Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09DILI34
2009-02-04 15:15:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Dili
Cable title:  

U.S. 7TH FLEET COMMANDER AND THE USS LASSEN VISIT

Tags:  PREL ECON MARR EAID TT 
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VZCZCXRO2882
PP RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHHM
DE RUEHDT #0034/01 0351515
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P R 041515Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY DILI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4219
INFO RHMFISS/COGARD CEU HONOLULU HI
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RHHMHAA/COMPACFLT PEARL HARBOR HI
RHOVVKG/COMSEVENTHFLT
RUSICWK/NAVCRIMINVSERVFO SINGAPORE
RUWICBE/I MEF
RUSICWP/COMLOG WESTPAC
RHMFISS/COMMARFORPAC
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 1028
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 1256
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0928
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 0987
RUEHLI/AMEMBASSY LISBON 1099
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0098
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0042
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 0050
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 0011
RUEHKL/AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR 0057
RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHDT/AMEMBASSY DILI 3724
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 DILI 000034 

SIPDIS

FOR DOD/OSD FOR DASD CLAD; STATE FOR EAP/MTS DAS MARCIEL; PACOM
FOR ADMIRAL KEATING; PACFLT FOR ADMIRAL WILLARD; MARFORPAC FOR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2/4/2019
TAGS: PREL ECON MARR EAID TT
SUBJECT: U.S. 7TH FLEET COMMANDER AND THE USS LASSEN VISIT
TIMOR-LESTE

DILI 00000034 001.2 OF 003


CLASSIFIED BY: Major Ron Sargent, US Defense Representative, US
Embassy, Dili, East Timor, Department of Defense.
REASON: 1.4 (a),(b),(d)



(SBU)
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 DILI 000034

SIPDIS

FOR DOD/OSD FOR DASD CLAD; STATE FOR EAP/MTS DAS MARCIEL; PACOM
FOR ADMIRAL KEATING; PACFLT FOR ADMIRAL WILLARD; MARFORPAC FOR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2/4/2019
TAGS: PREL ECON MARR EAID TT
SUBJECT: U.S. 7TH FLEET COMMANDER AND THE USS LASSEN VISIT
TIMOR-LESTE

DILI 00000034 001.2 OF 003


CLASSIFIED BY: Major Ron Sargent, US Defense Representative, US
Embassy, Dili, East Timor, Department of Defense.
REASON: 1.4 (a),(b),(d)



(SBU) 1. Summary. Embassy Dili recently had two distinguished
visitors: U.S. 7th Fleet Commander, Vice Admiral John Bird, and
the USS Lassen. Both were well-received by the leadership and
population of Timor-Leste, as were their exchanges involving the
Australian-led International Stabilization Force. VADM Bird
visited the Timorese military's modest naval base and discussed
the future of U.S. cooperation and assistance with both the CHOD
and Secretary of State for Defense. The Lassen visit was a
notable success because of the outreach she facilitated and the
professionalism of her crew. Embassy Dili is eager to host
future U.S. warships visits as is the Government of Timor-Leste,
and requests that all visiting ships in the future be adequately
resourced prior to arrival to conduct community relations
(COMREL) projects that fit within their scope. Such projects
will remain important to our theater security cooperation
objectives into the unforeseeable future. End summary.



(SBU) 2. The U.S. 7th Fleet Commander, Vice Admiral John Bird,
visited Dili on January 23-24. His visit included calls on
Foreign Minister Zacarias da Costa; Secretary of State for
Defense Julio Tomas Pinto; F-FDTL Commander Brigadier General
Taur Matan Ruak; the head of the Timorese Navy, Commander
Donaciano Gomes; and the new ISF Commander Brigadier Bill Sowry.
The visit also included a dinner attended by UNMIT SRSG Atul
Khare and several representatives of the local diplomatic corps.



(C) 3. During all calls with local officials, there was
strong, unanimous affirmation regarding the desire to have the
United States play a prominent role in assisting with security
sector development and modernization within the context of an
exceedingly challenging environment populated by a large number

of donor nations. Of significance, Ruak repeated the request he
made of PACOM Commander Admiral Timothy Keating at the November
11-13, 2008, Chiefs of Defense Conference in Bali for more
professional military education slots in U.S. military
institutions; a U.S. legal advisor for his headquarters; and
assistance in developing a training center on Timor-Leste that
F-FDTL and international military forces could utilize. Pinto
repeated his earlier request for a memorandum of understanding
between the GOTL and the USG regarding training support to
F-FDTL. He also reiterated his plea for U.S. assistance in
strengthening donor coordination especially in the area of
maritime security.



(C) 4. During the visit with Commander Gomes at his base in
Hera, VADM Bird learned that Lisbon intends to send three
additional naval advisors to Hera to complement the existing
two, to assist in the development and expansion of Timor's
maritime force that currently has only 70 members. Gomes also
told VADM Bird, as he did Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet
Admiral Robert Willard during his July 14-16, 2008 visit, that
he desires to significantly expand the Hera facilities in the
near future to accommodate the anticipated receipt of two
Chinese Shanghai-class vessels as early as 2010. However, Gomes
noted that he did not yet have national leadership buy-in for
such a plan, and that he did not know which donor would support
such an effort.

DILI 00000034 002.2 OF 003





(SBU) 5. The visit of the USS Lassen on January 26-29 was
well-received and successfully conducted. Major events
included: one COMREL that resulted in the painting of a large,
four-room two-story school building and repair of an adjacent
water pump; two Project Handclasp events which involved the Dili
Diocese and a local orphanage; a visit to the National Hospital;
ship tours; office calls by Captain Anthony Simmons on the
Secretary of State for Defense and the F-FDTL Commander;
participation in Australia Day activities sponsored by the
Australian Embassy; liberty for Lassen's sailors; and mil-to-mil
engagement with both the ISF and F-FDTL. Additionally, a VIP
reception was conducted onboard which included President Jose
Ramos-Horta and Foreign Minister Zacarias da Costa; a delegation
from the Australian Parliament; and many diplomats and local
officials. Several of these events were favorably covered by
the local media.



(SBU) 6. The visit was dependent upon security provided by a
combination of the UN Police, the National Police of
Timor-Leste, and the ISF, all of which was ably and
professionally coordinated by the Naval Criminal Investigative
Service. There was also close and effective coordination
between the Lassen's shore patrol and the ISF's military police.
Logistical support was provided principally by the husbanding
agent, Glenn Defense Marine, and Embassy Dili.



(SBU) 7. Liberty for sailors included access to most
restaurants along the Dili beachfront, extending from the US
Embassy in the west, to the Christo Rei beach in the east.
Scuba diving tours were also organized and conducted for a total
of about 10 sailors. The husbanding agent arranged for bus
transport of sailors along the beachfront. Additionally, the
Embassy was able to provide a refreshment concession to the
approximately 100 sailors who visited the compound's swimming
pool. Sailors were given a back-on-ship curfew of 2200 hrs
daily. There were no serious incidents involving sailors on
liberty.



(SBU) 8. Embassy Dili conducted extensive coordinations with
the GOTL, F-FDTL, ISF, and the UN Police as soon as the Lassen's
visit was confirmed. As Timor-Leste is a country which includes
a non-US led joint task force, an active UN peacekeeping
operation, and both national police and defense forces all
occupying the same operational space, the challenges for U.S.
military deployments continue to be unique, albeit reasonably
manageable. However, particularly due to the willingness of all
agencies to both support and participate in Lassen-related
activities, the visit's execution occurred with no
complications. This spirit of cooperation will go a long way in
facilitating future ship visits, something that Embassy Dili
continues to strongly encourage and the Timorese Government
eagerly welcomes.



(C) 9. For future U.S. naval ship visits, Post recommends that
advance parties (ADVON) come early enough to coordinate upcoming
shore operations in light of the ship's respective operational
tempo. We feel this is a modest requirement which will ensure
that future visits, vitally important to our theater security

DILI 00000034 003.2 OF 003


cooperation engagement, are successful. While the Lassen visit
was very positively received, Post cannot overemphasize the
importance of adequate advance preparation due to the
complications associated with operating in a security-challenged
environment such as Timor-Leste's. A properly resourced ADVON
could easily achieve all of the aforementioned COMREL and
coordination aims if arriving as late as 72-96 hours prior to a
ship's arrival.



(C) 10. Additionally, COMRELs which involve minor repairs and
painting of Timor's dilapidated educational and health
facilities must be adequately resourced. These modest
activities have enormously positive impact for our public
diplomacy programs in Timor-Leste. Their bang for the buck is
profoundly large and to fail to properly resource these projects
or events inhibits mission success. As a rule of thumb, we
recommend that visiting ships be prepared to locally purchase up
to $3000 of supplies in order to ensure project completion. It
should be noted that the need to local-purchase supplies can be
mitigated if an ADVON is in-place early enough to inform the
ship of what it could procure from appropriate stores prior to
arrival. However, this can be potentially problematic due to
the non-standard nature of materials in Timor-Leste in
comparison with what is normally procured by the USG.



(SBU) 11. Post wishes to once again express its genuine
appreciation to the U.S. Pacific Command, the U.S. Pacific
Fleet, and the U.S. 7th Fleet for visits to Timor by U.S. Navy
ships such as that recently completed by the USS Lassen.
Embassy Dili is especially grateful for the generous commitment
of Captain Anthony Simmons' personal time and the resources of
his command to several programs in Timor-Leste, and the
remarkably positive energy and goodwill expressed by his crew.
The USS Lassen will long be remembered by all the Timorese
fortunate enough to engage with her crew. Embassy Dili is
committed to fully welcome and support future visits to
Timor-Leste by U.S. Navy warships.
KLEMM