ADMIRAL FALLON'S CALLS ON THE SULTAN AND CROWN

C O N F I D E N T I A L BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN 000148 SINGAPORE FOR DAO E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/16/2026 TAGS: PREL MARR MOPS PGOV BX SUBJECT: ADMIRAL FALLON'S CALLS ON THE SULTAN AND CROWN PRINCE OF BRUNEI Classified By: Ambassador Emil Skodon, Reasons 1.4 (b and d) ¶1. (C) Visiting USPACOM Commander, Admiral William Fallon, accompanied by Ambassador Skodon and POLAD Huso, had an audience March 1 with the Sultan of Brunei, Haji Hossanal Bolkiah. Also in attendance was the Commander of the Brunei Armed Forces, Major General Halbi. The Sultan, dressed in the uniform of a five star Admiral, put on a good show for the television cameras and press photographers by gratefully accepting a native Hawaiian gift offered by the Admiral at the start of the meeting and listening closely to Admiral Fallon's explanation of its significance. ¶2. (C) After the cameras were ushered from the room, the Sultan began the discussion by asking the Admiral for his impressions of the peace process in Aceh. The Admiral said he was encouraged by what he had observed in Aceh and by his discussion with President Yudhoyono. The Aceh Monitoring Mission was effective in carrying out its role and the TNI was complying fully with direction from the President. The critical next step will be legislation enabling the GAM to function in a political party role. The Sultan agreed with the Admiral's analysis and said that Brunei would continue to provide monitors to the AMM and would support an extension of their mission. Regarding the terrorist threat, the Sultan also agreed with the Admiral's assessment that increased cooperation to interdict terrorist transit routes in the Sulawesi should be a key area of concern for the region. ¶3. (C) The Sultan expressed his strong view that the U.S. presence in and commitment to the region was important to security and stability. He characterized Brunei's relations with the U.S. as "very good." He cited with evident pride the recent acceptance of a Bruneian cadet into West Point as an example of what he hoped would be more training and education opportunities. He also recalled how much he had enjoyed his visits to U.S. aircraft carriers and welcomed continued U.S. ship visits. In response to the Admiral's query regarding his vision for Brunei's future engagement in the world, the Sultan suggested he would remain focused on relations with his neighbors and within ASEAN. Asked to comment on Iraq, the Sultan begged off, saying Brunei is "too far" from the Middle East. ¶4. (C) The Sultan asked about USG relations with China, U.S. energy policy, and the political situation in Manila. He listened closely to the points made by Admiral Fallon and appeared engaged, interested, and reasonably well informed regarding current events and U.S. policies. This contrasted with Crown Prince Billah, on whom Admiral Fallon paid a courtesy call just before his meeting with the Sultan. Although the Admiral tried repeatedly to engage the Crown Prince in a substantive discussion by posing open-ended questions, His Royal Highness was unwilling (or unable) to respond with much other than simple platitudes along the lines of "Brunei desires friendly relations with all countries." ¶5. (C) Comment: Following as it did after mention of Brunei's involvement in the Aceh and Mindanao monitoring missions, the Sultan's comment that Iraq was "too far" from Brunei was probably a polite way of saying "so don,t ask me to contribute troops to Iraq." As for Crown Prince Billah, although he has recently been making the rounds of government ministries for in-depth briefing sessions, including the Ministry of Defense, he clearly does not yet have the self-confidence (perhaps justifiably) to engage in substantive discussion of security issues with a senior western military officer. End Comment. ¶6. (U) Admiral Fallon has cleared this message. SKODON