NPT PREPCOM PAPERS -- INDONESIAN RESPONSE

C O N F I D E N T I A L JAKARTA 000870 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, T, PM, ISN, VCI, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS NSC FOR E.PHU E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/30/2018 TAGS: PARM KNNP NPT IAEA ID SUBJECT: NPT PREPCOM PAPERS -- INDONESIAN RESPONSE REF: A. SECSTATE 43044 ¶B. JAKARTA 0839 Classified By: Pol/C Joseph Legend Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Poloff on April 29 discussed the two U.S. papers (ref A) for the NPT Preparatory Committee Meeting with GOI contact. Poloff encouraged the GOI to consider co-sponsoring one or both of the papers. Our GOI contact did not indicate Indonesian support for either paper but listened to the USG points with interest and responded at some length. Indonesia had no plans to present a paper but would raise disarmament-related issues during the discussions, he said. END SUMMARY. EXPANDING CIVIL NUCLEAR COOPERATION ¶2. (C) Regarding the paper on expanding international civil nuclear cooperation, Andy Rachmianto, Deputy Director for International Security and Disarmament at the Department of Foreign Affairs said this matter had been intensively discussed at the recent International Conference on the Nuclear Fuel Cycle in Berlin, which he had attended. Poloff noted that Indonesia had in the past expressed support for a multilateral fuel cycle arrangement as one of the keys to resolving the Iran nuclear issue, ¶3. (C) Rachmianto said there had been extensive discussion in Berlin of what "multilateral" might entail. Noting that Indonesia had plans to develop peaceful nuclear energy and would in the future be interested in a reliable supply of fuel for its facilities, Rachmianto said Indonesia at this point preferred to rey( on market mechanisms rather than a special arrnngement. The third option, he added, was for a o*untry to enrich fuel itself. DEALING WITH NPT WITHDRAWAL ¶4. (C) Rachmianto suggested that, thoggh not identified by name, North Korea was the im(ediate catalyst for the paper re NPT withdrawal with prospective Iranian withdrawal a possible e cond. He pointed out that, in addition to Article X of the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT),the Vienaa Convention on the Law of Treaties also guarante d the sovereign right of a country to withdraw rrom treaties. Consistent with the arguments in h(e U.S. paper, the Vienna Convention likewise specified that withdrawal did not absolve a state of tee obligation to fulfil its former commitments asa party to the treaty. ¶5. (C) Rachmianto agreed that enforcement of those commitments was a po*blem and that a mechanism for this was needed. Although referral to the UN Security Council was on of the few recourses available, he said, the UNCQ was not part of the NPT process. It was imporaant to strengthen and support the NPT process asm(uch as possible. Therefore, a better first step might be to convene an extraordinary meeting of NPT parties to decide how to respond. This would allow all affected parties to address the issue and work out a common strategy. That meeting could then decide, after consideration, to refer the matter to the UNSC. OTHER ISSUES ¶6. (C) Indonesia had no plans to present a paper at the Prepcom, Rachmianto said, but did have other concerns which it would want to discuss. These included the future of the START-I Treaty, Article VI of the NPT regarding Disarmament and the early entry into force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). Indonesia's view was that these steps were overdue and hinged largely on action by the United States. (Note: The first two relate to Indonesia's standing advocacy of disarmament; the CTBT awaits U.S. ratification.) HUME