BURMA PM GETS LUKEWARM RECEPTION IN BRUNEI

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN 000036 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, AND IO/UNP E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/23/2018 TAGS: PREL BM BX SUBJECT: BURMA PM GETS LUKEWARM RECEPTION IN BRUNEI REF: BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN 12 Classified By: DCM Justin Friedman, reasons 1.4 (b) & (d) -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) Brunei gave Burmese PM Thein Sein a correct, but lukewarm reception on a long-delayed official visit to Brunei January 15-17. Comments by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah at the obligatory palace banquet were notable for their focus on ASEAN and only limited mention of bilateral ties. Thein Sein's delegation scored few, if any achievements, signing only an MOU between the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry with Brunei,s National Chamber of Commerce and Industry. USG intervention with the Government of Brunei prior to the visit (ref) and lobbying of like-minded missions to limit their participation at official events helped send a signal that there can be no business as usual with the Burmese regime. END SUMMARY. -------------- LUKEWARM RECEPTION -------------- ¶2. (C) Burma PM Thein Sein conducted a three day official visit to Brunei January 15-17, in accordance with customary ASEAN practice of new PMs paying introductory calls on their ASEAN counterparts. The official host was Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, acting in his capacity as Brunei's Prime Minister. The centerpiece of the visit was a call by the delegation on Sultan Bolkiah, followed by a twenty minute "four-eyes" meeting between Thein Sein and the Sultan. The Sultan also hosted a palace banquet for the visiting delegation. ¶3. (C) Brunei officials assured us (ref) that Brunei was not/not trying to send any signals by accepting this long-delayed visit now. By all accounts, Thein Sein was received cordially, but not warmly. As we expected, there was no public report of any criticism of the Burmese regime from their Bruneian hosts. However, the Sultan's remarks at the banquet were notable for what was absent. A visit by another ASEAN head of government would normally be greeted with warm words about strong bilateral ties. However, as reported in the local press, His Majesty chose to devote the bulk of his remarks to ASEAN cooperation and its relation to economic development in Brunei, mentioning only "having built up a working relationship..." with Burma. ¶4. (C) Similar to the rhetorical cold shoulder, foreign diplomats at the banquet noticed a visible lack of rapport between the Sultan and Thein Sein, observing that Thein Sein seemed to be speaking more to Foreign Minister Prince Mohamed (the Sultan's brother),than to the Sultan. The Burmese delegation was segregated at a separate table from the other banquet participants, and even the Burmese Charge d'Affaires was pulled from his seat with other Charges to join his countrymen. COMMENT: Diplomats and members of the visiting delegation are usually seated at mixed tables at palace banquets for visiting Heads of Government. The different practice in this case may have been a signal that the GoB recognized how unwelcome its Burmese guests were in polite company. END COMMENT. ¶5. (C) The Ambassador and DCM lobbied like-minded embassies in advance of the visit, convincing our traditional partners (Australia, UK, France and Germany) to skip the airport arrival and departure ceremonies and skip (Australia) or downgrade (UK, France and Germany) to the DCM level their participation at the palace banquet, in order to send a signal to the protocol-conscious Bruneians that there could be no business as usual with the Burmese. (Canada was also a no-show, as its only accredited diplomat, the Chief of Mission, was out of Brunei at the time.) While we expected ASEAN member states and the Indians to attend all such protocol events at the Ambassadorial level, we were disappointed when the Japanese (on instructions) and South Korean Ambassadors attended these events despite our interventions. We understand that the Chinese Ambassador was also absent from official events, but that is likely due to her conflicting obligations with the near simultaneous visit of the Minister of Defense of China to Brunei (septel). -------------- PERFUNCTORY VISITS -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Thein Sein and his ten-person delegation have little BANDAR SER 00000036 002 OF 002 to show from their visit. The only "achievement" was the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Brunei,s National Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The two Chambers agreed to hold regular consultations on overcoming obstacles to trade and to cooperate in other areas, but there was no mention of any specific projects. ¶7. (SBU) During Thein Sein,s visit to the Brunei Economic Development Board, the BEDB delivered its standard brief about Brunei,s economic diversification strategy, which involves attracting foreign investment, but apparently said nothing about the possibility of any Bruneian outward investment in Burma. The CEO of the BEDB told the Ambassador that the Burmese were very interested in acquiring additional details of how Brunei had set up its new Sungai Liang industrial park aimed at foreign investors. The BEDB thought this odd, since the Sungai Liang project was just getting of the ground and had only one major foreign investor so far, and there were far more successful examples of this type of project in other ASEAN countries. Nevertheless, the BEDB did provide the Burmese with copies of laws, regulations and other publicly available information pertaining to the industrial park. ¶8. (SBU) The delegation also visited Brunei Shell Petroleum headquarters for a tour of facilities, but, evidently, no business was discussed. Other delegation members paid courtesy calls on counterpart ministers, including the Minister of Home Affairs and the Minister of Industry and Primary Resources. At other visits, the delegation was accompanied by Minister of Health Pehin Suyoi Osman, formerly Brunei's Permanent Representative to the UN. -------------- COMMENT: WILL BURMA NOTICE? -------------- ¶9. (C) The Government of Brunei, and the palace in particular, adheres closely to formal protocol. We believe that our intervention with the GoB and with our diplomatic colleagues contributed to a less welcoming atmosphere for Thein Sein's visit to Brunei. Our goal was to send a signal against doing business as usual with Burma. What remains to be seen is whether the Burmese are subtle enough to have picked up on that message. SKODON