MIL-MIL RELATIONS -- U.S. NAVY VISIT REAPS GOODWILL

C O N F I D E N T I A L JAKARTA 000353 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, EAP/PD, OES NSC FOR EPHU E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/22/2018 TAGS: PREL MARR PGOV KPAO ID SUBJECT: MIL-MIL RELATIONS -- U.S. NAVY VISIT REAPS GOODWILL REF: 07 JAKARTA 3465 Classified By: Pol/C Joseph Legend Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY -- A U.S. Navy Oceanographic Survey ship--the USNS Mary Sears--docked at Tanjung Priok, Jakarta's port, on February 18. The stop was part of the USG's effort to enhance cooperation between the two navies. The crew conducted a pier-side technical exchange with the Indonesian Office of Hydro- and Oceanography, and gave tours to approximately 60 journalists. The visit received positive media attention--especially for the ship's efforts in 2007 searching for the wreckage of an Indonesian airliner. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) A POSITIVE SHIP VISIT -- The USNS Mary Sears visited Jakarta's Tanjung Priok port, February 18-22. The stop was part of a strategy to enhance naval cooperation between the two countries. The ship's visit marked 30 years since the first cooperative hydrographic survey between the Indonesian Navy and the Naval Oceanographic Office. The visit included a technical exchange that took place on board the ship and at the Indonesian Navy's Office of Hydro- and Oceanography (JANHIDROS). It also included separate tours of the ship's equipment for senior Indonesian Navy officers and journalists. ¶3. (U) A PREVIOUS CONNECTION -- The USNS Mary Sears had a previous--if unavoidably tragic--connection to Indonesia. In January 2007, the Mary Sears had provided assistance by locating the wreckage of an Indonesian Adam Air flight that crashed en route to Makassar, Sulawesi. (Note: All aboard the aircraft were killed and it is still not totally clear why the flight crashed.) The ship's civilian crew and scientists explained the difficult recovery process to the press on board. ¶4. (U) MEDIA POSITIVE -- Press coverage of the visit was widespread and positive, evidently in large part a response to the USNS Mary Sears' recovery role last year. On February 20, approximately 60 Indonesian and international journalists received a stem-to-stern tour of the ship and unprecedented access to the ship's crew and experts. At least six newspapers and eight television news channels have already run upbeat stories about the goodwill visit, with several more planning similar coverage. ¶5. (U) One article quoted Chief of JANHIDROS, Admiral Willem Rampangilei, as saying the ship's visit was to "develop both countries' cooperation that has been on-going for thirty years." USNS Mary Sears Commanding Officer Captain John Cousin was quoted in several papers as saying that the visit helped increase cooperation between the two countries and that Indonesian Navy staff will be sent to the U.S. for training in the near future. Media coverage of the visit reached an estimated audience of at least 100 to 150 million Indonesians. ¶6. (C) A PLUS FOR NAVAL COOPERATION -- The visit of the USNS Mary Sears is part of a step-by-step USG strategy for engagement with the Indonesian Navy in order to perform survey operations. During this visit, senior Indonesian navy officers received a full tour of the ship, helping to dispel lingering suspicions of the purpose of the surveys. As with previous visits (see reftel),the stop helped develop closer defense ties with the Indonesian military and spark general goodwill toward the U.S. among the public. HUME