ASEAN SEC-GEN SURIN DISCUSSES ASEAN, BURMA,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 000454

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/MLS, NSC FOR PHU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/12/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV TH
SUBJECT: ASEAN SEC-GEN SURIN DISCUSSES ASEAN, BURMA,
ROHINGYA, AND THE THAI SOUTH IN BANGKOK

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Classified By: DCM James F. Entwistle, reason 1.4 (b,d)


1. (C) Summary. ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan
engaged U.S. officials from Embassies Rangoon and Bangkok, as
well as EAP/MLS, in Bangkok February 9 on ASEAN, engagement
in Burma, the Rohingya, and efforts to resolve the situation
in Thailand's deep south. Surin stated optimistically that
the ASEAN Charter could take the region into a new era of
rules-based engagement; expressed hope that the trilateral
mechanism set up to address post-cyclone recovery in Burma
could be expanded and extended; called the plight of the
Rohingya a humanitarian situation and a litmus test for the
new ASEAN; and suggested a resolution of deep seated
grievances in Thailand's south would require some form of
self-governance. End Summary.

"Charter gives ASEAN a dynamism it lacked"
--------------


2. (SBU) ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan met Embassy
Rangoon Charge Dinger, EAP/MLS deputy director Palmer,
Embassy Bangkok POL Counselor, and Embassy Rangoon P/E Chief
February 9 in Bangkok. Looking forward, Surin asserted that
ASEAN currently enjoyed forward momentum. In particular, the
ASEAN Charter gave the organization a new dynamism,
transforming it into a rules-based organization. Ten
different partners had appointed Ambassadors to/for ASEAN,
starting with the U.S. and including the UK, France, and the
EU. The Czech Republic and Sweden were next, Surin added.
Surin expressed hope that ASEAN could develop its full
potential but stressed that this depended on member
governments. Palmer noted that outside partners placed hope
that Surin could provide more active leadership from the
Secretary General position than had been the case in the
past, not merely leaving it up to member governments.

Burma/TCG - expanding ASEAN's role incrementally
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3. (C) Charge Dinger expressed USG hopes that it would be
possible to build on the post-Cyclone Nargis Tripartite Core
Group (TCG) mechanism. Surin said that he had made clear his
expectations on this score with former Burmese Deputy Foreign
Minister (now head of the Civil Service) and TCG Chair Kyaw
Thu. Surin hoped that the ASEAN-brokered presence and
activities would remain meaningful, not just diplomatic
cover. Surin aspired to expand the TCG mechanism beyond the
cyclone-affected Delta and to broaden its mandate to include
policy issues to make assistance sustainable. He asked: how
would it be possible to engage on agriculture, for instance,
without a discussion of land ownership and pricing
mechanisms? Another hope was to expand the ASEAN volunteer
program by using volunteers from Burma in neighboring Laos
and Cambodia. Surin stressed he was trying to be creative;
he hoped for a TCG extension of three years to the end of the
PONREPP (Post-Nargis Recovery and Preparedness Plan) process.


4. (C) Charge Dinger noted that U Kyaw Thu had told him that
if donor countries offered enough, Burmese authorities likely
would agree to an extension; Kyaw Thu suggested, however,
without additional resources, the regime did not see the
point in an extension. Surin stressed that an ASEAN-led
mechanism like the TCG had advantages for Burma as Chair, and
he expected the Burmese to be pragmatic in relation to
deliverables. He added that several other new ASEAN members
(note: a reference to Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam) remained
reluctant to allow ASEAN a sustained role in Burma for fear
of the precedent it would set.

Rohingya Issue: "Litmus test for the new ASEAN"
-------------- --


5. (C) Surin called the plight of the Rohingya a
"humanitarian issue" and cautioned against complicating it
with religion. He dismissed Thai claims that the Rohingya
might join Muslim Malay insurgents in southern Thailand, but
noted that the Thai MFA had moved quickly to engage UNHCR and
offer access once the story of maritime pushbacks emerged.
Surin called the Rohingya situation a "litmus test for the

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new ASEAN," an issue that could not be avoided.


6. (C) Charge Dinger noted that if ASEAN wanted to be taken
seriously, it needed to tackle such regional problems. He
inquired whether the Rohingya would be on the agenda for the
February 27-March 1 ASEAN Summit. Surin deferred to Thailand
as the Chair and host to set the formal summit agenda but
observed that the side group proposed by the Thai MFA was a
good idea. Surin appealed to the USG and other international
actors to keep the issue on the radar screen through media
and NGO activities and by publicly appealing for ASEAN to
implement its human rights body.


7. (C) Note: discussions about how the Rohingya issue might
be addressed at the upcoming February 27-March 1 ASEAN Summit
continue. The Thai MFA has proposed a side-meeting to
include Bangladesh; Surin told a February 20 video conference
linking ASEAN civil society representatives that not all of
the invited countries had responded. Thai government
spokesman Panitan said February 18 that Thai PM Abhisit would
raise the Rohingya issue in the Leader's Discussion.

Tackling the Thai South Challenge
--------------


8. (C) Surin, who wrote his Harvard PhD dissertation on
Muslim Malay identity in the Thai deep south and retains
close ties with the ruling Democrat Party, offered cautious
positive comments about the stated intent of the current
Abhisit administration to address the long-standing
grievances of the local population in the deep south that
feed the insurgency. Surin stressed that any durable
solution must offer some form of self-governance. He
underscored that "the route to that end will be long" and
will require leadership able to explain such a policy to the
whole country.


9. (U) This cable has been coordinated with Embassy Rangoon.
JOHN