BRUNEI ROYALS STRESS IMPORTANCE OF U.S. ROLE IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN 000156

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MTS
SINGAPORE FOR DAO

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/22/2018
TAGS: PREL MARR BX
SUBJECT: BRUNEI ROYALS STRESS IMPORTANCE OF U.S. ROLE IN
SOUTHEAST ASIA

REF: A) BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN 129 B) BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN 153

Classified By: Classified by Amb. Emil Skodon, reasons 1.4 (b) & (d)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) In the Ambassador's farewell calls, Sultan Haji
Hassanal Bolkiah, Crown Prince Al Muhtahdee Billah, and
Acting Foreign Minister Princess Masna emphasized that Brunei
welcomes and recognizes the importance of a robust U.S.
presence in Southeast Asia and desires a close bilateral
relationship with the United States. Strengthening bilateral
defense cooperation is a priority for the Sultan. Over the
longer term, he supports the increase in Bruneians studying
in the U.S. as an important step in developing deeper and
broader people-to-people ties. Reflecting on their warm
personal relationship, the Sultan said he was looking forward
to seeing President Bush at the next APEC leaders meeting.
The Crown Prince said he was considering attending the UN
General Assembly session this fall. Should that visit take
place, the Crown Prince would welcome meetings with
appropriate USG officials in New York or Washington. We can
best respond to these positive overtures from the royal
family by tailoring our diplomatic and military engagement to
meet Brunei's limited, but growing capacity to work with us
in the region. END SUMMARY.

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More Defense Cooperation Sought
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2. (C) The Ambassador, accompanied by DCM, paid a farewell
call on Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah on May 19. His Majesty
thanked the Ambassador for his role in building stronger
bilateral ties. The Sultan welcomed the American presence in
Southeast Asia, saying that it was "important for the
region." He saw bilateral military exercises as helpful in
developing the skills of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces and as
an important symbol of U.S. engagement. In that context, the
Sultan said that he hoped defense cooperation could continue
to grow.

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"Our Close Friend"
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3. (C) The Ambassador discussed the long-standing commitment
of the U.S. to the region. He noted that one symbol of our
commitment to Brunei would be the construction of a new U.S.
embassy compound, which would commence following the Sultan's
required approval for the transfer of title to the site we
had recently purchased. The Sultan said that he supported
the new embassy construction, saying "You are welcome.
America is our close friend."

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Most-ever Students in U.S.
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4. (C) The Ambassador congratulated Brunei on placing a cadet
in the U.S. Air Force Academy class of 2013. He observed
that the 30 Bruneians now studying in the U.S. marked the
highest such number since Brunei's independence. The Sultan
said that he was proud of the new Air Force Academy cadet and
of the Brunei cadet at West Point (class of 2009).
Recognizing that Brunei was competing against the best in the
world for a limited number of slots at the U.S. service
academies, the Sultan hoped that Brunei could respond to the
challenge to find a suitable candidate for Annapolis that
PACOM Commander Admiral Keating had laid down during his
recent visit. Looking to the future of this and other
people-to-people exchanges, the Sultan said "We want to send
more men to America."

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Looking forward to Seeing President Bush
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5. (C) The Sultan commented that he welcomed his warm
personal relationship with President Bush and looked forward
to seeing him at the next APEC leaders meeting. The Sultan
hoped this good relationship would continue with the next
U.S. president. Responding to the Sultan's question about
who would win the U.S. election, the Ambassador noted that
this was up to the American people to decide but that all the
leading candidates for the U.S. Presidency had personal
experience with and affinity for Southeast Asia, a point His
Majesty welcomed.

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Crown Prince to UNGA
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6. (C) In a May 15 farewell call on Crown Prince Al Muhtadee
Billah, His Highness asked about the general state of
bilateral relations and, following the Ambassador's summary
response, expressed support for the further strengthening of
trade, mil-to-mil relations, and educational exchanges. He
told the Ambassador that he tentatively planned to travel to
New York in September to attend the UN General Assembly
session. The Ambassador encouraged the Crown Prince to take
advantage of that trip to meet with Brunei students studying
in the U.S. and to visit major American exporters to Brunei.
The Crown Prince said that should the visit firm up, he would
like to meet with senior USG officials in either New York or
Washington. NOTE: The Crown Prince did not mention the
lawsuit against him in a New York court that caused him to
cancel his previous proposed trip to UNGA, but alluded to it
by saying that he was supposed to go to UNGA before but the
government decided to send someone else instead. END NOTE.

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Acting ForMin Well-Briefed on Bilateral Relations
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7. (C) On May 21 Ambassador paid a final farewell call on
the Sultan's sister Princess Masna, Ambassador at Large in
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in her capacity as
Acting Foreign Minister. The impressively well-briefed
Acting ForMin ran down a detailed list of bilateral
activities during the Ambassador's tour, including the joint
Brunei-U.S. tsunami recovery project in Aceh, and expressed
her support for stronger Brunei-U.S. relations. She
identified environmental protection, educational exchanges,
and cultural programs as potential areas for even closer
cooperation.

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COMMENT: Engage at Brunei's Pace
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7. (C) The Sultan chose to use the Ambassador's farewell call
to reemphasize the theme we heard during the visit of Admiral
Keating (ref A),that he views a strong U.S. presence in
Southeast Asia as a critical stabilizing factor for the
region. The steady intensification of our bilateral
mil-to-mil relationship and signals we are getting that
Brunei would like to continue on this path (ref B) are
indicative of Brunei's cautious and measured emergence as a
more outward-looking, active regional actor. As Brunei looks
to raise its contribution to the Mindanao monitoring mission
and pursues the enhancement of its humanitarian assistance
and disaster response capabilities, we can best support its
maturation as a regional actor through customizing our
diplomatic and military engagement to match this small
nation's limited, but growing absorptive capacities in ways
that contribute to the furtherance of U.S. interests.

SKODON