete, which
could take up to several additional months. The Singaporean
Transport Minister, Yeo Cheow Tong, visited Australia prior
to the SAJMC, more likely intending to put pressure on the
Australians to conclude an Open Skies Agreement than to visit
Australia's new Transport Minister as he had claimed,
according to Lade. Since Singapore sees its role as a
transportation hub as critical to its economic growth, Open
Skies remained the biggest item of contention in the
bilateral relationship, Lade said. With the Australian
telecommunications industry being similarly blocked by the
Singaporean government, there was likely to be much more
discussion and compromise before either issues could move
forward.

STANTON