21ST ASEAN - U.S. DIALOGUE MEETING IN SINGAPORE,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 STATE 059358

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL ECIN ASEAN
SUBJECT: 21ST ASEAN - U.S. DIALOGUE MEETING IN SINGAPORE,
MAY 10


1. Summary and introduction. The 21st ASEAN - U.S. Dialogue
meeting took place in Singapore on May 10. The U.S.
delegation was led by Ambassador for ASEAN Affairs Scot
Marciel, who co-chaired the meeting with Peter Ho, Permanent
Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore.
The U.S. delegation included officials from State, Treasury
and USAID. The discussions covered the full range of
developments in U.S. - ASEAN relations. Permanent Secretary
Ho and other ASEAN representatives praised "ADVANCE", the
program recently launched by the U.S. to support cooperation
with ASEAN. The meeting also discussed regional and global
issues of common interest. Ambassador Marciel expressed
sympathy for the victims of Cyclone Nargis and noted that,
notwithstanding U.S. concerns about the constitutional
referendum then underway, the American interest in is saving
lives not scoring political points. He urged ASEAN to convey
to Burmese authorities the urgency of providing access to
relief supplies and personnel offered by the international
community. End summary and introduction.


2. In his welcoming remarks, Permanent Secretary Ho
congratulated Ambassador Marciel on his recent confirmation.
He called the U.S. a pathfinder in creating this position,
and said they hoped other ASEAN Dialogue Partners will follow
suit. Other ASEAN senior officials in their interventions
throughout the meeting echoed Ho's congratulations and warmly
welcomed U.S. leadership in creating the position of
Ambassador for ASEAN Affairs. Permanent Secretary Ho also
highlighted the new ADVANCE program that supports cooperation
between ASEAN and the U.S., the Trade and Investment
Framework Arrangement (TIFA),and cooperation to implement
ASEAN's Vientiane Action Program as concrete steps in
developing ASEAN - U.S. relations. Ambassador Marciel
responded, noting ASEAN's development progress, particularly
through the signing of its Charter and the implementation of
its political/security, economic and socio/cultural
communities. The U.S. is supporting ASEAN's efforts by
implementing the Joint Vision Statement on the ASEAN - U.S.
Enhanced Partnership announced by the President and ASEAN
leaders.


3. Developments in ASEAN dominated the discussion of global
and regional issues. Permanent Secretary Ho cited the
signing of the ASEAN Charter last November as a milestone
that will make ASEAN a more rules based organization. By the
end of the year the Secretariat in Jakarta will be
strengthened and permanent representatives from member
countries will be posted there by July 2009. Six of the ten
ASEAN member countries have already ratified the Charter, but
ASEAN is already working to bring it into effect, for example
through the development of an ASEAN human rights body, which
he described as a significant step. A high level panel is
developing terms of reference and a scope of work for the
human rights body, and will report to foreign ministers at
their annual meeting in July. Several ASEAN delegations
echoed Permanent Secretary Ho's comments. Ambassador Marciel
responded the U.S. welcomes the Charter, which we see as
having the potential to transform ASEAN into a stronger and
more effective organization. Our goal is to be supportive of
ASEAN's goals. We also are willing to be supportive of the
planned human rights body and we are prepared to provided
technical assistance if desired.


4. Indonesia led a discussion of regional architecture and
development of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF),the ASEAN 3
(ASEAN plus China, Japan and Korea) and the East Asia Summit.
ASEAN will continue to play a central role in these groups.
ASEAN officials see each of these organizations as having a
different footprint and are suited for different issues.
They did not see duplication or overlap. Ambassador Marciel
said the U.S. welcomed pan-Asian and trans-Pacific regional
integration, but we are looking to see how all these groups
fit together. Our focus in the region is on APEC and the
ARF. EAP/RSP Director Hall also described discussion taking
place on a Northeast Asia Peace and Security Mechanism
(NEAPSM),followed by a discussion of the status of the
Six-Party Talks.


5. Developments in the Middle East are a traditional topic
at ASEAN Dialogue meetings. Ambassador Marciel described
U.S. views of the Middle East peace process, the situation
in Iraq and Iran's nuclear program. Malaysia responded,
recognizing Israel's security concerns, but criticizing its
actions in Gaza as disproportionate and amounting to
collective punishment. Malaysia urged that efforts be made
to include the Sunnis in the political process in Iraq.
Regarding Iran, Malaysia said it supported the right of all
countries to produce nuclear technology for peaceful

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purposes.


6. ASEAN and U.S. officials discussed their cooperation,
including several projects that have been proposed or are
underway. ASEAN delegations in particular welcomed the
ADVANCE program, funded by the State Department and USAID, as
a means of greatly increasing cooperation. Brunei, Laos and
Cambodia in particular thanked the United States for its
support. The ASEAN Secretariat reviewed the cooperation that
is taking place with the U.S. and hoped that cooperation
could be increased on disaster management, drugs, and
trafficking in persons. Because of serious impact of Cyclone
Nargis on Burma, there was extensive discussion of disaster
management throughout the meeting. The ASEAN Secretariat
invited the U.S. to consider helping to implement Phase II of
the Incident Command System training and expressed interest
in cooperation on disaster risk reduction. Ambassador
Marciel described other highlights of U.S. cooperation with
ASEAN, including the beginning of the ASEAN Fulbright
Scholars program, work on the environment, particularly the
successful Wildlife Enforcement Network, and extensive
capacity building on intellectual property rights protection.
Officials discussed the Science and Technology Agreement
that is being negotiated by technical officials and agreed on
the importance of concluding the agreement in time for it to
be signed at the ASEAN Post Ministerial Conference in
Singapore on July 23.


7. The Dialogue meeting discussed cooperation on counter
terrorism and transnational crime. The Philippines cited the
ASEAN Convention on Counter Terrorism that is being
implemented and the Joint Declaration for Cooperation to
Combat Terrorism that ASEAN concluded with the United States.
ASEAN welcomed work proposed on a rewards program, maritime
domain awareness and the consultancy on counter terrorism
work in ASEAN supported by the U.S, now completed. Laos
asked the U.S. to play a greater role in this area and
suggested more consultations between the Senior Officials
Meeting on Transnational Crime and the United States.


8. Private sector business executives join the discussion of
economic issues in the annual Dialogue and members of the
U.S. - ASEAN Business Council attended the meeting. The
President of the Council noted that the private sector
provided over $750 million in assistance after the Indian
Ocean tsunami. American businesses were prepared to help
again to assist in responding to the crisis caused by Cyclone
Nargis in Burma. Other business comments were on the general
need for ASEAN to reduce barriers to trade and investment.
The representative from Cargill described the major
importance of the food industry in Southeast Asia, noting his
company alone has 25,000 direct employees and provide
indirect employment for 200,000 others. Trade barriers are a
particular difficulty for in the food industry in the ASEAN
region. The representative of Johnson and Johnson described
the growing healthcare industry and importance of regulatory
harmonization across ASEAN member countries and the need for
a regional strategy to combat counterfeit medicines. The
representative of UPS noted that her company moves 2 per cent
of the world's GDP at any given time. Given that volume of
trade, the development of the ASEAN Single Window, a customs
clearance system that will allow shippers to submit
information and data through a single process and decision
point, is extremely important.
RICE