JAKARTA EMBARRASSED BY "UNPLANNED" CHEN STOPOVER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 006248

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/17/2016
TAGS: PREL CH TW ID
SUBJECT: JAKARTA EMBARRASSED BY "UNPLANNED" CHEN STOPOVER


JAKARTA 00006248 001.9 OF 002


Classified By: B. Lynn Pascoe, Ambassador. Reason: 1.4 (b, d)


1. (C/NF) Summary. Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian's May
11-12 "refueling stopover" on the Indonesian island of Batam
turned into an overnight visit that included a tour of an
industrial park and a dinner hosted by the Taiwanese business
community with the provincial governor in attendance. The
PRC, of course, issued a strong protest. The incident shows
every sign of being orchestrated by Indonesian and Taiwanese
business interests, and was possibly condoned by Vice
President Jusuf Kalla. After initial disarray and following
protests by the Chinese, the GOI has restated its adherence
to the One China policy. President Yudhoyono was angered by
the event, for which he apparently received no forwarning.
The PRC representative here appears to be taking the incident
in stride. End summary.


2. (SBU) On the evening of Thursday, May 11, the plane
carrying Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian and his party
from a visit to Libya requested permission to stop for
refueling in Batam. (Batam, an Indonesian island off the
coast of Sumatra, is the site of a special economic
development zone that has been successful due to special
arrangements with neighboring Singapore.) According
Indonesia's Ambassador to China Sudrajat, the Ministry of
Transportation granted permission for a two-hour layover and
requested the party to depart by midnight. However, the
crew, saying they were required to rest before continuing,
then asked permission to overnight.


3. (C/NF) A contact at the Batam Development Agency told
Consulate Medan that President Chen was met by
representatives of the Taiwanese business community, who
hosted him at a dinner and gave him a tour of Batam Indo
Industrial Park. This welcome was not spontaneous; Taiwan is
a major investor in Batam's light industry and manufacturing
sector. Our contact hinted that the GOI was also aware of
Chen's activities. In a May 13 conversation with the
Ambassador, Presidential adviser Dino Patti Djalal said
President Yudhoyono was furious and blamed "Kalla's boys,"
i.e., businessmen acting with the blessing of the Indonesian
Vice President. Riau Islands Province Governor Ismeth
Abdullah was present at the dinner, and President Chen was
reported to have met with a member of the Vice President's
Staff and several members of Indonesia's House of
Representatives.


4. (SBU) News of Chen's visit caused an uproar in Jakarta.
Coordinating Minister for Security, Legal, and Political
Affairs Widodo initially said that the GOI had not authorized
the stopover, and that President Yudhoyono had ordered an
inquiry. Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda, however, seemed
to contradict him at first by saying that the GOI had in fact
approved the stop. At the regular weekly Department of
Foreign Affairs Press Briefing on Friday, May 13, spokesman
Yuri Thamrin clarified the issue, saying that Chen's plane
had been granted permission to refuel only. Thamrin said the
GOI had been "dismayed" that the aircraft had overstayed this
authorization and that "some activities of the passengers
were a violation of the technical landing permission."
Thamrin added that the Taiwanese had not had "formal contact"
with the GOI during the visit and reaffirmed that Indonesia
still adhered to a One China policy. Coordinating Minister
Widodo said that President Yudhoyono had reprimanded Governor
Abdullah for his role in the affair.


5. (C/NF) Ambassador Sudrajat told the press that the PRC had
protested the incident. Chinese Ambassador Lan Lijun
confirmed this to Ambassador on May 16, but he did not
suggest there would be any longer-term disruption in the
PRC's relations with Indonesia. A contact at the Taipei
Economic and Trade Office, Taiwan's official representation
in Jakarta, flatly refused to discuss the affair with us,
saying it was "too sensitive," in part perhaps of allegations
that Taiwanese interests bribed local authorities to
facilitate the stopover.


6. (C/NF) Comment. Although it is not clear what good the
episode has done them, the Taiwanese appear to have
successfully exploited the disorganization of the Indonesian
central bureaucracy and, very possibly, the notorious
venality of local officials. President Chen's stopover
provides an object lesson in how easily the GOI's rickety
national security apparatus is circumvented by special

JAKARTA 00006248 002 OF 002


interests. There was clearly no effort by the GOI to boost
Taiwan at China's expense, and the PRC seems to understand
the holes in the Indonesian system as well as we do. End
comment.
PASCOE