AMBASSADOR ENGAGES FOREIGN SECRETARY, DIPLOMATIC

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANILA 001254 SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MTS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/10/2019 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL RP BM SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR ENGAGES FOREIGN SECRETARY, DIPLOMATIC CORPS ON BURMA REF: A. MANILA 1128 ¶B. MANILA 1081 ¶C. MANILA 1065 Clas?Z1, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) In a June 11 private discussion over breakfast with Philippine Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo, the Ambassador underscored the extreme seriousness with which the United States views the Burmese junta's trumped-up charges against pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi, and the show trial now being conducted in Rangoon. The Ambassador emphasized that in the event that Suu Kyi is convicted and imprisoned, a stronger reaction on the part of ASEAN would be important. ¶2. (C) The Foreign Secretary responded by expressing his frustration at the difficulty in influencing the Burmese regime, as well as the absence of resonance the issue seemed to find with some ASEAN member states -- particularly those that are not democracies. RomuQQater role in pressing for democratic change, citing as an example if Singapore were to bar the Burmese junta's use of its banking system, and further observed that unlike the clear regional threat posed by North Korea, Burma was too often seen as one nation's domestic problem. Secretary Romulo frankly concurred with the Ambassador's fear that the Burmese military junta may indeed convict and imprison Aung San Suu Kyi. ¶3. (C) The Ambassador also raised the issue of Burma during a June 10 breakfast of "like-minded ambassadors" hosted by United Kingdom Ambassador to the Philippines. The Ambassador pointed out that the Burmese regime's latest attacks against the ethnic-minority Karen in areas near the Thai border had resulted in a flood of more than 4,000 Karen refugees into Thailand, demonstrating how the Burmese junta's actions affect the stability and security of the broader Southeast Asia region. Together with the UK Ambassador, the ambassadors of Australia, New Zealand, and Japan expressed wholehearted agreement with the Ambassador's views on Burma. KENNEY