TRILATERAL STRATEGIC DIALOGUE ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L STATE 010090 KUALA LUMPUR FOR CT COORDINATOR GREG CHAMPMAN E.O. 12958: DECL: 1/13/2020 TAGS: PTER PGOV PINS PREL AS JP MY ID BE CB SUBJECT: TRILATERAL STRATEGIC DIALOGUE ON COUNTERTERRORISM Classified by SCT DAS Shari Villarosa, S/CT. Reason: 1.4(b), (c),(d),and (g) REF: STATE 122702 ¶1. (C) Summary: Officials from the U.S., Japan, and Australia met in Tokyo on December 14-15 for the fifth annual Trilateral Strategic Dialogue Counterterrorism consultations. Four working groups reviewed past collaboration and laid the groundwork for several joint projects aimed at bolstering counterterrorism efforts in Southeast Asia in the near future. Key among future efforts were: capacity-building projects stemming from the needs assessment for the Philippines port sector, a proposed regional forum on biological risk analysis, and support for a regional law enforcement center for South Asia similar to the Jakarta Center for Law Enforcement Cooperation. The participants also discussed prison reform in Indonesia and countering violent extremism. All parties agreed that coordination between Embassies in the region would be key to successful outcomes. End Summary. Port, Border and Maritime Security ¶2. (C)In this working group, the three sides reviewed existing activities in Southeast Asia and discussed future opportunities for trilateral action. Australia proposed that a review be conducted of the original 2007 needs assessment for the Philippines to determine what has been accomplished, and what gaps remain. Japan and the U.S. agreed to support this idea. Recognizing the continuing vulnerability of the aviation sector , parties also agreed to request their respective Embassies in Manila jointly demarche the Philippine government to support passage of a bill strengthening the authorities of the Office of Transport Security. The parties agreed on the importance of improving interagency coordination between relevant Indonesian entities responsible for border and maritime security . The U.S. tabled a proposal to consolidate upcoming trilateral training efforts in Indonesia, which Australia and Japan agreed to consider. All sides agreed that they would determine at a later date if the aviation security sector offered an opening for trilateral work. Turning to Malaysia, parties recommended greater consultation among the Embassies there on respective working relationships. The Australian delegation said efforts to assist Cambodia in taking steps to establish a maritime security authority have stalled. All parties agreed to ask Embassies in Phnom Penh to discuss how to galvanize the GoC. Japan asked for and received support in principle to work out details of initiating a joint submission on port facility security plans "best practices" for the APEC Counter-Terrorism Taskforce. The working group emphasized the importance of local information sharing by Embassies in the region as crucial to success. CBRN ¶3. (C) Delegates in the CBRN group discussed their respective countries'CBRN counterterrorism engagement to Southeast Asia and assessed specific activities, including the Chemical Safety and Security Workshop held in Canberra; the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives Consequence Seminar in Singapore; and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Workshop on Biological Threat Reduction in Manila. The session participants also explored how to encourage greater participation among Southeast Asian nations in the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT) and how to encourage greater International Atomic Energy Agency outreach on nuclear security to countries in Southeast Asia. The session concluded with the panelists agreeing to: --follow up on the recent Manila ARF bio-threat reduction workshop with an ARF biological risk analysis workshop. --follow up on the June 2009 Canberra chemical safety and security seminar with a similar one in Manila focused on small- and medium-sized enterprises in the Philippines (to include participants from the region). --discuss how best to raise awareness among Indonesian business entities of the importance of controlling access to explosives precursors (possibly holding a workshop in late 2010-2011). --explore possible coordination of a workshop on countering terrorism financing and money laundering focused on terrorist efforts to fund acquisition of CBRN materials in South Asia under the GICNT. --explore the incorporation of improving nuclear governance, including safety, security, and safeguards, in the Southeast Asia region as part of the Nuclear Security Summit discussion, possibly in coordination with the GICNT. Legal, Law Enforcement and Terror Finance ¶4. (C) All parties agreed on the need to strengthen legal frameworks in Southeast Asia and the importance of terrorist listings and asset freezing under UN Resolutions 1267 and 1373. Australia proposed holding a regional workshop in early 2010 on the implementation of those two resolutions. The Australian delegation relayed plans by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime to hold workshops in the near-term to strengthen legal frameworks and urged the Trilateral partners to consider supporting this initiative. Law enforcement assistance was flowing into the region, but as the Australian chair of the delegation noted, the needs were "endless". Some noteworthy examples of the discussion: --The U.S. delegation noted gaps in prosecutorial development, which Resident Legal Advisor program in several countries had been able to address. -- The Australians noted their continued involvement in Indonesia and noted the need for continued prison de-radicalization programs. -- Australia discussed the creation of a regional center for law enforcement for South Asia, similar to the Jakarta Center for Law Enforcement Cooperation. They said the EU would conduct a feasibility study, after which the U.S. and Japanese might consider supporting with the Australians. The proposed center would most likely be located in Dhaka. -- The Japanese reviewed their contribution to a community policing initiative in Indonesia as well as a capacity enhancing initiative for firearms control in the Philippines. All parties agreed that "a good superstructure" existed on terror finance, but doubts remained as to the ability of countries in the region to implement terror finance measures. Counter-Radicalization ¶5. (C) At the closing plenary, the difficult problem of counter-radicalization resulted in a lively discussion and areas of noted interest, but fewer suggestions for concrete joint action. The parties agreed that de- radicalization remains "the last broken ground" intellectually. However, in the working group, parties stressed repeatedly that Embassy-generated on-the-ground knowledge should be critical in making decisions, and that "one-size-fits-all" solutions will not work in the region. ¶6. (C) Four general pressure points were raised as useful areas for potential action: prisons, youth and education, women's groups, and the media/internet. The Australian delegation said they focus outreach as much as possible on hard-line entities, but conceded that those groups often refuse contact. The participants welcomed the U.S. suggestion for intelligence-generated community-level micro-focus; the Japanese delegation head confirmed "providing focused assistance to communities of our choice makes sense." Outreach to mainstream communities received mixed reviews. The parties agreed that supporting moderate schools to increase educational options was worthwhile. However, moderate appeals had limitations when hard-line communities dismiss them as not representative of local views. Concrete suggestions included: -- Japan assists ASEAN in developing a database of radical websites, and urged the others to consider joining Japan. All parties cited sensitivity about outright removal of such sites. -- Prisons and rehabilitation of convicted terrorists: Australia said supporting Indonesian prison reform in general has value as "one tide lifts all boats." -- Aid organizations should be encouraged to include counter-radicalization as one criterion in choosing aid projects. --Empowering local forces to take on counter- radicalization "should be a focus for all of us" emerged as the overarching theme. ¶7. (C) Comment: The Trilateral partners share common CT goals. The discussions on CBRN, legal issues and countering violent extremism should help strengthen counterterrorism cooperation. The U.S. and Australia welcomed the more active engagement of Japan in the process, particularly in considering expanding our cooperation beyond Southeast Asia. Ultimately success will depend on the ability of our respective Embassies on-the-ground to coordinate assistance and development programs to achieve our common goals. End Comment ¶8. (U) U.S. delegates to the CT consultations included Ambassador-at-Large for Counterterrorism Daniel Benjamin, Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism Shari Villarosa, ISN DAS Eliot Kang, DHS DAS Mariko Silver, INL Asia Team Leader Amy Carlon, Resident Legal Adviser (Jakarta) Terry Kinney, FBI Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate Adviser Barbara Ditoto, Embassy Manila Political External Affairs Chief Philip Thompson, Embassy Jakarta Deputy Political Chief Daniel Rochman, ISN's Randall Beisecker and Carson Kuo, EXBS' Rachel Owen, Japan Desk Officer David Jeppesen, DS/ATA Curriculum Chief Tom Evans, Embassy Tokyo Assistant ICE Attache Frank Okamura, Embassy Tokyo U.S. Coast Guard representatives LTCDR Jason Flennoy and Lt. David Negron-Alicea and S/CT Programs' Dan Rosen. CLINTON