Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08SINGAPORE1241
2008-11-21 09:56:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Singapore
Cable title:
DUTCH TO JOIN RECAAP; SINGAPORE STILL PREFERS SLOW
how-toVZCZCXRO6481 RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH DE RUEHGP #1241 3260956 ZNY CCCCC ZZH R 210956Z NOV 08 FM AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6053 INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2188 RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 2124 RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 4247 RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE 0412 RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 5945
C O N F I D E N T I A L SINGAPORE 001241
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EAP/MTS - M. COPPOLA
STATE ALSO FOR L/OES - A. ROACH
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/19/2028
TAGS: PREL PHSA EWWT SN ID MY
SUBJECT: DUTCH TO JOIN RECAAP; SINGAPORE STILL PREFERS SLOW
TRACK FOR OUTSIDE COUNTRIES
Classified By: DCM DANIEL SHIELDS FOR REASONS 1.4 (B)(D)
C O N F I D E N T I A L SINGAPORE 001241
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EAP/MTS - M. COPPOLA
STATE ALSO FOR L/OES - A. ROACH
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/19/2028
TAGS: PREL PHSA EWWT SN ID MY
SUBJECT: DUTCH TO JOIN RECAAP; SINGAPORE STILL PREFERS SLOW
TRACK FOR OUTSIDE COUNTRIES
Classified By: DCM DANIEL SHIELDS FOR REASONS 1.4 (B)(D)
1. (SBU) The Netherlands will soon join the Regional
Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery
Against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP),Yoshiaki Ito, ReCAAP
Information Centre Executive Director told Poloffs during an
early November visit to the Centre. The Netherlands request
had been approved by all RECAAP members, and it would now be
the first non-Asian country to join ReCAAP, Ito noted.
Clearly happy about the expansion of RECAAP, Ito said Dutch
participation will bring RECAAP membership to fifteen
countries.
2. (SBU) Ito told us RECAAP was beginning to become more
firmly established after a shaky start resulting from
Malaysia and Indonesia's unhappiness over its being located
in Singapore. Malaysia and Indonesia have still given no
indication of when they might join RECAAP, but Ito said the
two countries seem to be more comfortable with the
organization, sharing piracy information and participating in
some RECAAP activities. He thought that eventually both
would join. Ito did not address the question of eventual
U.S. membership, but did express interest in inviting U.S.
experts to participate in a ReCAAP capacity building workshop
sometime in 2009.
3. (SBU) In response to a question about how regional states
handle captured pirates, Ito noted that ReCAAP is in
consultations with the International Maritime Organization
(IMO) on that very question. Each of the three littoral
states (Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore) would prosecute
pirates according to their own laws, Ito said. The
non-littoral states have not captured pirates in the Straits
to date, Ito said. Additionally, pirates are almost
exclusively captured in one of the three states' territorial
waters, so that regional states' experience with captured
pirates in the Straits of Malacca could not likely be applied
to the Gulf of Aden, where the pirates are often captured in
either international waters or in the territorial waters of a
failed state (Somalia).
SINGAPORE STILL UNEASY ON OUTSIDE (USG) MEMBERSHIP
-------------- --------------
4. (C) Ministry of Foreign Affairs Special Projects Assistant
Director Iris Chen told Poloff November 12 that the Singapore
government is continuing to discuss internally the potential
for other non-regional/non-Asian countries to join ReCAAP,.
With the Netherlands already set to join, the natural next
step would be to invite other non-regional countries to join
the agreement, Chen said. However, she indicated that the GOS
is still uncomfortable with the idea of either the United
States or Australia joining before Indonesia and Malaysia
have done so, fearing it would discourage the latter two
countries from joining.
Visit Embassy Singapore's Classified website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/singapore/ind ex.cfm
HERBOLD
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EAP/MTS - M. COPPOLA
STATE ALSO FOR L/OES - A. ROACH
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/19/2028
TAGS: PREL PHSA EWWT SN ID MY
SUBJECT: DUTCH TO JOIN RECAAP; SINGAPORE STILL PREFERS SLOW
TRACK FOR OUTSIDE COUNTRIES
Classified By: DCM DANIEL SHIELDS FOR REASONS 1.4 (B)(D)
1. (SBU) The Netherlands will soon join the Regional
Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery
Against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP),Yoshiaki Ito, ReCAAP
Information Centre Executive Director told Poloffs during an
early November visit to the Centre. The Netherlands request
had been approved by all RECAAP members, and it would now be
the first non-Asian country to join ReCAAP, Ito noted.
Clearly happy about the expansion of RECAAP, Ito said Dutch
participation will bring RECAAP membership to fifteen
countries.
2. (SBU) Ito told us RECAAP was beginning to become more
firmly established after a shaky start resulting from
Malaysia and Indonesia's unhappiness over its being located
in Singapore. Malaysia and Indonesia have still given no
indication of when they might join RECAAP, but Ito said the
two countries seem to be more comfortable with the
organization, sharing piracy information and participating in
some RECAAP activities. He thought that eventually both
would join. Ito did not address the question of eventual
U.S. membership, but did express interest in inviting U.S.
experts to participate in a ReCAAP capacity building workshop
sometime in 2009.
3. (SBU) In response to a question about how regional states
handle captured pirates, Ito noted that ReCAAP is in
consultations with the International Maritime Organization
(IMO) on that very question. Each of the three littoral
states (Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore) would prosecute
pirates according to their own laws, Ito said. The
non-littoral states have not captured pirates in the Straits
to date, Ito said. Additionally, pirates are almost
exclusively captured in one of the three states' territorial
waters, so that regional states' experience with captured
pirates in the Straits of Malacca could not likely be applied
to the Gulf of Aden, where the pirates are often captured in
either international waters or in the territorial waters of a
failed state (Somalia).
SINGAPORE STILL UNEASY ON OUTSIDE (USG) MEMBERSHIP
-------------- --------------
4. (C) Ministry of Foreign Affairs Special Projects Assistant
Director Iris Chen told Poloff November 12 that the Singapore
government is continuing to discuss internally the potential
for other non-regional/non-Asian countries to join ReCAAP,.
With the Netherlands already set to join, the natural next
step would be to invite other non-regional countries to join
the agreement, Chen said. However, she indicated that the GOS
is still uncomfortable with the idea of either the United
States or Australia joining before Indonesia and Malaysia
have done so, fearing it would discourage the latter two
countries from joining.
Visit Embassy Singapore's Classified website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/singapore/ind ex.cfm
HERBOLD