Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06SINGAPORE1829
2006-06-05 09:41:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Singapore
Cable title:  

A/S HILL'S VISIT TO SINGAPORE

Tags:  PGOV PREL ECON SN 
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O 050941Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0158
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 1672
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 3879
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 5381
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 1288
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SINGAPORE 001829 

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/05/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON SN
SUBJECT: A/S HILL'S VISIT TO SINGAPORE

Classified By: E/P Counselor Laurent Charbonnet. Reasons 1.4(b)(d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SINGAPORE 001829

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/05/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON SN
SUBJECT: A/S HILL'S VISIT TO SINGAPORE

Classified By: E/P Counselor Laurent Charbonnet. Reasons 1.4(b)(d)


1. (C) Summary: In his wide ranging discussions with
Singapore's senior leadership, EAP Assistant Secretary
Christopher R. Hill stressed the importance of Southeast Asia
for the United States and said we were not in a competition
with China for regional influence. Singapore wanted an open
and inclusive East Asian architecture and valued the
important stabilizing role the United States played in the
region, GOS leaders said. The difficult Japan-China
relationship worried Singapore; Prime Minister Lee Hsien
Loong said he hoped Japan could adopt a more "nuanced"
approach to its relations with China after Prime Minister
Koizumi was replaced. Singapore welcomed the U.S.-Malaysia
Free Trade Agreement talks and Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong
said Malaysia's success was vital to serve as a model for
moderate Muslims. PM Lee also said Indonesia was moving in
the right direction despite its many problems. Singapore
continues to be frustrated by Burma and its willingness to
snub ASEAN. End Summary.


2. (U) During his May 20-22 visit to Singapore, Assistant
Secretary Hill, accompanied by the Ambassador, met separately

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with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Senior Minister Goh Chok
Tong, Minister of Defence Teo Chee Hean, and MFA Permanent
Secretary Peter Ho. A/S Hill also delivered a policy address

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at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

U.S. Role in Southeast Asia and Regional Architecture
-------------- --------------


3. (SBU) A/S Hill told his interlocutors that Southeast Asia
was an important region for the United States. He noted that
Secretary Rice would be coming in July to the ASEAN Post

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Ministerial and ASEAN Regional Forum meetings in Kuala Lumpur
and that President Bush would be in Vietnam in November for
APEC. Minister Teo said the United States played an
important stabilizing role in the region, especially as the
power dynamics evolved with China and India's rise. A
perception existed, however, that events in Iraq, Iran, and
even in China had distracted the United States from Southeast
Asia, according to Perm Sec Ho. SM Goh said it would help if
more cabinet-level visitors came to Southeast Asia to signal
U.S. interest in the region. The United States shouldn't
give the impression that it left the region alone just
because there were no problems here.


4. (C) Singapore wanted an open and inclusive structure for
the evolving East Asian architecture, stated PM Lee. The GOS
didn't want to see rivalries develop across the Pacific or

between APEC and the East Asia Summit (EAS). With the
inclusion of Australia, India, and New Zealand, the EAS had
become larger than China had hoped, so now China was trying
to make it bigger still, commented PM Lee. He discounted
Russia's request to join the EAS, since Russia's "center of
mass" was in Europe.


5. (C) Singapore's view of ASEAN was different from some of
its partners in the organization, said Teo. Singapore
supported a strong ASEAN with open relations with outside
states. Some other ASEAN members also wanted a strong group,
but sought to exclude outsiders. This basic difference in
orientation was long-standing and could be seen in the
different approaches taken to issues such as maritime
security.

No U.S. Rivalry with China
--------------


6. (SBU) In his meetings and his speech, A/S Hill stated that
the United States was not engaged with China in a competition
for influence in Southeast Asia -- "more of China does not
equal less of the United States" in the region. In Southeast
Asia, each country sought a good relationship with China,
observed PM Lee. They did not want China to be their only
option, however.


7. (C) Turning to the cross-Strait situation, PM Lee said he
was still concerned that Taiwan would provoke trouble with
China; President Chen Shui-bian had shown his willingness to
do anything to win a temporary domestic political advantage.
If KMT Chairman and Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou became
president in 2008, he would be less unpredictable, but would
still have to maneuver carefully given Taiwan's political
scene.

SINGAPORE 00001829 002 OF 003



China and Japan
--------------


8. (C) Perm Sec Ho told A/S Hill the on-going problems
between China and Japan were worrying and Singapore didn't
want to see other Asian countries taking sides. PM Lee said
he hoped that after Prime Minister Koizumi was replaced,
Japan could adopt a more "nuanced" approach to its relations
with China. Japan earned little credit in Southeast Asia for
all it had done through trade, investment, and aid, he added.
Singapore wanted Japan to play a constructive role in East
Asia.

Six-Party Talks
--------------


9. (SBU) A/S Hill told PM Lee that last September's agreement
at the Six-Party Talks was a good deal for North Korea, but
it had refused to implement the agreement. North Korea
attempted to justify its failure to live up to the agreement
by blaming USG actions to curtail its illegal activities,
such as money laundering and counterfeiting U.S. currency.
PM Lee commented that the North Korean regime acted in
unpredictable ways, but wasn't "crazy." He added that the
younger generation in South Korea didn't know about the
Korean War and considered the United States as the real
problem, not North Korea. A/S Hill noted that we had to
convince them that the U.S.-South Korea alliance still made
sense for them.

Malaysia
--------------


10. (C) A/S Hill commented that U.S. ties with Malaysia were
moving forward and talks on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
would begin. It would be a real challenge to complete an FTA
with Malaysia, observed PM Lee. It was an important "sea
change," however, that Malaysia had sought one with the
United States. SM Goh observed that Prime Minister Badawi
was very different from his predecessor, Mahathir. While
Badawi was a "little weak politically," he was quietly
unwinding Mahathir's legacy, particularly the mega-projects.
He was also more of an "institution man," and less prone to
conduct his own foreign policy, commented an MFA official.
Singapore wanted Malaysia to succeed economically and
politically, to serve as a model for moderate Muslims, said
SM Goh. He was worried, however, by Badawi's willingness to
inject Islam into the political debate in the last election.
In Malaysia, there were still pockets of people who resented
Singapore's independence from Malaysia and Muslims who saw
Singapore as a "Chinese island in a sea of green."

Indonesia
--------------


11. (SBU) Indonesia was moving in the right direction,
observed PM Lee, although it faced considerable problems with
economic growth, terrorism, and "Islamization." He welcomed
renewed U.S.-Indonesia mil-mil ties as a "considerable
achievement." SM Goh said Indonesia had to attract more
foreign investment to promote economic growth. He noted that
Singapore was helping Indonesia do this, in part, by working
together to establish special economic zones in Indonesia.
He mentioned the possibility of linking the zones to the
U.S.-Singapore FTA.

Burma
--------------


12. (C) Expressing GOS frustration with Burma, Perm Sec Ho
said Burma's leadership showed what they thought of ASEAN
when they allowed UN Under Secretary General Ibrahim Gambari
to see Aung San Suu Kyi this month after denying ASEAN Envoy
and Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar's request to
see her during his March trip. An MFA official observed that
Burma probably sought to buy time with the UN by allowing the
Gambari visit.


13. (C) Burma was "sitting pretty," commented Ho. The regime
didn't mind external sanctions, welcomed isolation from the
outside world, and relied on China to give it "ultimate
political cover." At the ASEAN Foreign Minister's Retreat in
Bali in April, Singapore FM George Yeo told his counterparts
that Burma could be given more time to reform, but it

SINGAPORE 00001829 003 OF 003


shouldn't be allowed to hold back the rest of ASEAN, Ho said.
Some other foreign ministers didn't support this idea since
they thought it could lead to the break-up of ASEAN. Ho
downplayed that concern since Burma had never been that
active in ASEAN.
STANTON

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