This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SINGAPORE 000093 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/12/2016 
TAGS: PREL PGOV ETRD ECON SN
SUBJECT: FM YEO ON U.S. ENGAGEMENT WITH EAST ASIA 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Patricia L. Herbold.  Reasons 1.4(b)(d) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: In a very cordial introductory call, Foreign 
Minister George Yeo sketched out for the Ambassador 
Singapore's hopes for a new East Asian architecture and 
emphasized the need for the United States to remain actively 
engaged with the region as it begins building this new 
structure.  The United States' announcement, with the ASEAN 
leaders who participate in APEC, of the Joint Vision 
Statement on the ASEAN-U.S. Enhanced Partnership had been 
"very deft" and well received, said the Minister.  Yeo urged 
the United States to push forward with an FTA with Malaysia 
and continue to improve contact and cooperation with the 
military and government of Indonesia.  The Ambassador thanked 
the Minister for Singapore's support in Iraq and emphasized 
the positive effect a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty would 
have on law enforcement cooperation.  She urged Singapore to 
continue building on our joint efforts against proliferation, 
and pressed Singapore to lift its ban on U.S. beef quickly. 
End Summary. 
 
New Architecture Evolving in East Asia 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (C) After warmly welcoming the Ambassador to her new 
posting, Minister Yeo described for her an Asia that was 
changing rapidly, growing quickly and eagerly embracing the 
future.  Asian parents, he said, see tremendous opportunities 
to better the lives of their children and are looking ahead 
very optimistically, especially in countries like China, 
India, Vietnam and Thailand.  These rapid changes, however, 
also bring political tensions and Singapore worries about 
what kinds of new structures will arise to link Asia together 
and with the rest of the world.  The "old frameworks" have 
outlived their usefulness, he averred.  In Singapore's 
calculations, the ideal outcome is that the United States 
continues to stay firmly engaged with Asia and plays an 
active role in the evolution of the new framework. 
 
Importance of the EAS 
--------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) The desire to shape the future architecture in Asia 
drove Singapore to embrace the creation of the East Asia 
Summit (EAS), said Yeo.  Southeast Asia had to find a way to 
engage with "the two behemoths" India and China as they 
emerged and also began to deal with each other.  ASEAN had 
been gratified that EAS members had reached a consensus that 
ASEAN would "remain in the driver's seat," he said, adding 
that China had been very supportive of this outcome and had 
scored points with ASEAN delegations for being easy to work 
with in the run-up to the Summit.  The EAS could even provide 
a convenient venue for increased meetings between China, 
Korea and Japan, and ASEAN could play a positive, neutral 
role in facilitating this, claimed Yeo.  The EAS needs to be 
outward-looking. Singapore wants the United States to find 
ways to engage with it, he stated. 
 
¶4. (C) The Ambassador pointed out that the United States had 
not been invited to the EAS and she asked how the Minister 
would propose we "engage" with it.  Yeo urged the United 
States to "think through its attitude" toward the EAS, 
perhaps with a view toward an eventual observership. Short of 
that, the Ambassador asked, what other means of engagement 
would prove useful? Yeo was highly complimentary of the 
"deft" way the United States had brought about the Joint 
Vision Statement on the ASEAN-U.S. Enhanced Partnership at 
APEC; we had found a way to give recognition to the 
U.S.-ASEAN relationship, while avoiding the problems of 
dealing directly with Burma.  This gesture had made a 
positive impression on friends in ASEAN.  Another example, 
said Yeo, was the group meeting President Bush held with 
ASEAN leaders on the margins of the APEC Summit; these should 
become a regular feature each year.  The United States' 
assistance to Indonesia after the tsunami had greatly shifted 
Indonesian views toward us; our increased engagement with 
President Yudhoyono and the Indonesian military have been a 
big step forward.  Yeo further urged the United States to 
push ahead on a Free Trade Agreement with Malaysia. 
 
Bilateral Cooperation 
--------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) Turning to bilateral topics, the Ambassador expressed 
the United States' gratitude for the military and political 
support Singapore had rendered to us in Iraq as a Coalition 
Partner.  Yeo responded that our success in Iraq was 
absolutely essential.  The Ambassador highlighted the 
importance to both sides of making progress on a Mutual Legal 
Assistance Treaty (MLAT) and increasing cooperation against 
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).  Yeo 
acknowledged the Ambassador's point about MLAT progress being 
very slow and explained that Singapore remains concerned 
about setting precedents with us that would lead to increased 
demands from neighboring countries such as Indonesia.  That 
said, he felt confident we could find ways to address each 
side's concerns and reach a good agreement.  On 
proliferation, he remarked that the United States and 
Singapore had the same concerns and good cooperation would 
continue. 
 
Beef Ban 
-------- 
 
¶6. (C) The Ambassador raised the continuing ban on U.S. beef, 
eliciting an immediate sigh of frustration from Yeo regarding 
the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) -- "they have a 
small staff and conservative views, so they are very slow," 
he exclaimed.  Yeo cited several instances when, as Trade 
Minister, he had wrangled with AVA on unreasonable bans on 
imports of various food items.  "But now that Japan has 
lifted the ban, we can't lag far behind," he noted. 
 
¶7. (C) In closing, the Minister went to some length to 
express his deep appreciation for the assistance the Embassy, 
the USG and the Tennessee authorities had rendered to him and 
his family when his son was being treated for leukemia at St. 
Jude Hospital in Memphis. 
HERBOLD