SULAWESI SEA MARITIME SURVEILLANCE AND MORE: INDONESIA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 002457 SIPDIS SIPDIS, SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: NA TAGS: PREL MARR PREL ID SUBJECT: SULAWESI SEA MARITIME SURVEILLANCE AND MORE: INDONESIA SECTION 1206 SUBMISSION REF: STATE 84130 JAKARTA 00002457 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (U) This message is Sensitive but Unclassified -- Please handle accordingly. ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: Mission submits for Department's review a package of $41.5 in military assistance to Indonesia for FY2008 under Section 1206 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to conduct counterterrorism operations in the Sulawesi Sea area. This package has been coordinated with other regional missions and approved by USPACOM and is consistent with reftel legislative requirements. USPACOM has prioritized the Indonesia projects and will authorize them as funds become available during the year. END SUMMARY. -------------- Justification -------------- ¶3. (SBU) While the maritime environment in Southeast Asia continues to improve through concerted application of US engagement and capacity building resources, terrorist groups are seeking to circumvent existing U.S. and partner nation efforts by exploiting alternate sea transit routes, ungoverned or under-governed harbors, inland waterways, and land borders. One primary area of such activity is the so-called tri-border area encompassing the Sulawesi and Sulu seas bordering Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines. ¶4. (SBU) Mission-proposed assistance for FY2008 would further increase partner nation capacity to monitor and control this area, particularly those parts of it which are most vulnerable to terrorist exploitation. This effort builds upon previous maritime security initiatives under Section 1206 and other programs. The essential strategy of the package is to provide domain awareness at strategic points, with the objective of restricting the transit routes and safe-havens available to terrorists, channeling their activities into more predictable, targetable patterns. ¶5. (SBU) Increased Maritime Situational Awareness will also facilitate Indonesian agencies' efforts in other important areas, including suppression of crime and illegal activities, responding to maritime disasters and accidents, conducting search and rescue operations and protecting national fisheries. The system allows sharing of data, as appropriate, to international partners, notably Malaysia, Philippines and JIATF Fusion Centers. ¶6. (SBU) The package also refines certain aspects of previously installed systems along other critical Indonesian waterways: the Strait of Malacca, the singularly most important commercial and strategic passage in the world, and the Maluku Sea, linking the southern Banda Sea with the Sulawesi Sea area. ¶7. (SBU) Mission is earmarking an appropriate portion of future FMF grants to Indonesia to maintain and sustain the current Indonesia 1206 proposals. -------------- Components of the Proposal -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Mission's FY08 1206 proposal consists of two coastal surveillance stations, surveillance aircraft, communications and information sharing, and de-manning coastal surveillance stations to address security concerns discussed in the background. (The following components are not listed in order of USPACOM prioritization.) a. Coastal Surveillance Stations (CSS): Extends the Integrated Maritime Surveillance System (IMSS) station chain begun in previous years by two stations to guard a newly identified terrorist transit route west of Sulawesi Island. Cost: $3.536 million. b. A C4I Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) Network: Connects the surveillance stations within the Sulawesi Sea area and links them with the network created with previous 1206 funding in the Malacca Strait and Sulawesi Sea area. The overall network will give the Indonesian East and West Fleet Command Centers, Headquarters and Regional Command Centers a low-cost imagery-sharing capability. Cost: $4.1 million. c. Automated Common Operational Picture (COP): The network will be equipped with software to track and correlate maritime targets, providing a single, integrated picture from multiple inputs. Cost: $2.969 million. JAKARTA 00002457 002.2 OF 002 d. Western Fleet Regional Command Center Trident Monitoring System: Provides a real-time imagery display and a command-and-control system, installed on a LAN shared by operator stations within the Indonesian Headquarters, Fleet Regional Command Center. Cost: $1.544 million. e. Four Schweizer RU-38B Aircraft: Extends the range of the coastal surveillance stations as needed, particularly into more remote locations and are broken out in two pairs of aircraft. Cost: $11.522 million a pair, $23.044 million total. f. De-Manning (automation) of coastal surveillance stations: Automates the data collection, thereby removing human error and increasing the volume of information gathered. Digitalization of information makes it easier to manage and allows for near-realtime dissemination and synchronization among the other local, inter-departmental and regional sources. This involves three series of stations: -- Malacca Strait: (10 stations) created with FY 2006 funding. Cost: $3.492 million. -- Sulawesi Sea (8 stations) created with FY 2007 1206 funding. Cost: $2.167 million. -- Maluku Sea (2 stations) created with FY 2008 1206 funding. Cost: .686 million. HUME