MARITIME SECURITY/SULAWESI SEA -- TWO USG-FUNDED

C O N F I D E N T I A L JAKARTA 000733 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MLS, EAP/MTS, EAP/RSP, S/CT, PM, PM/PPA NSC FOR E. PHU E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/27/2019 TAGS: PREL MASS PTER EWWT ID SUBJECT: MARITIME SECURITY/SULAWESI SEA -- TWO USG-FUNDED RADAR SYSTEMS IN PLACE REF: JAKARTA 261 Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4 (b + d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Two U.S.-funded maritime radar systems located in the Sulawesi Sea region are in place. Mission is providing training for the Indonesian Navy in order to make the systems operational as soon as possible. The Sulawesi Sea effort is in addition to the U.S.-funded radar networks in place in the Malacca Strait region. The radar networks are meant to make Indonesia's adjacent waterways more secure, enhancing the GOI's ability to deal with transnational threats. Mission also looks forward to Washington's approval of a proposal to train GOI teams to staff two Regional Command Centers. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) The GOI's surveillance capabilities in the Sulawesi Sea region are being upgraded thanks to a USG project. Under Mission supervision, contractors from Techno Science, Inc., recently installed two USG-funded Section 1206 National Defense Authorization Act coastal surveillance stations in the historically undergoverned waters of the Sulawesi Sea. The completion of these stations marks the first concrete realization of an ambitious project to increase maritime domain awareness in this vital region as part of regional counter-terrorism efforts. By mid-December 2009, this year's NDAA 1206 project will build six additional stations in northern Sulawesi and northeastern Kalimantan. Contractors are also installing shipboard radars to complement the coastal stations. ¶3. (C) The stations that are in place are in two wings of the far-flung southern rim area of the Sulawesi Sea, an area of terrorist transit among the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. One station is in Tahuna, a speck in the island chain stretching from North Sulawesi to the Southern Philippines. The other is in Tarakan, a port city located near the Malaysian border in East Kalimantan. ¶4. (C) The Indonesian Navy will staff the coastal surveillance stations. A two-week training course for Indonesian Navy operators is slated to begin in May. (Note: USG-funded radar networks are also in place in the Malacca Strait region.) ¶5. (C) The radar networks are meant to make Indonesia's national and international waterways more secure, enhancing the GOI's ability to deal with transnational threats. Mission has submitted to Washington a funding proposal to train interagency Indonesian teams to staff Regional Control Centers in Manado, North Sulawesi and Batam, in the Malacca Strait region. Under the plan, the Indonesian National Police, the Department of Sea Transportation, Department of Fisheries and other law enforcement or maritime agencies would all have access to the system to make operational decisions based on the radar system information. This sharing of information would assist Indonesia in its efforts to combat the transit of terrorists and interdict illegal fishing and other illicit activity. Mission looks forward to Washington's approval of the proposal. HUME