ASEAN SECRETARIAT -- POSITIVE MOMENTUM ON TIES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 000447 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP NSD FOR E.PHU E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/13/2019 TAGS: PREL KTIA ASEAN ID SUBJECT: ASEAN SECRETARIAT -- POSITIVE MOMENTUM ON TIES WITH U.S. REF: A. CANBERRA 239 ¶B. 08 JAKARTA 2266 Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The Secretary's February 18 visit to the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta has generated positive momentum regarding U.S. engagement with Southeast Asia. ASEAN Secretariat officials welcome the U.S. decision to pursue accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation and look forward to working with us on this process. They described a greater role for the Secretariat following the recent ASEAN Summit and entry into force of the ASEAN Charter. Indonesians increasingly seek to play a leading role in the regional organization and call for it to do more to promote democracy and human rights. END SUMMARY. LOOKING FORWARD TO TAC ACCESSION ¶2. (C) ASEAN Secretariat officials in a March 12 meeting with poloff welcomed Secretary Clinton's visit and announcement that the United States would begin the formal process toward accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC). Thailand, as ASEAN Chair would be our partner negotiating the instrument of accession, according to Termsak Chalermpalanupap, Special Assistant to the Secretary General. Termsak noted that he and other Secretariat officials have facilitated numerous previous TAC accessions and will work with the USG and RTG to move the process forward. ¶3. (C) Secretariat officials emphasized that the TAC is primarily a political rather than a legal document. It reflects acceptance of broad principals of cooperation and peaceful coexistence. It does not commit the partner to specific actions. Officials noted that ASEAN has never invoked the TAC "to stop" any signatory from taking specific actions, nor has it been used to compel a signatory to do something. ¶4. (C) ASEAN officials understand that the United States may have concerns about elements of the TAC. They suggested that the process of Australia's accession may be a useful model for us to follow. (Note: Ref A reviews this in more detail.) Australia raised two key concerns, according to Termsak: --Would accession to the TAC have an impact on its relations with non-ASEAN signatories (such as North Korea)? --Would the TAC impose any legally binding restrictions on Australian foreign policy (e.g. could ASEAN invoke the treaty's non-interference provision in an attempt to halt Australian criticism of Burma)? Secretariat officials assured us that accession to the TAC entailed no such limits or obligations. Termsak promised to provide us with an exchange of correspondence between the governments of Australia and Laos (the ASEAN Chair at the time of Australia's accession) and other documents that clarified these matters. (Note: Mission will forward these items to Ambassador Marciel and to EAP/MTS and EAP/RSP.) EMPOWERING THE SECRETARIAT ¶5. (SBU) In a diplomatic corps briefing on the recent ASEAN Summit held on March 12, Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan outlined a greater role for the Secretariat. An important aspect of this effort will be the establishment of a permanent Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR) based at the Secretariat. The CPR will replace the current ASEAN Standing Committee as the organization's key coordinating body. Surin hopes to center more of the organization's activities at the Secretariat as a way to cut down on the proliferation of meetings. (Note: Last year, ASEAN held over 700 separate meetings on a variety of subjects.) The regional body plans to add 26 new staff positions over a four-year expansion to meet the administrative demands of these enhanced responsibilities. ¶6. (C) The Secretariat is also moving forward with plans to create an ASEAN Human Rights Network. The Network will consist of university-based centers that will conduct teaching and research on human rights-related topics. The Secretariat does not want the Network to be an official ASEAN entity because the organization's consensus decision-making process would allow countries like Burma to block any JAKARTA 00000447 002 OF 002 worthwhile initiatives. However, the Secretariat endorsed the Network and will support it financially. ASEAN officials told us they hope the Network will put pressure on the ASEAN Human Rights Body (AHRB) to take more decisive action re human rights violations within SE Asia. ¶7. (C) Secretariat officials are still considering locations for the Network centers and expect the first to be established in Singapore, probably in cooperation with the National University of Singapore. Subsequent centers will likely be established in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. It is unlikely that the Network will have any presence in Burma, Laos or Cambodia for the near future. At our suggestion, the Secretariat will look for ways that any Indonesia-based center can cooperate with the Indonesian government's Bali Democracy Forum (see ref B). PRESSING INDONESIAN LEADERSHIP ¶8. (C) Indonesian leaders are cautiously pushing the regional organization to play a more active role. Following the recent ASEAN Summit, President Yudhoyono called for ASEAN to engage in a more inclusive dialogue with NGOs and civil society groups in areas like human rights, the environment and sustainable development. He reiterated Indonesia's view that the AHRB must be a credible body devoted to promoting human rights, the rule of law and freedom of expression. ¶9. (C) In this statement, Yudhoyono walked a fine line, as ASEAN's principle of non-interference in each other's internal affairs remains a deeply held value by many senior Indonesian officials. However, many influential foreign policy thinkers, parliamentarians and NGOs here have become increasingly impatient with what they see as ASEAN's constraints on Indonesian actions. They believe that Indonesia, as ASEAN's largest member, should be more aggressive in leading the organization. HEFFERN