Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06JAKARTA13453
2006-12-08 11:15:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Jakarta
Cable title:  

ROH, SBY INITIAL STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP IN JAKARTA

Tags:  PREL ETRD ENRG KS ID 
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VZCZCXRO0192
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #3453/01 3421115
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 081115Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2420
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS PRIORITY
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 3758
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 0206
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL PRIORITY 3821
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 0154
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON PRIORITY 1201
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0556
RHHJJPI/USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 013453 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/08/2016
TAGS: PREL ETRD ENRG KS ID
SUBJECT: ROH, SBY INITIAL STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP IN JAKARTA


Classified By: DCM John A. Heffern, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 013453

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/08/2016
TAGS: PREL ETRD ENRG KS ID
SUBJECT: ROH, SBY INITIAL STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP IN JAKARTA


Classified By: DCM John A. Heffern, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary. On December 4 in Jakarta, Indonesian
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and South Korean President
Roh Moo-Hyun initialed a comprehensive 32-point "Strategic
Partnership" encompassing a wide rage of areas for
cooperation. The Partnership serves as a baseline for the
development of bilateral relations, to be kept on track by
periodic meetings of a Ministerial-level Joint Commission and
an Eminent Persons Group. A contact at the South Korean
Embassy in Jakarta pinpointed cooperation in nuclear energy,
anti-corruption, and forestry as areas in which the two
countries had made important headway. He confirmed that the
ROK continues to welcome Indonesian diplomatic initiatives on
Korean Peninsula problems. End summary.

Strategic Partnership: A Broad Framework
--------------


2. (SBU) On December 4, South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun
and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signed a
bilateral "Strategic Partnership To Promote Friendship and
Cooperation" outlining cooperation on thirty-two different
areas ranging from UN issues to consular and legal affairs.
The agreement is similar to other such documents the GOI has
concluded with Asian neighbors in that it aims, in very
general terms, to deepen cooperation in a wide variety of
political, economic, and technical fields. It covers
programs already underway and targets areas for future
cooperation. In keeping with Indonesia's traditional
commitment to a strong ASEAN, the preamble to the Joint
Strategy describes the agreement as reinforcing existing
cooperation between ASEAN and South Korea in the
ASEAN-Plus-Three framework.


3. (C) On December 6, Economic Counselor Cha Young-cheol of
the South Korean Embassy described President Roh's visit as a
great success and said that the Strategic Partnership,
despite its breadth and vagueness in parts, had created a
useful baseline for keeping the overall bilateral
relationship on track via two mechanisms. First, the Joint
Commission for Bilateral Cooperation, headed by the two

Foreign Ministers and meeting biennially, would meet.
Second, an Eminent Persons Group on Indonesian-South Korean
relations would meet to keep the process on track between
Commission meetings.

Cooperation On Nuclear Power
--------------


4. (C) Cha singled out several components of the Strategic
Partnership as being of particular significance. The first
was a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation on the
development of nuclear power for civilian use. Cha said that
there had already been contacts between the South Korean and
Indonesian nuclear energy agencies, but the new agreement
would institutionalize this and lay the groundwork for longer
term cooperation. Indonesia had become a net importer of
oil, while South Korea generated forty percent of its own
energy from nuclear power plants.

Anti-Corruption Lessons To Share
--------------


5. (C) The two nations' respective anti-corruption agencies
also signed an important memorandum of understanding that
will facilitate exchange of information and expertise. Cha
claimed this was a GOI initiative and noted South Korea's
recent experiences were highly relevant to Indonesia's
nascent reform efforts. Cha cited a major seminar involving
the Korean Independent Commission Against Corruption (KICAC)
and its Indonesian counterpart, the Commission to Combat
Corruption (KPK) in Jakarta on December 4-5 at which both
Vice President Kalla and President Roh spoke. President Roh
had described the pervasive culture of corruption that had
arisen in Korea as its economy had rapidly expanded.
Recalling a situation that must have sounded uncomfortably
familiar to his Indonesian audience, Roh related that by the
1990s "shady ties between business and politics" had
"threatened the country's continued economic development" and
had ultimately contributed to South Korea's economic crisis
of the late 1990s. Roh went on to describe how
anti-corruption legislation and the creation of the Korea
Independent Commission Against Corruption had had a
significant positive impact on the Korean business climate.

JAKARTA 00013453 002 OF 002


The new MOU, Cha stressed, aimed to share this expertise with
Indonesia.


6. (SBU) Cha said the forestry provisions of the Strategic
Partnership were also important. Indonesia had already
agreed to make 500,000 hectares available to Korean companies
that will plant and harvest timber as a renewable resource.
Cha said that Korean survey teams were already active in
Kalimantan in connection with this project.

Indonesian Engagement of DPRK Welcome
--------------


9. (C) The Strategic Partnership notes "the constructive role
played by the RI in addressing the issues concerning Korean
Peninsula issues." During talks with President Roh,
Yudhoyono expressed the hope that a solution to the DPRK's
nuclear threat could be found in the context of the Six Party
framework. Counselor Cha said that the Indonesians'
non-confrontational approach to the DPRK was consistent with
the ROK's view, and that Seoul genuinely welcomed Indonesian
initiatives in this area. He recalled SBY's efforts last
year to host a meeting between the DPRK and ROK defense
ministers in Bali, a proposal which had ultimately been
rejected by the North Korean side.

Indonesia And ROK: A Perfect Fit
--------------


10. (C) Cha went on to characterize the bilateral
relationship in general as "excellent." Implicitly drawing a
contrast between South Korea and the other "Plus Three"
powers Japan and China, he pointed out that the Indonesian
experience with South Korea was free of historical baggage.
South Korea was a major investor in Indonesia and an
important market for Indonesian raw materials, yet no
Indonesian harbored fears of South Korean domination. There
were an estimated 30,000 South Koreans in Indonesia, making
it probably the largest single expatriate presence in the
country. South Koreans were a notable presence in the
apparel, light manufacturing and construction sectors in
Indonesia. Cha said that during the Indonesian monetary
crisis of 1997-98, few South Korean investors had pulled up
stakes; for this, they had won Indonesian gratitude. South
Korea, he said, planned on hosting President Yudhoyono in
Seoul in early 2007.
PASCOE