D/NSA PRICE URGES THAT SINGAPORE DO MORE ON BURMA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SINGAPORE 000067

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NSC FOR D/NSA DAN PRICE AND DIRECTOR MIKE SMART

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/16/2018
TAGS: ETTC ETRD EFIN ECON PREL SN BM
SUBJECT: D/NSA PRICE URGES THAT SINGAPORE DO MORE ON BURMA
IN MEETING WITH FM YEO

REF: 07 SINGAPORE 2086

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Daniel L. Shields.
Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: D/NSA for International Economic Affairs
Daniel Price used a meeting with Singapore Foreign Minister
George Yeo to urge that Singapore and ASEAN do more to
pressure the Burmese regime to cooperate with the UN and make
real progress toward democracy. FM Yeo responded that
Singapore and ASEAN had tried, but failed, to encourage the
Burmese junta to change its ways. FM Yeo conceded that
targeted U.S. financial sanctions against Burmese nationals
and entities with ties to Burma had generated increased
"discomfort" for the regime. However, he doubted their
overall effectiveness, observing that, Burma was moving
closer to China. Singapore would not
impose its own financial sanctions against Burma, but would
implement UN sanctions if they were imposed. The "best hope"
for dealing with Burma remains UN Special Envoy Gambari, whom
Singapore expects to be able to visit Burma in April, FM Yeo
said. D/NSA Price's discussions on the Doha Round and
related economic and trade issues are reported septel. End
Summary.

ASEAN: Tried but Failed
--------------


2. (C) Assistant to the President and Deputy National
Security Advisor (D/NSA) for International Economic Affairs
Daniel Price used a January 15 meeting with Singapore Foreign
Minister George Yeo to urge that Singapore and ASEAN do more
to pressure the Burmese regime to cooperate with the UN and
make real progress toward democracy. FM Yeo responded that
Singapore and ASEAN had tried, but failed, to encourage the
Burmese junta to change its ways following its September 2007
crackdown. ASEAN leaders had made clear to Burma during the
November 2007 ASEAN summit in Singapore that ASEAN could no
longer defend Burma's position. During the summit, Burma had
emphatically rejected any role for ASEAN (reftel). China and
India were in a better position than ASEAN to influence the
regime, he asserted.
Economic Pressure
--------------


3. (C) D/NSA Price asked if Singapore would use economic
means to put pressure on the Burmese regime. FM Yeo said
Singapore would not impose its own financial sanctions
against Burma, but would implement UN sanctions if they were
imposed. If Singapore acted unilaterally to impose
sanctions, it stood to lose its credibility as a regional
financial center, FM Yeo claimed. He noted that Singapore
has stated publicly its position that sanctions will not
work, especially if China refuses to comply. Not only are
sanctions an ineffective policy, they also push Burma closer
to China and increase the risk of Burma's disintegration.
Other countries need to engage Burma economically lest it
devolve into civil strife along ethnic lines, which would
mean bigger problems for Southeast Asia in terms of the drug
trade, terrorism, and refugees. The United States is far
away, but Singapore lives here, FM Yeo said.


4. (C) FM Yeo conceded that recent U.S. financial sanctions
imposed on certain Burmese nationals and entities with links
to Burma appear to have made the situation more
"uncomfortable" for the Burmese regime. Nevertheless,
targeted financial sanctions were driving the Burmese "into
the arms" of the Chinese. India will not tolerate a
situation in which China's influence in Burma is pervasive
and India will therefore keep up its own links to Burma. Fm
Yeo claimed that Burma's senior leaders were annoyed with
Singapore over its efforts on the Burma issue and had stopped
traveling to Singapore for medical treatment, opting instead
to seek medical care in China. FM Yeo said at one point he
had used the doctor in Singapore of Tay Za (a regime crony
businessman) to urge the Burmese regime, through Tay Za, to
talk with Aung San Suu Kyi. Channels like this no longer
exist, he noted. The "best hope" for dealing with Burma
remains UN Special Envoy Gambari, whom Singapore expects to
be able to visit Burma in April, FM Yeo said.


5. (SBU) D/NSA Price's discussions on the Doha Round and
related economic and trade issues are reported septel.

SINGAPORE 00000067 002 OF 002




6. (U) D/NSA Price did not have the opportunity to clear
this message.

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