SINGAPORE CONCERNED BURMA ILL PREPARED FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SINGAPORE 000587 NOFORN SIPDIS EAP/MLS FOR AARON COPE E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/22/2018 TAGS: EAID PREL SN BM ASEAN SUBJECT: SINGAPORE CONCERNED BURMA ILL PREPARED FOR PLEDGING CONFERENCE REF: A. STATE 53985 ¶B. SINGAPORE 572 Classified By: E/P Chief Ike Reed, reason 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) In response to ref A demarche, MFA ASEAN Directorate Senior Deputy Director Wong Chow Ming told E/P Chief May 21 that Singapore shares our concern about the need to focus Burma's attention on ensuring international relief reaches victims of Cyclone Nargis as quickly as possible. Wong recalled that in an ASEAN senior officials meeting just prior to the May 19 ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting (ref B), Burmese officials appeared to have "no idea" what would be expected of them at the May 25 pledging conference in Rangoon. He said ASEAN senior officials, in particular from countries that received international assistance following the 2004 tsunami, had worked to convince Burma that donors would not offer "blank checks" and would expect well-executed needs assessments and mechanisms to ensure any assistance was properly targeted and accounted for. ¶2. (C) Recalling that the Burmese kept pressing to hold the conference as early as May 22, Wong said it had taken some effort to convince the Burmese that they had a lot of work to do to get ready even for a May 24 conference. Wong said he was still not sure the Burmese fully understood how much would be required of them, but nevertheless they had agreed to the May 24 date and, in the subsequent ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting, responded positively to requests for greater international access and a coordinating role for ASEAN. ¶3. (U) Wong said that Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo would co-host the May 24 pledging conference along with his Burmese counterpart, Nyan Win, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Visit Embassy Singapore's Classified website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/singapore/ind ex.cfm HERBOLD