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)

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SUMMARY
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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.

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LUKEWARM RECEPTION
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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).

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PERFUNCTORY VISITS
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6. (SBU) Thein Sein and his ten-person delegation have little

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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.

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COMMENT: WILL BURMA NOTICE?
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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