Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06JAKARTA3898
2006-03-24 15:46:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Jakarta
Cable title:  

MEETINGS WITH EAST KALIMANTAN SECURITY OFFICIALS

Tags:  PTER ASEC ID 
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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1739
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS PRIORITY
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 9264
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON PRIORITY 0725
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 JAKARTA 003898 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/24/2016
TAGS: PTER ASEC ID
SUBJECT: MEETINGS WITH EAST KALIMANTAN SECURITY OFFICIALS

REF: A. 2006 JAKARTA 1454 BUILDING AN SEA CT STRATEGY

B. 2005 JAKARTA 16218 JOINT PROPOSAL FOR PROMOTING
SEA CT

C. 2003 JAKARTA 00642 THE CASE AGAINST ABU BAKAR
BA'ASYIR

Classified By: David R. Willis for Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 JAKARTA 003898

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/24/2016
TAGS: PTER ASEC ID
SUBJECT: MEETINGS WITH EAST KALIMANTAN SECURITY OFFICIALS

REF: A. 2006 JAKARTA 1454 BUILDING AN SEA CT STRATEGY

B. 2005 JAKARTA 16218 JOINT PROPOSAL FOR PROMOTING
SEA CT

C. 2003 JAKARTA 00642 THE CASE AGAINST ABU BAKAR
BA'ASYIR

Classified By: David R. Willis for Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).


1. (C) Summary. Our March 1-5 visit to East Kalimantan
province found security officials aware of the terrorist
transit threat along the Sabah border, but meager resources
prevented officials from implementing effective security
measures. Lack of GOI investment in securing this area --
despite a longstanding transit problem -- contrasts with
official acknowledgement at the Presidential level of the
presence of a terror threat in the region. Local officials
expressed interest in increasing their border control
capacities and identified several existing efforts to improve
interagency and cross-border cooperation. Our visit came
ahead of a U.S. sponsored 15-day bilateral maritime
counterterrorism exercise in the Sulawesi Sea, arranged by
the Embassy's Office of Defense Cooperation and the Special
Operations Command - Pacific (SOCPAC). Local police and
immigration officials welcomed the exercise and showed great
interest in future training that incorporated both military
and non-military security forces. End Summary.


2. (C) East Kalimantan, Indonesia's second largest province,
covers roughly 80,000 square miles, bordering the Malaysian
states of Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Borneo. Its
densely-forested inland borders are remote and largely
inaccessible, but terrorist and criminal networks have
exploited its loosely-controlled northeastern coastal border
with Sabah. The Sulawesi Sea region was identified in
January by regional Chiefs of Mission as an area of
particular concern. (Ref A, B)

Terror Threat Mostly a Transit Issue, For Now
-------------- -


3. (SBU) The local police and immigration officials with whom
we met, particularly those closest to the border,
acknowledged both the seriousness and the regional nature of
the security threats emanating from this border area. Over
the last few months, police and immigration officials have
arrested several Indonesians arriving via ferry from Tawau,

Sabah, attempting to smuggle large quantities of detonators,
caps, and detonator cord. Though investigators have not
identified a clear terrorist connection, the incidents
highlight the urgent need for increased land and maritime
border controls in the Sulawesi Sea area.


4. (SBU) At East Kalimantan police headquarters in
Balikpapan, Operational Bureau Chief N. Sutisna told us that
terrorism had thus far remained a border transit issue for
them and that there was little indication of radical or
terrorist activity among their own residents, referring to
the arrests of terrorists connected to the 2002 Bali bombing
as an anomaly (Ref C). (Note: In January 2003, Indonesian
police arrested Ali Imron, Mubarok, and 12 others on remote
Berukang Island, off the coast of East Kalimantan, where they
had fled to avoid capture after the 2002 Bali attacks. Both
Ali Imron and Mubarok were later given life sentences for
their involvement in the 2002 attacks.)


5. (SBU) Although they have not seen signs of terrorist
targeting in East Kalimantan, Sutisna said provincial police
feared terrorists may eventually look to disrupt the
province's economically-important natural resource extraction
joint ventures with foreign companies. Most of these
operations are located in the southern half of the province,
with relatively little economic activity, aside from illegal
logging, in the northern border area.

Few Resources Available to Boost Border Security
-------------- ---


6. (SBU) Throughout our visit, police officials expressed
eagerness to better monitor and combat terrorist and criminal
transit of their areas, but said their scant resources were
insufficient to effectively secure the border area. Sutisna
told us the majority of the province's 8,000 police officers
were focused on criminal cases in the main population
centers, adding that increased narcotics usage among the 2.5
million residents had caused a jump in theft and violent

JAKARTA 00003898 002 OF 004


crime. In separate meetings, police chiefs in the northern
districts of Tarakan and Nunukan confirmed increased criminal
case loads and told us they were barely equipped to handle
routine duties. Although Maritime Police units, which report
to provincial police headquarters in Balikpapan, were posted
in both Tarakan and Nunukan, the police chiefs there told us
the small maritime units offered little overall assistance in
patrolling the official piers, the numerous private piers,
and the hundreds of informal coastal access points used by
fisherman and other locals.


7. (SBU) Just two-and-a-half hours by boat from the Sabah
border, the island of Tarakan (pop. 170,000) hosts two weekly
flights and daily ferries from Tawau, as well as national
passenger ships (PELNI) and domestic flights from elsewhere
in the archipelago that bring a steady transit population.
District Police Chief Hariyanto expressed concern that a
province of North Kalimantan may be created in 2007 with
Tarakan as its capital, prompting an influx of residents that
would further stretch the resources of his 200 police
officers. In our discussion, Hariyanto identified the
following Tarakan police assets:

- 2 patrol cars
- 2 small covered pick-ups (approx. six person capacity)
- 6 small motorcycles (approx. 100 cc each)
- 2 small boats (50 hp and 75 hp; approx. 10-15 years old)
- 1 small boat (50 hp) operated by a Maritime Police unit


8. (SBU) In Nunukan, directly adjacent to the Malaysian
border, Police Chief Tajudin told us his district stretched
from Sebatik Island in the East to the densely forested and
sparsely populated Sarawak border to the West. Nunukan's two
official piers host daily Tawau ferries; though Tajudin
admitted the border could be crossed with relative ease using
the many maritime channels. He said he focused his 350
officers on the islands of Nunukan (pop. 90,000) and Sebatik
(pop. 20,000). INP maintains on the mainland a 28-person
office in Sebuku and a 15-person office in Lumbis to handle
illegal logging issues along the land border with Sabah.
During our visit, we observed little economic development on
Nunukan Island, and police officials confirmed that hundreds
of the island's residents commuted to work in Tawau. While
at the district police office, the Nunukan police
intelligence officer showed us the caps and detonator cord
they recently had confiscated from two passengers arriving
via the Tawau ferry. The caps were in small green boxes,
wrapped in plastic, and taped together uniformly into bricks.
The cord was red and in an 18-20 inch diameter bundle in a
large sport-style duffel bag. In our discussion, Tajudin
identified the following Nunukan police assets:

- 3 patrol cars (2 on Nunukan, 1 on Sebatik)
- 20 small motorcycles (approx. 100 cc each)
- 1 small boat (40 hp; approx. 10-15 years old)
- 1 small boat (200 hp) operated by a Maritime Police unit
- 1 small boat (80 hp; circa 1985) operated by Immigration


9. (SBU) In separate meetings, Tarakan's Acting Immigration
Chief Adnan Badwi and Nunukan Immigration Chief Ade Dachlan
echoed the eagerness of the police to improve security at the
official ports and to monitor other access points, but said
the 30 immigration officers in Tarakan and the 70 immigration
officers in Nunukan lacked the equipment. Badwi, Dachlan,
and Balikpapan Immigration Chief Tony Sinaga each told us
that residents within 20-30 kilometers of the
Indonesia-Malaysia border were allowed to cross the border
using a special resident's pass (Pas Lintas Batas),which
allowed them access to the same 20-30 kilometer area on the
opposite side of the border. They acknowledged these passes
were easily forged and difficult to authenticate. Passports
were required for all others seeking to cross the border.
Both Badwi and Dachlan said they maintained immigration posts
at the Tawau ferry piers, though they did not have any
security equipment, such as x-ray machines, metal detectors,
or hand-held magnetometers, to check passengers and baggage.
Dachlan told us he had redesigned the Tawau ferry arrival
point to channel passengers to immigration, but said he
lacked the support to maintain the perimeter, and passengers
were frequently able to avert the checkpoint. Dachlan also
said he met in September 2005 with local Indonesian military
leaders and Nunukan police to discuss the problem and watch
video footage taken by Dachlan of the pier and other
problematic areas. A second meeting was expected in late
March or April. Badwi sounded a more optimistic tone in

JAKARTA 00003898 003 OF 004


Tarakan, where he told us biometric passport equipment from
Jakarta was being installed and that his immigration post at
the ferry pier actively used a laptop with a photo-capable
immigration database. He said the database -- updated with
watch list information from Jakarta -- was compared against
passenger lists and immigration forms received from the Tawau
ferries. During visits to Tarakan and Nunukan piers, we
observed open, unguarded, or lightly guarded, gates and no
checkpoints or security equipment.

Existing Cross-border Security Cooperation
--------------


10. (C) In response to questions about cross-border security
cooperation, we were told that regulatory differences between
Malaysia and Indonesia on issues like illegal logging
inhibited better cooperation, but officials went on to reveal
a surprising number of existing efforts to boost cross-border
interaction. Police officials also told us that a January
letter from INP Chief Sutanto specifically urged provincial
and district police chiefs to increase cooperation with their
Malaysian counterparts. Officials in Nunukan said they knew
the names and phone numbers of their counterparts across the
border, though both sides prefer using the official local
liaison officer located in both Tarakan and Nunukan. As an
example of successful cooperation, the officials told us the
arrests in recent months of explosives smugglers on the Tawau
ferry resulted from Malaysian information that was
communicated directly to Nunukan officials. Local officials
identified several joint programs:

- Annual Bilateral Exercise: Indonesian National Police and
the Royal Malaysian Police meet annually for the longstanding
"Aman Malindo" joint police exercise. The 24th exercise was
held in December 2005 in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, and
officials said one of the next exercises would likely be held
in Nunukan.

- Biannual Provincial Coordination: East Kalimantan
Provincial Police (POLDA KALTIM) and Sabah's Royal Malaysian
Police (PDRM Kontinjen Sabah) held a biannual coordination
meeting in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, on December 1-4, 2005.
Officials said meetings in 2006 are planned for June/July in
Balikpapan, and for October/November in Kota Kinabalu.

- Monthly Provincial Level Joint Patrols: East Kalimantan
Provincial Police (POLDA KALTIM) and Sabah's Royal Malaysian
Police (PDRM Kontinjen Sabah and Briged Sabah Malaysia) join
with maritime police elements to jointly patrol the land and
maritime border on and around Sebatik Island. Officials said
the joint patrol takes place on the 15th of every month, and
has been in place since approximately 2000.

- Aperiodic Provincial Coordination: East Kalimantan and
North Sulawesi provincial police met with their Mindanao,
Philippine counterparts in Manado in January 2006.
Additional meetings may have been previously held in, or are
planned for, Davao City and/or General Santos City,
Philippines.

- Quarterly Sub-provincial Coordination: Tarakan and Nunukan
police district leaders meet once every three months with
their counterparts from Tawau and Keningau to discuss
coordination. Venue alternates.

- Aperiodic Subprovincial Coordination: Immigration chiefs
from Nunukan and Tarakan meet informally with their
counterparts in Tawau several times per year. Venue
alternates.

Indonesian Navy Welcomes Bilateral CT Exercises
-------------- --


11. (SBU) Our visit came ahead of a U.S.-sponsored 15-day
bilateral maritime counterterrorism exercise in the Sulawesi
Sea, arranged by the Embassy's Office of Defense Cooperation
and the Special Operations Command - Pacific (SOCPAC). The
exercise, involving a U.S. Navy MK V Special Operations
Detachment and the Indonesian Navy CT Unit (KOPASKA),
included both classroom and field components conducted in
Tarakan and in Bitung, North Sulawesi province. Openness by
Indonesian military leaders in Jakarta to future joint
training in the Sulawesi Sea area was echoed in our meetings
with the head of the Indonesian Navy detachment in Tarakan,
Lieutenant Colonel Ibnu Parna. Ibnu genuinely seemed to

JAKARTA 00003898 004 OF 004


welcome the interaction with U.S. forces and directed his
officers to work closely with the U.S. Navy advance team to
prepare classroom facilities and the Tarakan pier for the
arrival of the U.S. Navy Mark V boats from the southern
Philippines. In our meetings, local police and immigration
officials also welcomed the mil-mil exercise and expressed
great interest in possible future training that incorporated
both military and non-military security forces.


12. (SBU) Although he generally appeared less conversant than
local law enforcement officials on border security issues,
Ibnu told us that one of the largest transit threats was
posed by 'illegals' hitching rides across the border with
illegal fisherman and loggers. His area of responsibility
includes the coastal regencies of Tarakan, Malinao, Bulungan,
and Berau. He said he currently has seven patrol boats to
cover a coastline approximately 250 miles long and 8 miles
wide that includes an estimated 25 official ports and
hundreds of private piers and coastal access points. When
asked about cooperation with his Malaysian counterparts, Ibnu
said he was not aware of any efforts along the East
Kalimantan-Sabah maritime area.

Comment
--------------


13. (C) East Kalimantan security officials made all the right
noises regarding the border security threat and seemed
genuinely interested in improving their coverage if the
appropriate equipment and training were available. The still
poorly-regulated coastal border with Sabah, despite a
decades-old terrorist and criminal transit problem, has been
mentioned several times by President Yudhoyono in meetings
with USG visitors. He has cited East Kalimantan as a nexus
needing joint attention with the Philippines and Malaysia.
The current lack of resources to control traffic effectively
at the province's official ports invites terrorist and
criminal activity, as seen in the use of public ferries for
cross-border explosives smuggling. Monitoring the hundreds
of informal coastal access points near the border presents an
even greater challenge. Our visit confirmed the utility of
the U.S.-sponsored border control needs analysis suggested by
Chiefs of Mission at the January CT meeting in Jakarta. In
contrast to the border transit problem, we found the general
atmosphere in both Tarakan and Nunukan to be quiet and
subdued. Extensive interaction during our visit with local
residents was friendly and non-threatening.
PASCOE