Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08BANDARSERIBEGAWAN129
2008-05-01 06:47:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Bandar Seri Begawan
Cable title:
BRUNEI TO ADMIRAL KEATING: WE NEED AMERICANS IN
how-toVZCZCXRO2843 PP RUEHDT RUEHPB DE RUEHBD #0129/01 1220647 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 010647Z MAY 08 FM AMEMBASSY BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4183 INFO RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN 000129
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MTS
SINGAPORE FOR DAO
DEFENSE FOR OSD/POLICY
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/01/2018
TAGS: PREL MARR BX
SUBJECT: BRUNEI TO ADMIRAL KEATING: WE NEED AMERICANS IN
REGION
Classified By: Ambassador Emil Skodon, reasons 1.4 (b) & (d)
-------
SUMMARY
-------
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN 000129
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MTS
SINGAPORE FOR DAO
DEFENSE FOR OSD/POLICY
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/01/2018
TAGS: PREL MARR BX
SUBJECT: BRUNEI TO ADMIRAL KEATING: WE NEED AMERICANS IN
REGION
Classified By: Ambassador Emil Skodon, reasons 1.4 (b) & (d)
--------------
SUMMARY
--------------
1. (C) During PACOM Commander Admiral Keating's visit to
Brunei, we heard one clear and consistent message: in Sultan
Haji Hassanal Bolkiah's phrasing, "we need the Americans
around this region." In a wide-ranging conversation, the
Sultan welcomed U.S.-Brunei mil-mil activities including the
annual CARAT exercise, regular ship visits and proposed
intelligence sharing activities. Crown Prince al-Muhtadee
Billah impressed us for having made steps to grow into is
role as heir to the Sultan. Chief of Defense Pehin Major
General Halbi and other military leaders briefed on progress
in achieving the goals of the Defense White Paper 2007,
highlighting their interest in acquiring unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAVs). Foreign Minister II Pehin Lim Jock Seng
shared the sense of ASEAN nations that dialogue with China
was not leading to progress on difficult issues, including
sharing the resources of the South China Sea. END SUMMARY.
--------------
SULTAN "WARMLY ENGAGED"
--------------
2. (U) PACOM Commander Admiral Timothy Keating visited Brunei
April 8-9, meeting with Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, Crown
Prince al Muhtadi Billah, Chief of Defense Pehin Major
General Halbi and the armed forces service chiefs, and
Foreign Minister II Pehin Lim Jock Seng. Admiral Keating
also visited Royal Brunei Navy Headquarters in Muara, riding
out by helicopter from the Ministry of Defense for a brief,
aerial view of Brunei. The Admiral also granted an exclusive
interview to the Borneo Bulletin, Brunei's most widely read
daily newspaper.
3. (C) Admiral Keating led off his meeting with the Sultan by
raising the importance the U.S. attaches to our
counter-terrorism cooperation, as violent extremism poses a
threat to both our countries. Keating emphasized the
importance of our impending agreement to commence military to
military intelligence sharing, to which the Sultan responded
that intel sharing "is very important" to Brunei. Turning to
Southeast Asian regional security writ large, the Sultan told
the admiral that "we need the Americans around this region."
4. (C) The Sultan also welcomed the U.S. commitment to
continue exercises and engagements at a pace comfortable both
to Brunei and the U.S. The Sultan acknowledged that
exercises, such as CARAT, "are very beneficial to us."
Responding to Admiral Keating's comment on the value to our
young sailors to see the world, especially a small, modern,
prosperous, and moderate majority Muslim nation, the Sultan
noted that visits by U.S. Navy ships are "very good for our
young people". The Sultan characterized overall U.S.-Brunei
military to military activities as "very good."
5. (C) Over the course of their discussion, the Sultan asked
for Admiral Keating's views about China, the Korean
Peninsula, and the Middle East Peace Process. The admiral
responded that China,s military modernization efforts were
of some concern. The Chinese say they only want to protect
what is theirs. That,s fair, Keating observed, but their
development of offensive weapons that endanger U.S. ships
"makes us a bit suspicious of them."
6. (C) On Korea, the admiral said he was cautiously
optimistic about the prospects for DPRK de-nuclearization and
stability on the peninsula. The Sultan agreed that things
seemed to be "moving in the right way."
7. (C) On the Middle East Peace Process, the admiral
commended Brunei for considering participation in UNIFIL in
Lebanon. The admiral drew on his experiences while stationed
in Bahrain to confirm that while our Arab friends are
critical of U.S. policies in some respects, he believed they
appreciated the U.S. commitment to peace in the region.
BANDAR SER 00000129 002 OF 003
8. (C) The atmoshperics during Admiral Keating's discussion
with the Sultan were excellent. Following this meeting,
General Halbi commented that he had never seen the Sultan so
warmly engaged with a foreign military visitor.
--------------
Crown Prince Engaged
--------------
9. (C) Admiral Keating's call on Crown Prince Billah covered
much of the same ground as his meeting with the Sultan. The
Crown Prince queried the Admiral about China's arms
modernization and possible troubles surrounding the Olympics.
Keating emphasized importance of a broad, collective
international approach to dealing with China and need to
encourage China to be a "responsible nation." The Crown
Prince was supportive of the U.S. intent to remain engaged
both with ASEAN and bilaterally with countries in the region.
While the Crown Prince did more listening than talking, he
was very attentive and several times asked follow-up
questions that indicated he was both following and thinking
about what Admiral Keating had to say. (Comment: This is a
notable evolution from Billah's performance during the 2006
call by Admiral Keating's predecessor at PACOM, Admiral
Fallon, when the Crown Prince actively ducked substantive
topics and limited himself to the comment "We desire good
relations with all countries.")
--------------
General Halbi and Military Brief on Strategy
--------------
10. (C) Over several meetings with the Admiral, General Halbi
praised the CARAT military exercises' value to the Royal
Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF). Halbi's staff briefed on the
Defense White Paper 2007, focusing on plans to procure UAVs.
Halbi praised our proposed military intelligence exchange as
ready to begin pending U.S. action, causing Military
Intelligence Chief, Col. Ra'emi Malek some discomfort.
(Note: Col. Ra'emi has been holding off on beginning this
exchange until his replacement is named, even though PACOM is
ready to proceed with military intelligence exchange and
cooperation.) Admiral Keating mentioned the potential for
Non-Commissioned Officer professional development training
and exchanges if Brunei is interested.
--------------
Foreign Ministry: ASEAN-China Dialogue Uneven
--------------
11. (C) Over lunch at the Ambassador's residence, Foreign
Minister II Pehin Lim Jock Seng and most of his Ministry's
Permanent Secretaries briefed on the ASEAN-China dialogue.
Brunei is currently serving as China Dialogue Partner for
ASEAN. Lim assessed that China had been very sophisticated
in its public relations strategy vis-a-vis ASEAN countries.
China has pushed a public line of peaceful relations and
working together towards mutual prosperity. However, China
had been crafty at pocketing concessions on opening trade in
goods with ASEAN while dragging its feet on progress in
investment and services chapters of a free trade agreement.
Along similar lines, China had effectively ducked the Myanmar
(Burma) issue by telling ASEAN, "you take the lead and we'll
follow."
12. (C) Lim said that ASEAN was trying to encourage China to
be more transparent by pre-announcing its military exercises.
This was part of a larger, but unsuccessful strategy to
build on the ASEAN-China Code of Conduct in the South China
Sea (SCS). ASEAN, Lim said, had mooted the idea of joint
development of SCS resources. China's response had been, in
Lim's paraphrase, "why should we, it's ours." The
Philippines and Malaysia had been quiet on the issue of
resource development in the SCS, letting Vietnam take the
lead, and the heat, with China. MFAT Permanent Secretary
Pengiran Dato Osman Patra expanded on the SCS issue,
observing that China knows its position is weak, but that the
SCS issue is potentially dangerous for all involved.
Countries were very active in the South Spratleys and Paracel
islands. Notwithstanding this, Osman believed that it was
BANDAR SER 00000129 003 OF 003
still possible to do joint projects with China, which Brunei
was exploring. Osman noted that the Chinese military seems
to have a strong voice in China's SCS policy, but that ASEAN
dialogue with China on this issue had grown more relaxed than
when it first started.
13. (C) Pehin Lim solicited Admiral Keating's views on North
Korea. In response to Keating's cautious optimism, Lim said
that the North Koreans know that the nuclear issue is "the
only marble they have left, so they spin it as often as they
can." Lim and Osman noted the heavy indoctrination of the
North Korean people was starting to crack through positive
steps like the visit of the New York Philharmonic and the
growing employment with South Korean businesses in the
Kaesong Industrial Area.
--------------
COMMENT
--------------
14. (C) Our impressions of the meeting with the Sultan match
those of General Halbi: Admiral Keating's visit was greeted
by one of the warmest receptions we've seen or heard of for a
visiting foreign military leader. The Bruneians highly
value, and make good use of the limited face time they get
with senior U.S. officials. Crown Prince Billah, often
discounted by the diplomatic corps (and Bruneians, in
private) as disinterested in policy issues, impressed us for
being more engaged and on top of his briefing, indicating
that he may be growing in his role as first in line to the
throne. END COMMENT.
Visit Embassy Bandar Seri Begawan's classified web site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/bandarseribeg awan/
SKODON
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MTS
SINGAPORE FOR DAO
DEFENSE FOR OSD/POLICY
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/01/2018
TAGS: PREL MARR BX
SUBJECT: BRUNEI TO ADMIRAL KEATING: WE NEED AMERICANS IN
REGION
Classified By: Ambassador Emil Skodon, reasons 1.4 (b) & (d)
--------------
SUMMARY
--------------
1. (C) During PACOM Commander Admiral Keating's visit to
Brunei, we heard one clear and consistent message: in Sultan
Haji Hassanal Bolkiah's phrasing, "we need the Americans
around this region." In a wide-ranging conversation, the
Sultan welcomed U.S.-Brunei mil-mil activities including the
annual CARAT exercise, regular ship visits and proposed
intelligence sharing activities. Crown Prince al-Muhtadee
Billah impressed us for having made steps to grow into is
role as heir to the Sultan. Chief of Defense Pehin Major
General Halbi and other military leaders briefed on progress
in achieving the goals of the Defense White Paper 2007,
highlighting their interest in acquiring unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAVs). Foreign Minister II Pehin Lim Jock Seng
shared the sense of ASEAN nations that dialogue with China
was not leading to progress on difficult issues, including
sharing the resources of the South China Sea. END SUMMARY.
--------------
SULTAN "WARMLY ENGAGED"
--------------
2. (U) PACOM Commander Admiral Timothy Keating visited Brunei
April 8-9, meeting with Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, Crown
Prince al Muhtadi Billah, Chief of Defense Pehin Major
General Halbi and the armed forces service chiefs, and
Foreign Minister II Pehin Lim Jock Seng. Admiral Keating
also visited Royal Brunei Navy Headquarters in Muara, riding
out by helicopter from the Ministry of Defense for a brief,
aerial view of Brunei. The Admiral also granted an exclusive
interview to the Borneo Bulletin, Brunei's most widely read
daily newspaper.
3. (C) Admiral Keating led off his meeting with the Sultan by
raising the importance the U.S. attaches to our
counter-terrorism cooperation, as violent extremism poses a
threat to both our countries. Keating emphasized the
importance of our impending agreement to commence military to
military intelligence sharing, to which the Sultan responded
that intel sharing "is very important" to Brunei. Turning to
Southeast Asian regional security writ large, the Sultan told
the admiral that "we need the Americans around this region."
4. (C) The Sultan also welcomed the U.S. commitment to
continue exercises and engagements at a pace comfortable both
to Brunei and the U.S. The Sultan acknowledged that
exercises, such as CARAT, "are very beneficial to us."
Responding to Admiral Keating's comment on the value to our
young sailors to see the world, especially a small, modern,
prosperous, and moderate majority Muslim nation, the Sultan
noted that visits by U.S. Navy ships are "very good for our
young people". The Sultan characterized overall U.S.-Brunei
military to military activities as "very good."
5. (C) Over the course of their discussion, the Sultan asked
for Admiral Keating's views about China, the Korean
Peninsula, and the Middle East Peace Process. The admiral
responded that China,s military modernization efforts were
of some concern. The Chinese say they only want to protect
what is theirs. That,s fair, Keating observed, but their
development of offensive weapons that endanger U.S. ships
"makes us a bit suspicious of them."
6. (C) On Korea, the admiral said he was cautiously
optimistic about the prospects for DPRK de-nuclearization and
stability on the peninsula. The Sultan agreed that things
seemed to be "moving in the right way."
7. (C) On the Middle East Peace Process, the admiral
commended Brunei for considering participation in UNIFIL in
Lebanon. The admiral drew on his experiences while stationed
in Bahrain to confirm that while our Arab friends are
critical of U.S. policies in some respects, he believed they
appreciated the U.S. commitment to peace in the region.
BANDAR SER 00000129 002 OF 003
8. (C) The atmoshperics during Admiral Keating's discussion
with the Sultan were excellent. Following this meeting,
General Halbi commented that he had never seen the Sultan so
warmly engaged with a foreign military visitor.
--------------
Crown Prince Engaged
--------------
9. (C) Admiral Keating's call on Crown Prince Billah covered
much of the same ground as his meeting with the Sultan. The
Crown Prince queried the Admiral about China's arms
modernization and possible troubles surrounding the Olympics.
Keating emphasized importance of a broad, collective
international approach to dealing with China and need to
encourage China to be a "responsible nation." The Crown
Prince was supportive of the U.S. intent to remain engaged
both with ASEAN and bilaterally with countries in the region.
While the Crown Prince did more listening than talking, he
was very attentive and several times asked follow-up
questions that indicated he was both following and thinking
about what Admiral Keating had to say. (Comment: This is a
notable evolution from Billah's performance during the 2006
call by Admiral Keating's predecessor at PACOM, Admiral
Fallon, when the Crown Prince actively ducked substantive
topics and limited himself to the comment "We desire good
relations with all countries.")
--------------
General Halbi and Military Brief on Strategy
--------------
10. (C) Over several meetings with the Admiral, General Halbi
praised the CARAT military exercises' value to the Royal
Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF). Halbi's staff briefed on the
Defense White Paper 2007, focusing on plans to procure UAVs.
Halbi praised our proposed military intelligence exchange as
ready to begin pending U.S. action, causing Military
Intelligence Chief, Col. Ra'emi Malek some discomfort.
(Note: Col. Ra'emi has been holding off on beginning this
exchange until his replacement is named, even though PACOM is
ready to proceed with military intelligence exchange and
cooperation.) Admiral Keating mentioned the potential for
Non-Commissioned Officer professional development training
and exchanges if Brunei is interested.
--------------
Foreign Ministry: ASEAN-China Dialogue Uneven
--------------
11. (C) Over lunch at the Ambassador's residence, Foreign
Minister II Pehin Lim Jock Seng and most of his Ministry's
Permanent Secretaries briefed on the ASEAN-China dialogue.
Brunei is currently serving as China Dialogue Partner for
ASEAN. Lim assessed that China had been very sophisticated
in its public relations strategy vis-a-vis ASEAN countries.
China has pushed a public line of peaceful relations and
working together towards mutual prosperity. However, China
had been crafty at pocketing concessions on opening trade in
goods with ASEAN while dragging its feet on progress in
investment and services chapters of a free trade agreement.
Along similar lines, China had effectively ducked the Myanmar
(Burma) issue by telling ASEAN, "you take the lead and we'll
follow."
12. (C) Lim said that ASEAN was trying to encourage China to
be more transparent by pre-announcing its military exercises.
This was part of a larger, but unsuccessful strategy to
build on the ASEAN-China Code of Conduct in the South China
Sea (SCS). ASEAN, Lim said, had mooted the idea of joint
development of SCS resources. China's response had been, in
Lim's paraphrase, "why should we, it's ours." The
Philippines and Malaysia had been quiet on the issue of
resource development in the SCS, letting Vietnam take the
lead, and the heat, with China. MFAT Permanent Secretary
Pengiran Dato Osman Patra expanded on the SCS issue,
observing that China knows its position is weak, but that the
SCS issue is potentially dangerous for all involved.
Countries were very active in the South Spratleys and Paracel
islands. Notwithstanding this, Osman believed that it was
BANDAR SER 00000129 003 OF 003
still possible to do joint projects with China, which Brunei
was exploring. Osman noted that the Chinese military seems
to have a strong voice in China's SCS policy, but that ASEAN
dialogue with China on this issue had grown more relaxed than
when it first started.
13. (C) Pehin Lim solicited Admiral Keating's views on North
Korea. In response to Keating's cautious optimism, Lim said
that the North Koreans know that the nuclear issue is "the
only marble they have left, so they spin it as often as they
can." Lim and Osman noted the heavy indoctrination of the
North Korean people was starting to crack through positive
steps like the visit of the New York Philharmonic and the
growing employment with South Korean businesses in the
Kaesong Industrial Area.
--------------
COMMENT
--------------
14. (C) Our impressions of the meeting with the Sultan match
those of General Halbi: Admiral Keating's visit was greeted
by one of the warmest receptions we've seen or heard of for a
visiting foreign military leader. The Bruneians highly
value, and make good use of the limited face time they get
with senior U.S. officials. Crown Prince Billah, often
discounted by the diplomatic corps (and Bruneians, in
private) as disinterested in policy issues, impressed us for
being more engaged and on top of his briefing, indicating
that he may be growing in his role as first in line to the
throne. END COMMENT.
Visit Embassy Bandar Seri Begawan's classified web site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/bandarseribeg awan/
SKODON