EXBS: SE ASIA REGIONAL ADVISOR MONTHLY REPORTING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KUALA LUMPUR 000994 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR ISN/ECC PVANSON, ACHURCH, KCROUCH, ROWEN DEPT FOR ISN/ECC/AMT LSPRINGER DEPT FOR EAP/RSP WCOMLEY, NDEAN, TFORSYTH, AFORSBERG CBP/INA FOR RWATT USDOE/NNSA FOR TPERRY DOC FOR PETERSEN-BEARD JAKARTA FOR MYAJNIK MANILA FOR VSANTOS SINGAPORE FOR MCLAUSEN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETTC MNUC PARM PREL KSTC KNNP MY SUBJECT: EXBS: SE ASIA REGIONAL ADVISOR MONTHLY REPORTING CABLE APRIL AND MAY 2007 ¶I. SUMMARY A Targeting and Risk Management course was conducted in Malaysia. EXBS Action Officer Rachel Owen visited Malaysia and Indonesia. A Model Ports Initiative survey was conducted in the Philippines in collaboration with Australian and Japanese government officials. An international Seaport Interdiction Training program was conducted in Indonesia. A bio- and chemical-security discussion took place between US Government and Government of Malaysia officials and a legal workshop was conducted in Malaysia intended to support Malaysia's drafting of an export control law. END SUMMARY II. COMPLETED ACTIONS FOR THE REPORTING PERIOD ¶A. SITE ASSESSMENTS AND MEETINGS DURING REPORTING PERIOD ¶1. On April 10 the Advisor met with Dr. Lauren Bain, Political Officer from the Australian High Commission, and Embassy POLOFF to discuss our respective ongoing export control program efforts in Malaysia. Ms. Bain informed us of her government's proposed regional MANPADS seminar slated for June 07-08 in conjunction with the USG and Government of Singapore (GOS). Ms. Bain indicated that she had been informed that the Government of Australia would issue invitations to the Government of Malaysia (GOM),but did not yet have any feedback from the GOM as to whether or not they would send representatives to the seminar. EXBS is partially funding the MANPADS seminar. ¶2. EXBS Action Officer Rachel Owen visited Kuala Lumpur April 15-21 to meet with the Advisor and GOM officials involved in their export control program, and sit in on the Targeting and Risk Management (TRM) course Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel conducted. Ms. Owen then traveled to Indonesia to meet with and brief Embassy Jakarta and Government of Indonesia (GOI) officials on the EXBS program and to discuss proposed training initiatives. ¶3. On April 18 the Advisor participated in a discussion held in Embassy KL with Australian and Japanese government officials as part of the ongoing tri-lateral initiative in the areas of counter-terrorism and export controls. The meeting, chaired by the US Deputy Chief of Mission and attended by his Japanese and Australian counterparts, included presentations on the various capacity-building training programs conducted in Malaysia by the three countries. The Advisor briefed the group on the status of USG export control efforts in Malaysia and the region. ¶4. The Advisor traveled to Jakarta from April 30 to May 02 to coordinate with ECONOFF Meeta Yajnik, Embassy Jakarta's point of contact for export controls, and to meet with GOI officials involved in their export control program. The Advisor met with Israhadi B.P., Head of the Sub-Directorate for Navigation, Department of Transportation; Ahmad Syafri, Deputy Director for Export and Import, Department of Trade; Erlangga Mantik, Director General of Customs and Excise; and Kamil Sjoeib, Director of International Affairs, Department of Customs. The meetings with GOI officials set up by Ms. Yajnik enabled us to make preparations for the initial EXBS program training to be delivered in-country, an ISIT, that was conducted May 21-25 by CBP personnel. ¶5. On May 08 the Advisor met with Embassy Manila officials to brief them on proposed EXBS activities in the Philippines. The Advisor also participated in meetings set up by Ms. Valerie Santos of Embassy Manila with host government officials involved in export controls and discussed the upcoming Senior Policy Exchange scheduled for June 04-08. The Philippine officials we met with expressed interest in developing closer ties with the USG in export control cooperation. KUALA LUMP 00000994 002.3 OF 003 ¶6. During the period of May 09-11 the Advisor participated in a USG co-sponsored Model Ports Initiative survey conducted in the southern Philippines in conjunction with Australian and Japanese officials. Representatives from several USG agencies based in Embassy Manila and from Washington collaborated with their Australian and Japanese counterparts to review existing maritime security conditions at the ports of General Santos City and Davao on the island of Mindanao and provide recommendations for improving the situation. The survey will help form the basis for a cooperative effort by the US, Australian, and Japanese governments to enhance the capabilities of the Philippines government to stem the flow of illegal goods and people into and out of their country. ¶7. On May 24 the Advisor, along with ECONOFF, accompanied Dr. Nancy Jackson, of Sandia National Laboratories, and Dr. Gregory Stewart, of State Department's ISN/CTR, to a meeting with GOM officials to discuss chemical security issues. Present at the meeting were representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) CWC Authority and the Multilateral Political Division, Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Malaysian Chemical Institute, Science and Technology Research Institute for Defense, and the Southeast Asia Regional Center for Counter-Terrorism. Preparations for a regional chemical industry forum planned for August in Kuala Lumpur were discussed along with general chemical security concerns. Following the meeting with the MFA, Drs. Jackson and Stewart provided a debrief to Embassy KL personnel of their meetings with GOM officials. ¶B. TRAINING CONDUCTED DURING REPORTING PERIOD ¶1. Customs and Border Protection personnel delivered a Targeting and Risk Management training course to twenty-one GOM officials. Participating in the training were representatives from Royal Malaysian Customs, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (Coast Guard),Port Authority, Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB),and the Ministry of International Trade and Industry. ¶2. A group of nineteen GOI officials participated in an International Seaport Interdiction Training conducted by CBP personnel in Jakarta May 21-25. GOI agencies represented included Department of Customs, Ministry of Transportation, Immigration, Port Security Police, and Ministry of Trade. This training represents the initial EXBS-related training program to be conducted in Indonesia and was well received by the GOI participants. ¶3. A legal workshop, conducted by the University of Georgia (UGA) under a grant from EXBS and with the participation of the Department of Commerce, was held in Kuala Lumpur May 28-30. Fourteen lawyers and legal advisors from the Malaysian Attorney General's Chambers, MFA, Ministry of Internal Security, Ministry of Health, Royal Malaysian Customs, and the AELB were given an overview of comprehensive export control programs, along with detailed presentations on the various components of effective export control legislation. In addition to the fourteen "participants", as many as twenty additional GOM observers sat in on the three-day workshop. Discussions of export control programs in the US, United Kingdom, South Korea, Singapore, and other countries evolved into lengthy Q&A sessions where the Malaysian participants made use of the experience of the US facilitators. With recent developments in the status of Malaysia's own comprehensive export control legislation, the workshop came at an opportune time to share valuable insights and lessons learned with the GOM's legal professionals likely to be involved in the drafting of their law. The UGA team and Commerce did a great job with the workshop and have opened the door to KUALA LUMP 00000994 003 OF 003 further USG participation as Malaysia begins the process to draft new legislation. ¶4. Commodities Identification Training (CIT) planned for Malaysia the week of June 04-07 had to be canceled at the last minute due to an administrative mix-up on the part of the GOM. Alternate dates for the training are being considered. ¶C. EQUIPMENT DELIVERED DURING REPORTING PERIOD NONE ¶D. IMMINENT TRAINING OR EQUIPMENT STATUS UPDATE ¶1. A Senior Policy Exchange with Philippine officials is scheduled for June 04-08 in Washington, DC. ¶2. A regional MANPADS seminar, in collaboration with Australia and Singapore, is scheduled for June 07-08 in Singapore. ¶3. Proliferation Awareness Training is planned for June 27-28 in the Philippines. ¶E. SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS IN EXPORT CONTROLS, NONPROLIFERATION, OR RELATED BORDER SECURITY Officials from Malaysia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated in May that their draft of comprehensive export control legislation was being scrapped as unworkable; the draft has been bogged down in inter-agency review for more than ten months, with no end in sight. The legal workshop conducted in Kuala Lumpur May 28-30 was a definite success and may provide the needed background and overview of export control law for Malaysian lawmakers to move forward with a new or revised version of their export control legislation in the upcoming months. III. RED FLAG ISSUES NONE IV. Questions and comments can be directed to EXBS Program Advisor Richard Moody, telephone 6-03-2168-4861, fax 6-03-2168-5165, cell phone 6-017-213-1965, and email moodyrl@state.gov. SHEAR