ASEAN SUMMIT/INDONESIA -- A MIXED REACTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 003239 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/PD, EAP/RSP NSC FOR E.PHU E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/23/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON ASEAN XC BM ID SUBJECT: ASEAN SUMMIT/INDONESIA -- A MIXED REACTION REF: A. SINGAPORE 2085 ¶B. SINGAPORE 2092 ¶C. SINGAPORE 2093 ¶D. JAKARTA 3201 JAKARTA 00003239 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Pol/C Joseph Legend Novak, reasons 1.4(b-d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Indonesian reaction to the recent ASEAN Summit meetings in Singapore was generally positive, particularly in regard to the Charter and the Economic Blueprint. Reaction--particularly from legislators and the press--regarding the GOI's handling of Burma has been largely critical, however. President Yudhoyono has called for Indonesia's ratification of the Charter within a year. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) POSITIVE ON CHARTER: Indonesian government reaction to the recent ASEAN Summit meetings was positive. Gudadi Sasongko in the Department of Foreign Affair's Directorate for East Asia and Pacific Affairs told DepPol/C that Indonesia considered the long-term interests represented by the Charter to be more important than the short-term situation in Burma (the GOI received domestic flak re its Burma positioning -- see below). The Charter was "a landmark agreement" that would provide a legal basis for ASEAN policies and actions, thereby moving ASEAN beyond mere consensus. It provided a number of important tools for the 21st century, including a Code of Honor that would serve as a standard for measuring Burma's progress on human rights and democracy, for example. ¶3. (C) ECONOMIC BLUEPRINT: GOI reaction on the economic side also was basically positive. Mahendra Siregar, Deputy Minister for Economic and Regional Cooperation at the Coordinating Ministry of Economic Affairs, told DepEcon/C that the GOI was generally pleased with the agreed on Economic Blueprint. It provided the structure for measuring current progress and a plan of action. It would improve the ASEAN dispute resolution mechanism, while the Charter would facilitate better decision-making on economic issues. The challenge for Indonesia would be national implementation of the Blueprint's agenda. As the nation with the largest ASEAN population and geographic expanse, Indonesia needed to be a leader and make the Blueprint work for the benefit of its people. ¶4. (C) NEXT STEP -- RATIFY CHARTER: President Yudhoyono urged Indonesia to ratify the ASEAN Charter within a year. Noting that the Charter provided inter alia for interparliamentary cooperation, Yudhoyono said the DPR (the national legislature) "understood" the importance of the Charter and his administration would carefully review the Charter with the DPR in the next several weeks and months. Presidential spokesman Dino Djalal said the Charter would make ASEAN "a better, more adaptive, dynamic organization with a faster pace." Theo Sambuaga, Chair of the DPR's Commission on Foreign and Security Affairs, told Pol/C that he thought the legislature would "ultimately support" the Charter, a document which he felt was positive "for regional integration." ¶5. (C) BURMA PROBLEMATIC: The government received criticism for its positioning re Burma. Sambuaga told Pol/C that Indonesia had not been "strong enough" on the issue of Burma. Sambuaga characterized a media photograph of President Yudhoyono shaking hands with Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein and smiling as "inappropriate," adding that Indonesia's failure to take a harder line made Indonesia look weak. Other legislators lashed out at the Indonesian government, including members of the Myanmar Caucus, which announced that "the government has failed the people of Myanmar by not pushing hard enough for democratic rights there." ¶6. (U) MEDIA MIXED: Press commentary generally welcomed the Charter as for the first time giving ASEAN a legal basis that makes regional integration possible. The English-language daily "Jakarta Post" said Indonesia had no choice but to ratify the Charter, despite what it characterized as its "watered-down" provisions. The paper questioned the JAKARTA 00003239 002.2 OF 002 Charter's "rigid" adherence to the principle of non-interference and noted that, even with the Charter, consensus still will remain the key ASEAN mode for decision-making. The national daily "Kompas" suggested in a positive comment that now ASEAN would by 2008 race to remove trans-border economic barriers. ¶7. (U) There was also criticism re Burma. "Kompas" said ASEAN's failure to take a firm stance on Burma had made the Charter's ratification and implementation more complicated and would be a brake on ASEAN's aspirations to emulate the European Union. The national daily "Media Indonesia" said the Charter's lofty ideals were contradicted by the willingness of ASEAN leaders to countenance Burma's behavior. The Jakarta Post published several articles blasting what they saw as ASEAN's and the Indonesian government's "weakness" in confronting the Burmese regime in a direct manner. HEFFERN