IO PDAS WARLICK MEETS WITH INDONESIAN FOREIGN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 013579 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/22/2016 TAGS: PREL UNSC AORC PHUM ID SUBJECT: IO PDAS WARLICK MEETS WITH INDONESIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY OFFICIALS REF: A. JAKARTA 134497 (INDONESIA ON UNSC) ¶B. 05 JAKARTA 05568 (ASIAN AFRICAN SUMMIT) ¶C. JAKARTA 4237 (NO SURPRISES AT UBUD SUMMIT) Classified By: Stanley J. Harsha, Acting Political Counselor. Reason: 1.4 (b, d) ¶1. (SBU) Summary. In December 18 meetings with senior officials of the Indonesian Department of Foreign Affairs, Principal Deputy Secretary for International Affairs James B. Warlick reviewed our agenda for the upcoming session of the U.N. Security Council, to which Indonesia has been elected as a non-permanent member. He noted the UNSC's heavy agenda, and stressed that while we welcome independent voices, we seek practical outcomes and want to avoid rhetorical and ideological confrontations. The Indonesians said they looked forward to working with us, and noted their preference for consensus-based and "soft power" solutions to threats to international security whereever possible. The Indonesians indicated that they would continue to consult closely with fellow members of ASEAN and the Non-Aligned Movement, but noted that such consultation does not necessarily constitute an obstructive or anti-U.S. approach. They agreed with our emphasis on practical outcomes to UNSC deliberations. End summary. DEPLU Briefs P-5 On Approach to UNSC -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On December 18, Indonesia's Department of Foreign Affairs (DEPLU) convened a meeting of UNSC P-5 Ambassadors to discuss Indonesia's upcoming tenure on the U.N. Security Council. The U.S. was represented by Charge and visiting PDAS for International Organizations James B. Warlick. After welcoming the group, Director General for Multilateral Affairs Slamet Hidayat outlined Indonesia's approach to and priorities for its UNSC tenure. The GOI, he said prefers "soft power" solutions to problems before the Council. The UNSC must address root causes of terrorism, and recognizes that there is a link between human rights and international security. When the UNSC must impose sanctions, these must be as clear as possible, be implemented with timetables, and be precisely targeted towards perpetrators of threats to international security. Indonesia, Hidayat said, generally opposes the use of force, and seeks whereever possible "internal" solutions to threats to international security, not measures imposed externally. ¶3. (SBU) Hidayat said that he expected the UNSC to focus in the coming term on Palestine-Israel, Iraq, the DPRK, Lebanon, Iran, and Burma. He acknowledged that there were "residual" issues involving Indonesia and East Timor. The bilateral Commission on Truth and Friendship, he said, had done much to bring the two countries closer, and deserved the support of the international community. ¶4. (SBU) DEPLU's Director for International Security Desra Percaya noted that the GOI advocates a three-track approach to Iraq, consisting of an international conference; a reconciliation process among sectarian groups in Iraq; an international reconstruction and rehabilitation program; and introduction of a UN-sponsored peacekeeping force made up of forces from Muslim states. The GOI is concerned about the situation in Iraq, Percaya noted, because of continuing civilian casualties and Indonesian solidarity with a fellow Muslim nation. ¶5. (SBU) Hidayat said that DEPLU is assembling a working group on UNSC issues, and he proposed formation of a contact group in Jakarta, to consult on a monthly basis, consisting of DEPLU officials and diplomats from UNSC members. He said that in January, DEPLU would send senior officials to UNSC member capitals for further discussions of Security Council business. ¶6. (SBU) Charge welcomed these initiatives but noted that given the heavy demands of the UNSC agenda, they would not be sufficient. The GOI, he said, must be prepared to discuss UNSC issues more frequently. PDAS Warlick agreed, adding that he spent most of his time on UNSC matters and pointing out that its agenda was heavier than ever before. He welcomed the GOI's cooperative approach to the UNSC. NAM, ASEAN Solidarity Still Lodestars JAKARTA 00013579 002 OF 003 -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Later on December 18, PDAS Warlick and Charge met with Harry Puwanto, DEPLU's Director for North and Central American Affairs. Discussing the Indonesian Mission's plans to accommodate its extra UNSC workload, Puwanto said that in addition to creating the DEPLU task force in Jakarta, Hassan Kleib (a former Director for International Security Affairs and Political Counselor in Washington) had been sent to New York to serve as Deputy PermRep, and that the Mission would assign 4-5 diplomats to new UNSC-related positions. ¶8. (SBU) PDAS Warlick said that the UNSC faced a heavy agenda including issues that would leave little time for rhetoric and that we should therefore take a practical approach. PDAS Warlick said the UNSC would face tough issues early, including Iran, the DPRK, Darfur, Burma and the Mideast. Although these issues might be contentious, we should have early and frank consultations, and not let disagreements become bilateral problems. Puwanto agreed, saying that shared values and a commitment to peace were a good basis for cooperation. Indonesia's approach to multilateral affairs, he said, was marked by commitments to peace, social justice, and equality. He acknowledged that coordination with the NAM and ASEAN groupings was still important to the GOI, but these groups could not always reach a unified position. He said Indonesia's leading role in these groupings was an identity developed in the '50's and '60's, and that the GOI often pushes for consolidated NAM positions. ASEAN, however, was even more important to the GOI. Indonesia, Puwanto said, had hosted the 2005 Asian-African Commemorative Summit (ref B) in Jakarta to try to reinvigorate links between Asia and Africa. Previewing UNSC Agenda -------------- ¶9. (C) In a December 18 meeting, Director General for Multilateral Affairs Slamet Hidayat and Director for International Security Desra Percaya addressed the matter of UNSC committee work. Hidayat told PDAS Warlick that Indonesia was interested in chairing the committee on peacekeeping operations or one of the sanctions committees. In response to Hidayet's interest in addressing non-proliferation issues in the Council, PDAS Warlick said that the 1540 Committee (Non-Proliferation) was doing good work. We were also working with the French to address problems of listing and de-listing individuals and entities pursuant to sanctions resolutions. ¶10. (C) Turning to the upcoming Burma resolution, PDAS Warlick said the purpose of the UNSC resolution was to register the international community's recognition that the SPDC's policies were a threat to international peace and security, and to provide a platform for further engagement with Burma on the part of the UN. DG Hidayat responded that "some would say" that the SPDC did not present such a threat, but that the GOI acknowledges a link between human rights and international security and was therefore willing to take up the matter in the UNSC. Director Percaya recalled ASEAN's history of "constructive engagement" with the SPDC, and said that the GOI would consult closely with its fellow ASEAN members before addressing the problem in the Security Council. He recalled that at the Ubud ASEAN Ministerial last spring (ref C),Foreign Ministers had clearly told their Burmese counterpart that they were unsatisfied with progress on the "road map to democracy" and the national reconciliation process. He also recalled that President Yudhoyono had tried on several occasions to engage General Than Shwe, offering Indonesia's peaceful transition from the New Order as a paradigm for Burma. He cautioned that any UNSC resolution must not have the unhelpful effect of causing Burma to close itself off completely to the outside world. ¶11. (C) Turning to role of the NAM, PDAS Warlick stressed that the UNSC and the UNGA functioned differently. While we welcome independent voices on the UNSC, we believe a pragmatic rather than an ideological approach is most conducive to practical outcomes in a Security Council context. As an example of counter-productive behavior, PDAS Warlick noted outgoing UNSC member Qatar's repeated introduction of OIC-instigated Mideast resolutions designed solely to isolate the U.S. and compel a veto. Hidayat demurred somewhat, saying that many nations are frustrated JAKARTA 00013579 003 OF 003 with the Quartet's lack of progress on the peace process. He noted that Palestine is in turmoil, and "actions by Israel do not help us at home;" i.e., in terms of Indonesian public opinion. PDAS Warlick countered that the ceasefire in Gaza and the sovereignty of Lebanon represented some bright spots, and said the incoming Secretary General might be expected to re-engage the UN in the peace process. This warrants our support. Hidayat agreed, noting that we should "work with the existing building blocks." ¶12. (C) Speaking more generally about the NAM, Hidayat said that consultation among NAM members was not necessarily tantamount to obstruction. However, delegations were obliged to confer on the basis of positions developed by national leaders at the NAM summit. ¶13. (C) Turning to Darfur, PDAS Warlick said the UNSC faces the difficult task of implementing resolution 1706 on the re-hatting of the AU force. DG Hidayat replied that such a force could only be introduced into Sudan with the express consent of the Sudanese regime. PDAS Warlick also discussed the possibility of a peacekeeping operation in eastern Chad and the Central African Republic. ¶14. (C) Regarding the Human Rights Council, PDAS Warlick expressed disappointment with the body's continuation of some unhelpful practices of the old Human Rights Commission. Hidayat said the Council was still new, and it was premature to pass judgment. He said the Council had passed a good resolution on Darfur, and PDAS Warlick agreed. HEFFERN