REGIONAL ENDORSEMENT FOR FY08 1206 PROPOSAL FOR PACOM

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 002519 SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/RSP, PM/PPA, AND EAP/MTS USPACOM ALSO FOR J5 SECDEF/OSD/ISA/AP (TOOLAN/REDMON) JOINT STAFF FOR (WILKES/ROBINSON/CLEMMONS) SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PTER MARR MASS MOPS MCAP BG CB CE ID MY TH RP SUBJECT: REGIONAL ENDORSEMENT FOR FY08 1206 PROPOSAL FOR PACOM REGION ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Chiefs of Mission of Embassies Manila, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Phnom Penh, Dhaka and Colombo fully support the FY2008 regional proposal developed by U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM). This year's $143 million package builds upon last year's submission to improve regional maritime security from the Indian Ocean to the Philippines and partner countries' surveillance, cross-border communication and interdiction capabilities. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) DOD and State officials from Embassies Manila, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Phnom Penh, Dhaka and Colombo, in collaboration with USPACOM, have developed a regional 1206 proposal designed to further develop host-nation capabilities to counter terrorist threats in South and Southeast Asia. The FY08 proposal builds upon our efforts in FY06, which established a capacity to protect the Strait of Malacca and Sri Lankan coastal waters, and in FY07, which extended this capacity in the Sulu and Sulawesi Seas in the border region shared by the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia. This area is a priority in the war against terrorism in Southeast Asia. ¶3. (SBU) Our FY08 proposal ensures a high degree of synergy among specific country programs, including uniformity of equipment and systems in the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia, to establish a seamless interface among their respective maritime security efforts. Three years on, Section 1206 assistance has moved from high-priority, but largely isolated, strategies to a synchronized regional effort. We envision using Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and other sources to sustain programs initiated in this year's and previous 1206 packages. PROVIDING BASIC CAPABILITIES ¶4. (SBU) Our regional FY08 Section 1206 proposal consists of an agreed upon list of 24 projects ranked in priority order. Our missions have worked closely with host-country officials to identify these projects and ensure host-country endorsement. The focus of our effort is to improve the basic capabilities -- domain awareness, communications, and interdiction -- targeted in our FY06 and FY07 programs: -- Domain Awareness. Countries in the region have difficulty monitoring the volume, identity and nature of the ship traffic in their waters. Our proposal emphasizes, even more than previous years, the installation of land-based and sea-based maritime radars and other types of surveillance and identification equipment in the tri-border area of Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines and other key points between Sri Lanka and the Philippines to monitor vessels suspected of carrying terrorists, weapons, or drugs, as well as engaging in human trafficking and other illegal activities. If necessary these systems can link to similar systems elsewhere in the region. In addition, this year's proposal establishes for the first time some basic capabilities in air surveillance. -- Communications: Despite improvements achieved through our FY07 proposal, countries in the region still have only limited abilities to share information and intelligence with each other or with U.S. counterparts. This shortcoming sharply limits their ability to track and pursue ships across maritime borders. The FY08 proposal establishes additional communication centers at strategic points in the region, which will provide them the capacity to interoperate with existing U.S. networks, and facilitate data sharing between tactical forces and national headquarters. -- Interdiction. Countries in the region have a growing, but still spotty, ability to inspect and interdict suspect ships. This year's proposal also provides small craft and other interdiction equipment to enable military forces in the region to board and inspect ships thought to be carrying contraband. Our FY06 and FY07 proposals contained capabilities in this area, but those capabilities generally received lower prioritization and, unfortunately, largely went unfunded. Our progress in building domain awareness and communications capacity through FY06 and FY07 assistance now makes improving interdiction capacity a logical next step for FY08. BUILDS ON EXISTING PROGRAMS ¶5. (SBU) Our proposal maximizes the use of existing U.S. military MANILA 00002519 002 OF 002 exercises in the region, as well as initiatives managed by other agencies. We have worked closely with USPACOM, Special Operations Command Pacific, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Joint Interagency Task Force West (JIATF-W) and other commands to ensure that PACOM planners understand our 1206 objectives and develop realistic scenarios in future exercises that will help host nations test and improve their new capabilities. ¶6. (SBU) We intend the FY08 proposal to complement other USG non-defense efforts to encourage and enable countries in the region to think and act multilaterally to address common problems. We designed our proposal to support other U.S. counterterrorism initiatives, including S/CT's Border Control Assessment Initiative in the tri-border area and anticipated funding for INL's Philippine National Police Maritime unit. Various aspects also dovetail with similar and related initiatives under way by other donor countries, including Japan, Australia, India and New Zealand, as well as other multinational initiatives such as the Trilateral Initiative on Counterterrorism involving the United States, Australia and Japan. Officials from the Department of Homeland Security, JIATF-W, and the Australian Ministry of Defense participated as observers in the development of the FY08 proposal. ¶7. (SBU) We recognize the importance of host-nation responsibility for operations and maintenance of the capabilities provided in this proposal. Where necessary, but only as interim steps, the use of other programs such as FMF ensures no lapse in achieved capabilities until host nations can assume this responsibility. We also continue to rely on other U.S. non-defense assistance programs, particularly to maritime police and other border-control forces, in providing relevant equipment, particularly in the area of interdiction. Given that Section 1206 does not cover non-military security forces, these non-defense assistance programs prove critical to supporting the overall success of USG combating terrorism efforts. IN ACCORD WITH KEY U.S. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES ¶8. (SBU) Combating terrorism and promoting regional stability in South and Southeast Asia are U.S. national priorities. Section 1206 assistance is a central component of USG efforts to achieve these objectives. To the extent that we can build basic maritime interdiction capacity in host nations through 1206 assistance, our partners in South and Southeast Asia will be better able to contribute to and support U.S. counterterrorism objectives. Visit Embassy Manila's classified website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/manila/index. cfm KENNEY