ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM -- GOI ON REGIONAL DISASTER

UNCLAS JAKARTA 001319 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/RSP (SHEIVES),EAP/MLS NSC FOR E.PHU E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL EAID MARR ASEAN ID SUBJECT: ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM -- GOI ON REGIONAL DISASTER PREPAREDNESS REF: STATE 61440 ¶1. (U) This message is Sensitive but Unclassified -- Please handle accordingly. ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: Poloff reviewed reftel proposal on regional disaster preparedness with the Indonesian Foreign Ministry (DEPLU). Mission also reviewed U.S. points with the ASEAN Secretariat. DEPLU officials responded positively, but suggested that the USG take the lead in moving the matter forward. ASEAN Secretariat officials said they needed to review the proposal with Secretary General Surin before formally responding. END SUMMARY. ¶3. (SBU) In discussions with officials at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DEPLU),poloff reviewed reftel points, conveying the need for the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) to develop a capability for responding to natural disasters. He suggested that an ASEAN country consider taking the lead in drafting a statement. ¶4. (SBU) M. Aji Surya, Deputy Director for Intra-Regional Cooperation at DEPLU, said an initial review of the matter with DEPLU colleagues showed support for the idea and its main components. A more thorough review within DEPLU and with other agencies would need to occur once a more detailed proposal had been fleshed out. Aji said Indonesia was unable to undertake the drafting of the proposal, given other priorities in the near future. ¶5. (SBU) Aji asked whether Washington intended the proposed matter to be approved at the upcoming Ministerial Meeting in July or at a subsequent one. The usual process, he noted, was to launch a proposal in the Intersessional Group on Confidence Building Measures (ISG CBM) and to refine it at a subsequent Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) before seeking the approval of ministers. He requested clarification on the intended timeline in this case. Poloff noted that we hoped that this proposal could be reviewed carefully and moved forward by ARF as soon as possible. ¶6. (SBU) Mission also conveyed reftel points to the ASEAN Secretariat. Secretariat officials said they needed to review the proposal with Secretary General Surin before formally responding. Mission, however, recently was informed that a proposed ARF statement on regional disaster preparedness that was circulated at an ASEAN Working Group meeting in Pattaya, Thailand was very similar to the document that the USG had passed to the Secretariat in early June. HUME