INDONESIA -- CHINESE DEFENSE MINISTER'S VISIT

C O N F I D E N T I A L JAKARTA 000106 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, PM, PM/PPA SECDEF FOR USDP/ISA/AP P.IPSEN JOINT STAFF FOR P.CLEMMONS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/17/2018 TAGS: PREL MARR MASS ID CH SUBJECT: INDONESIA -- CHINESE DEFENSE MINISTER'S VISIT REF: A. JAKARTA 0060 ¶B. 07 JAKARTA 3439 Classified By: Pol/C Joseph Legend Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Chinese Defense Minister Cao met Indonesian VP Kalla and DefMin Sudarsono on January 16 in Jakarta. The visit included discussion of exchanges and joint production of defense transport equipment. Cao also visited a base of the Army Special Forces (KOPASSUS). The visit reciprocated Sudarsono's visit to China in November 2007, where the two ministers signed an MOU on defense cooperation. A Chinese emboff told Pol/C that the Jakarta meetings had been "highly productive." END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) ONE-DAY RECIPROCAL VISIT: Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan arrived in Jakarta on January 15 for an official visit to Indonesia. On January 16, he met Vice President Md. Jusuf Kalla and Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono. The ministers also visited the main base of the Indonesian Army's Special Forces (KOPASSUS) near Jakarta. The visit reciprocated Sudarsono's visit to Beijing in November 2007, where the two ministers had signed a Memorandum of Understanding on defense cooperation. ¶3. (U) BOOSTING COOPERATION: Sudarsono told reporters the defense forces of the two countries planned to conduct joint military training and exercises. Indonesia and China would also cooperate in the production of military vehicles, aircraft and vessel carriers, primarily for transport purposes. Two Indonesian state-owned producers of military equipment--PT Dirgantara Indonesia and PT PAL--would be involved in the joint production of aircraft and ships, respectively. Financing details had yet to be worked out. Cao said the cooperation would also involve exchanges and joint training. Both ministers said their countries wanted to increase defense cooperation. ¶4. (C) CHINA PLEASED: Chinese Political Counselor Gong Xun told Pol/C that the meetings held thus far had been "highly productive" and were aimed at enhancing defense cooperation "to a higher level." The meeting with Sudarsono was the more substantive meeting, the one with Kalla more formalistic, he noted. No new agreements had been signed, but the ministers had discussed future exchanges and military sales. China was "optimistic" that its defense relationship with Indonesia would "be improved" by Cao's visit. ¶5. (C) INDONESIA SEEKS JOINT PRODUCTION: Gudadi Sasongko in the Directorate for East Asia and Pacific Affairs in the Department of Foreign Affairs told us that Sudarsono and Cao had discussed information sharing, capacity building, exchanges and equipment production, and had agreed to form a special committee to implement these and other areas of cooperation outlined in the MOU signed in November in Beijing. China was primarily interested in military sales, while Indonesia wanted joint production of military equipment involving the transfer of technology. Details of any such cooperation had yet to be worked out, however. Sasongko noted that Cao's official visit had lasted only one day (January 16); the remainder (through January 20) consisted of travel to the tourist sites of Yogjakarta and Bali. ¶6. (C) SHARED OBJECTIVES? As noted in reftels, China continues to press forward in its relationship with Indonesia in multiple areas and this visit fits into that effort. That said, Indonesia's defense cooperation objectives may not necessarily run parallel to China's, and it is unclear to what extent or how quickly the two sides can build up from what has been a generally low level of mil-to-mil ties. HUME