PSI: BRUNEI NEEDS ACTION FORCING EVENT TO ANNOUNCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN 000199

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MTS AND ISN/CPI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/01/2018
TAGS: KNNP MNUC PARM PREL BX
SUBJECT: PSI: BRUNEI NEEDS ACTION FORCING EVENT TO ANNOUNCE
ENDORSEMENT

REF: A. SECSTATE 69343

B. SECSTATE 68499

C. BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN 153

Classified By: CDA Justin Friedman, reasons 1.5 (b) & (d)


1. (C) Charge delivered ref A PSI meeting notes and ref B
letter on June 30 to Datin Hajah Maimunah Elias, Permanent
Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
(MoFAT) and policy lead on PSI for the Government of Brunei
(GoB). Charge stressed that while the USG considered the
GoB's and Datin Maimunah's own participation in past PSI
meetings as indication of support for PSI principles, we
would welcome a formal statement of endorsement to clarify
Brunei's position.


2. (C) Maimunah responded that MoFAT fully supported
endorsing PSI and had assurances of high level support for
this position. Maimunah continued that the GoB had been
looking to formalize its support for PSI as a deliverable for
a possible meeting between President Bush and the Sultan.
Charge suggested that as the two leaders would both be at
APEC later this year, this could be an appropriate time for
Brunei to issue an endorsement. Maimunah took the idea on
board, saying that she would raise this option with Foreign
Minister II Pehin Lim Jock Seng.


3. (C) COMMENT: We take Datin Maimunah's response to mean
that Foreign Minister Prince Mohamed and probably Sultan Haji
Hassanal Bolkiah himself have been briefed and indicated
their support for PSI endorsement at an appropriate time.
The Government of Brunei is driven to deliver decisions based
on the Sultan's travel and meeting schedule. We also have an
HSPD-6 terrorist screening information sharing agreement
ready to be signed, if Prince Mohamed's concerns of the about
the capacity of GoB institutions to manage such an
information sharing arrangement can be allayed (ref C). The
APEC Leaders Meeting in Peru offers the next and probably
only near term opportunity for us to create an action forcing
event that could push a decision out of the GoB. While the
President's traditional group meeting with ASEAN leaders at
APEC may be sufficient incentive, a bilateral meeting on the
margins of APEC could be the push the GoB needs to secure
endorsement of both PSI and the HSPD-6 agreement.



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FRIEDMAN